Source: press office Confindustria Belluno Dolomiti
Great success for the first start-up workshop involving over 30 students from Ite Colotti.
Belluno, 4 November 2021 – Some have come up with an app to combat boredom among young people, others have developed an intelligent mirror at the time of Covid, while others have studied
innovative solutions to limit food waste and applied them to everyday shopping.
The students involved in the first “Brainstorm” start-up workshop, which was held as part of the activities of the Digital Innovation Hub in Feltre, were not lacking in creativity or
initiative: two days of full immersion in close contact with local entrepreneurs and lecturers from the University of Trento, coordinated by Professor Alessandro Rossi, the Rector’s
delegate for Support for the Production System.
It was a success, the participants demonstrated vision and problem-solving skills, – says Rossi, who has just returned from the experience with over 30 girls and boys from the fifth
years of ITE Colotti.
The classes were divided into six groups, each of which developed an entrepreneurial idea, from conception to presentation, passing through the stages of design, prototyping and commercial
planning. – All participants were asked to identify a problem observed in the market and solve it, what in technical jargon is called the lean approach, – explains Rossi.
And this is where the aspiring entrepreneurs had their fun. Two groups focused on food waste: the first came up with an app to improve daily shopping (and make it faster), the second
designed a scanner to be installed in pantries to avoid unnecessary purchases.
A third group has launched an app aimed at combating boredom among young people, giving advice on how to spend their free time: not only sport but also culture, local events and volunteering
opportunities.
Project ideas also include a robotic arm for the most dangerous operations in industrial and fast-food kitchens (such as frying) or the creation of a “smart mirror” to be installed in the fitting
rooms of shops and which allows customers to see themselves wearing their clothes without actually wearing them, also in an anti-Covid context.
A final group presented their idea of ‘active’, even digital, contact lenses, capable of regulating the release of eye drops or activating the UV and blue light filter, via Bluetooth technology.
All these ideas were verified with the entrepreneurs and through quick market analyses. The students – showing a lot of resourcefulness – called customers and suppliers and saw first-hand the
interest in their proposals,” says Rossi.
Among the entrepreneurs who took part in the educational workshop, in addition to the mentor companies Epta and Skrambler Solutions, was Davide Ceccarelli, representative of Confindustria
Belluno Dolomiti within the Dih and managing director of Technowrapp, a company from Fonzaso that is one of the most innovative in the packaging sector at international level: We continue our
work of involving local schools with concrete but also fun initiatives. Our young people must understand that technical skills and creative abilities are the basis for building a future outside
school, – Ceccarelli emphasises.
This confirms the validity of the overall Digital InnovationHub project, in which the Province has believed from the outset, – commented the provincial councillor in charge of training and
education, Serenella Bogana. – Investing in training, and especially in digital training, is important today and forms a basis for the future. Doing so in a constructive and direct
dialogue with businesses is fundamental for building the skills that the territory needs.
Given the great success of the initiative and the satisfaction of the participants, “Brain Storm” will be repeated in other editions.
Workshops such as these bring the world of education closer to the world of business; the 4.0 transition, digitalisation and sustainability pass through the training of human capital. In a
manufacturing province such as Belluno, the challenge of correct orientation is increasingly strategic, – concludes Ceccarelli.
The activities of the Digital Innovation Hub, financed by the Funds of the Bordering Municipalities (Fcc), led by the Province of Belluno and involving, in addition to the Higher Institute of
Feltre, Confindustria Belluno Dolomiti, the University of Trento, Consorzio Bim Piave and the Municipality of Feltre, will continue.
