Davide Belli: from the RomeCup competition fields to a degree in Mechanical Engineering
After telling the story of Emanuele Coletta's graduation [see A maker's graduation], today we celebrate another talent who grew up in the Innovation Gym of the Mondo Digitale Foundation. Together, they were world champions in robotics with the Spqr team, and today they share another important milestone: Davide Belli has just graduated in Mechanical Engineering, bringing with him a wealth of passion, experiments and challenges won on the fields of the RomeCup and RoboCup.
"For all the support for this three-year degree, I would like to thank my family and relatives, for whom words are not enough, and all my friends who have been close to me. I would also like to thank the people at Fondazione Mondo Digitale who welcomed me and offered me my first job, which I consider exceptional. Special thanks go to the FabLab family, my friends and colleagues Daniele Vigo and Emanuele Coletta, and the other makers Carlo, Vladimiro, Titty, Ugo and Emanuele Alfano, with whom I share ideas, projects, experiences and, above all, wonderful moments. Another special thanks goes to the people of the Spqr team, whom I can always count on: professors Manfré and Torda, my friends Emanuele Coletta, Siria, Valerio, Emanuele Latino, Alessandro and Victoria."
Davide's immediate reaction is a mixture of gratitude towards his loved ones, teachers and friends at the Fondazione Mondo Digitale: we have seen him grow since he was just eleven years old when he joined the Palestra dell'Innovazione in Via del Quadraro. He was introduced to the world of makers by his father, Andrea Belli, who still remembers very well the day he discovered the Fondazione Mondo Digitale and brought his children there. Since then, at times, the FMD has been a second home for Andrea and a place of experimentation together with Carlo Coletta (father of trainer Emanuele), Ferdinando Miraglia and Emanuele Alfano. The group has also signed and presented several projects at Maker Faire. But then Davide and his FabLab companions gradually carved out their own path through robotics competitions, training and experimentation.
After attending the IC Corradini in Ponte Linari, Davide chose the ITIS Galileo Galilei together with his friend Emanuele Coletta, specialising in mechanics and mechatronics. "In high school, I had the opportunity to be part of the robotics team that competed in the RomeCup in 2021-2022 and then in the RoboCup world championships with the Spqr team together with Emanuele Coletta, Siria Sannino and Valerio Flammini. We came first in all four competitions." After high school, Davide started working at Fondazione Mondo Digitale as a trainer, continuing to manufacture in the FabLab and refereeing for the RomeCup, the very same competitions he had participated in as a student until recently.
His thesis was naturally on the same subject: "I graduated on 16 July with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, with a grade of 109, with a thesis (or final paper, as it is called) entitled “Dynamic modelling of an omnidirectional robot”. It is a small physical study on the robots I built during my school career, aimed at creating a virtual simulator. The paper, in fact, balances part of my experience in the field with the concepts of applied mechanics studied at university'.
‘I am very satisfied, not only because I managed to graduate on time, but above all because, looking back, I see almost three years of work and projects, as well as study.’ And the future? "I would really like to go back to building robots, a bit like I did at school but with the skills I have gained in the field and at university. That's why I plan to continue with a master's degree in mechanics or mechatronics. I'm trying to figure out which of the two will give me the right knowledge to get closer to my goal."
Well, good choice, Davide!
The interview was conducted by Onelia Onorati, who works in the press office of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale.
