Turin: second leg of the Talent Tour with Italgas
Dear students, today's People Power Talent Tour challenge asks you to act as young entrepreneurs. You are launching a start-up that will work alongside Italgas on issues concerning innovation in the management of human resources (i.e., promoting human capital).
Imagine being consultants and having to direct an important group like Italgas through a well-organised professional project. Each team will have to assign various roles, identifying, for example, a "boss" (CEO), a technical director (CTO), a marketing manager (CMOO), an operations director (COO) and a finance director (CFO). Depending on the size of the group, you can also assign multiple roles to the same person. In short, you have to make the team work optimally. These are just examples, feel free to move as you prefer.
Here, in greater detail, is the challenge:
The company asks you to create a project that uses generative artificial intelligence to improve the experience of employees better in their daily work. Specifically, focus on how AI can be used to help employees plan work and optimise time while carrying out their daily tasks.
Last Friday, 40 university students from Turin, average age 22, accepted the challenge launched by Italgas by participating in an original training day with various activities, including a creathon. Mixed teams of graduates and students from various faculties at the University of Turin e Polytechnic and the took part in a mini creative marathon, a part of People Power. The challenge was won by Team Homa, made up of Edoardo Alessandrini, 21 (3rd year of the three-year degree in Social Innovation, Communication and New Technologies), Marco Petrone, 29 (recent graduate, master’s degree in clinical psychology), Antonio Succi, 27 (recent master's graduate in Clinical Psychology), Irene Rotondo, 22 (1st year of master’s degree in economics - environment, culture, and territory). The team proposed the use of generative artificial intelligence to monitor workers’ emotions and organise activities to restore psychophysiological well-being, optimizing time and work planning. In particular, the "Homa: Focus on the Worker" project is based on three pillars: monitoring emotions, solutions for well-being, and custom-tailored work plans.
The other eight proposals also provided interesting and original solutions to the message of Claudio Magni, Head of Development of Italgas: “You are here today because we want to hear your opinion and your vision. We want to see your point of view. With People Power, we want to work together with you. You must help us think differently."
Second place went to the Dnai Group, composed of Giuseppe Gurrisi, 24 (1st year master's degree in Energy Engineering, design and optimization of energy systems, Polytechnic of Turin), Nicole Molinari, 23 (2nd year master's degree in Communication, ICT and Media, University of Turin), Martina Sereno, 23 (2nd year master's degree in Statistical and economic methods for decisions, University of Turin), Matteo Bressan, 24 (1st year master's degree in Statistical and economic methods economics for decisions, University of Turin).
Project P(A)IPE came third with an AI- equipped network to simplify the work of Italgas employees. In the team: Andrea Bausano, 24 (1st year master's degree in Statistical and economic methods for decisions, University of Turin), Jad Ghantous, 29 (recent graduate in Environmental and Territorial Engineering, Polytechnic of Turin), Melissa Massarenti, 21 (3rd three-year year in Social Innovation, Communication, New Technologies, University of Turin), Ludovica Santostefano, 21 (3rd three-year year in Economics, University of Turin).
The projects were evaluated by a jury of experts:
- Raffaella Marcuccio, Procurement e Material Management Manager, Italgas
- Claudio Magni, Head of Development Italgas
- Isotta Mazza, HR People Development & Managerial Training Specialist, Italgas
- Sonia Delli Gatti, Talent Acquisition & Recruitment Specialist, Italgas
- Elena Siletti, Researcher, Dept. of Economics and Statistics, University of Turin
Italgas experts also shared their concept of work: "The ideas are simple, but ideas only constitute 1% of a result: everything else lies in the implementation," explained Fabrizio Carannante, Open Innovation Specialist. “Implementation depends on the people in the group, on the innovation team, on the customers. This is why when we talk to others, we first evaluate who they are."
Accompanied and guided by Matteo Allasia, digital humanist, Daniela Marendino, archivist, and Katya Corvino, manager, the students also visited the Heritage Lab, a corporate archive and museum conserving the company’s identity. “Italgas has been working on a digital transformation laboratory for three years,” explains Francesca Aghemo, who assisted Cecilia Stajano in the organization and animation of the event for the Fondazione Mondo Digitale. “Internally, we analyse what can be done to preserve the company's historical heritage to enhance and share it. It’s a story that began in 1837.”
PARTICIPANTS
The students who worked on the second challenge come from two universities: University of Turin e Polytechnic. The average age was 22. Female participants accounted for 40% of the teams. Teams had an equal distribution of bachelor's and master's degrees. Four participants have already graduated and one of them is a researcher. The most represented degree course is Statistical and Economic Methods for Decisions.
