Climate change: one degree of additional warming costs Italian companies loss of revenue

Over one million companies analysed for ten years (2009-2018): Centre and North-East are the most affected areas. The largest losses are in the construction, finance, mining and ICT sectors, with little damage to tourism, agriculture and transport.

 

Climate change is costing the economic system a lot of money: looking at ten years (2009-2018), one degree of additional warming has led to an average reduction in turnover and profitability of -5.8% and -3.4%, respectively, for Italian companies. If we then consider the actual changes in temperature in the various geographical areas, in 2018 alone – a particularly hot year – our business network recorded a loss of revenue of Euro 133 billion, with the greatest percentage losses in the North East and the Centre.

This is what emerges from the first year of activity of the Climate Finance Observatory of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, which on 27 April 2021 presented its main results at an online conference attended by institutions, businesses, investors and trade associations. Global warming is now fully an economic issue.  “We have developed a database that crosses economic/financial information on 1,154,000 companies in Italy between 2009 and 2018 (22 million in Europe) with meteorological data on temperature, rainfall and solar radiation since 1950 – explains Vincenzo Butticè, vice director of the Observatory – to find solid empirical evidence on the relationship between climate and the economic system“. This has resulted in reliable metrics to support regulators, financial institutions and manufacturers in their economic/financial analysis of climate change.

The Observatory has in fact calculated the real, not hypothetical, damage caused by an increase in temperature of 1 degree Celsius in Italy: small enterprises have lost the most in profitability, while large companies, being able to act better on costs and processes, despite a decrease in revenues and demand, were better able to contain their losses in margins.

Among the sectors most affected by the temperature increase are construction, finance and mining. Information technology, real estate and research and innovation suffered the same drop in turnover (-6.4%), but with a smaller decrease in margins. Manufacturing and retail were the best performing sectors, preceded only by agriculture, tourism and transport.

On the other hand, in geographic terms, the impact was worse in Central Italy and the North East, where companies managed to maintain higher margins. The North West suffered a sharp loss in profitability but not as much in turnover, while the South and Islands were little affected by climate change.

If we look at the drop in turnover in absolute figures, the biggest losses were recorded in Lazio, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Tuscany.

Managing the consequences of climate change and mitigation strategies represent the greatest challenge that world economies will have to face in the coming years – comments Roberto Bianchini, director of the Climate Finance Observatory -. For example, the analysis shows how a flood could cost companies in the affected area up to 4% of turnover and a loss of value of balance sheet assets of around 0.9%, which rises to 1.9% in case of a large fire. The global emergency related to the pandemic has also contributed to increasing the perception of risk, because it has shown how economic actors are affected not only directly, but also indirectly, through the channels of demand, supply or their own supply chain”.

On the regulatory side, both the European Commission and the regulatory agencies produced a large number of documents in recent months to improve understanding of the interrelationships between climate risks and economic activities. One example is the “Green Taxonomy”, a document that identifies actions within different sectors that can promote climate change adaptation and mitigation while avoiding negative impacts on the environment.

It is extremely important to identify risks and to find tools and metrics to quantify the climate exposure of portfolio assets. The action of the ECB is relevant in this direction: it carried out an analysis of about 4 million companies and 2,000 banks to identify the exposure of the financial system over the next 30 years. The study shows that the costs for implementing adaptation and mitigation strategies now are far lower than they are likely to be in the future: according to the ECB, the probability of default of banks will be higher the less action is taken by the economic system to change the trajectory of temperature increase.

 

For more information: https://www.osservatoriefi.it/efi/2021/04/28/climate-change-finance-rischi-e-opportunita-per-le-imprese/ (in Italian)

London’s sovereignty in Venture Capital

What is the geographical distribution of Venture Capital (VC) in Europe? Is VC activity agglomerated around a few preferred locations? Or, conversely, are we observing an increased dispersion of VC outside large metropolitan areas?

 

VC is an important source of finance for the growth of innovative startups, which contribute significantly to a country’s international competitiveness, as essential driver of innovation, job creation, and economic development.

Knowing how VC investments are geographically distributed is useful to understand the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Europe and, consequently, is a precious tool to approach innovation policies.

Using the VICO-DATASET of Risis (European Research Infrastructure for Science, technology and Innovation policy Studies) it is possible to describe the agglomeration patterns of VC activity at the regional, metropolitan, and industry level.

The study, led by Massimiliano Guerini, Massimo Colombo and Francesca Enrica Tenca of the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano, illustrates some crucial evidence.
The UK and France are the most relevant VC markets in terms of the number of VC deals, while Eastern European countries and Israel show the highest incidence rates (VC deals / GDP). Moreover, VC activity is mostly concentrated in large metropolitan areas, with increased concentration levels from 2010 to 2018. However, there is a non-negligible share of VC activity in more peripheral areas. In details, London, which represents by far the top VC hub, experienced a +50% in VC activity growth from 2010 to 2018, compared to a modest +6% of Paris (the 2nd VC hub) and Tel Aviv (+23%), ranked 3rd in terms of VC activity.  Some smaller areas in terms of VC activities registered remarkable growth rates from 2010 to 2018, such as Budapest (+167%), Milan (+62%), and Tallinn (+124%).

Last but not least, important differences emerge across sectors. The life science sector exhibits higher dispersion of VC deals outside the main VC hubs, mainly in areas with relevant knowledge creation activity. Conversely, VC activity in the Software, Internet & TLC, and R&D & engineering sectors is concentrating in large metropolitan areas.

The findings have important policy implications for democratizing access to VC in more peripheral areas and for the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems, and they open a debate on the framing of research and innovation policies.

 

For further information:
Policy Brief
https://www.risis2.eu/

Presentation of the study (online event):
30th April 2021
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
7th RISIS Policymakers Session Democratising access to smart money in EU, evidence form the VICO-DATASET

 

 

Would you prefer to live longer or healthier? Easy! I want to live a longer and healthier life! The societal challenge of Healthy Ageing

The quest for living longer at any cost – the dream to live for 150+ years – has been replaced by the search of how to improve life quality for better ageing, in order not to lose self-suffiency as well as physical and cognitive capabilities. 

 

Emanuele Lettieri
Full Professor of Health Care Management at the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano
Scientific Director of the Permanent Observatory of Digital Innovation in Healthcare at Politecnico di Milano

Population ageing is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, this is definitively good news. We live longer and life expectancy at birth is increasing generation after generation. This is the result of paramount discoveries in medicine and ground-breaking innovations in medical technology. On the other hand, this is very bad news. Disabilities and chronic diseases will probably characterize the last years of our lives, limiting our possibility to live a full life. Moreover, a significant portion of healthcare expenditure – that is expected to increase year after year – is currently allocated to the management of elderly fragility and chronic diseases. This obliges to reduce the financial resources that could have been allocated to the younger citizens.

But how to jump out of this vicious circle?
A straightforward solution comes from what has already happened in other industries – e.g., in the automotive industry. The healthcare system must treat citizens when they are still healthy, helping them postpone as long as possible the moment when they will need specialized treatment for either fragility or chronic diseases. This vision requires healthcare professionals to turn upside down their current approach to health care delivery. Prevention, lifestyle improvement, empowerment and co-responsibility are the “silver bullets” to help citizens live longer and be healthier.

This is the challenge of Healthy Ageing. This challenge is of paramount relevance for the sustainability over time of our society and it is fully coherent with the Societal Development Goal number 3 – ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for everyone at all ages.
In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the concept of Healthy Ageing, intended as the process through which an individual can maintain or enhance her/his well-being within the ageing process. The WHO launched the Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030) that is intended as a decade of concerted global actions on Healthy Ageing. The motivation is that populations around the world are ageing at a faster pace than in the past and this demographic transition will have an impact on almost all aspects of society.
In this view, finding previously unexplored pathways for enhancing the ability of citizens aged 50+ to live a longer and healthier life is top of the agenda for policymakers, professionals, entrepreneurs and management scholars. The initiatives on the table are numerous and they are contributing to the growth of the so-called Silver Economy. This term was coined to describe the economy linked to products and services targeted at citizens aged 50+. Its extent has been estimated in Europe at €5.7 trillion in 2025.

The ageing population can be divided into active, fragile and dependant. For a sustainable society, it is important to support active and healthy ageing among the 50+ citizens so that they can be part of the active workforce for as long as possible. In this view, healthcare must keep pace with their needs. Care delivery must become personalized, participative, preventive and predictive. This is at hand nowadays! Digital solutions might offer the extraordinary opportunity to respond successfully to the challenges of the Silver Economy. Digital technologies might contribute to the development of next-generation techniques for fragility and disease prevention, as well as new treatments to ensure a healthy, active and productive life to the population aged 50+.

The School of Management of Politecnico di Milano stands up for Healthy Ageing and is contributing through different research and educational initiatives.

First, the permanent Observatory of Digital Innovation of Healthcare is collecting data from the field about the transition toward a new paradigm of health care delivery that has been defined as Connected Care. Ageing citizens are searching for an ecosystem of healthcare services and tools that are consistent and interoperable. Considering four main phases – namely, (1) information seeking & primary prevention, (2) access to care; (3) diagnosis & therapy; and (4) follow-up & engagement into new lifestyles – the present Covid-19 pandemics has accelerated the adoption of digitally-enabled behaviours for all phases.
Four citizens out of five searched for information on the internet about healthier behaviours and disease prevention. Two citizens out of five tried smartwatches or Apps to monitor their physical activity, improve their nutritional behaviour or test their cognitive capabilities. One citizen out of three is interested in interacting with their doctor through tele-visits. These and other data are published every year by the research team from this Observatory.

Second, the School of Management (SOM) of Politecnico di Milano is contributing to an H2020 pan-European research project – named NESTORE – aimed at developing an artificial intelligence-enabled virtual coach to help European citizens aged 65+ in their healthy ageing. The virtual coach can provide users with personalized pathways to healthy ageing that cover physical activity, nutrition, cognitive capabilities and social interaction. At present, the coach is under validation (phase 2) in three pilot countries – Italy, Spain and the Netherlands – with promising results in terms of engagement and acceptability. The SOM is chairing the development of the exploitation strategy of the solutions developed within the research project – such as a virtual coach, an App, a smartwatch to collect data, a tangible interface, a chatbot, and a series of games. At the beginning, NESTORE will adopt a direct-to-consumer business model, but with the ambition of becoming a digital therapy within two years – after a phase 3 validation study – and being approved and reimbursed by the national healthcare systems. Our data show that one citizen aged 65+ out of three is interested in virtual coaches because they are searching for 24/7 support for their healthy ageing.

Finally, the MIP Politecnico Graduate School of Business has launched in September 2020 the first edition of the Executive Master in Innovation Management in Healthcare. Multi-disciplinary professionals from hospitals and vendors from the MedTech industry are learning how to disrupt the current paradigms of health care delivery and accelerate the transition toward innovative socio-technical configurations of Connect Care.

There is an ancient Chinese curse which says “May we live in interesting times.” In this light, the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano is fully committed to making available its distinctive competencies to sustain the healthy ageing of citizens 65+, to allow them to live longer and healthier lives in interesting times.

Remote inclusion: the challenge of wellbeing in the post-Covid society

The Sars-Cov2 pandemic affirmed the position of the home as the central place of work and private life, disrupting all traditional social models. Technology made it possible to run the economic system effectively from a distance, but what are the consequences of “remotisation” on the well-being of individuals? The School of Management offers a multidisciplinary platform for studying the social benefits and costs of the remote economy.

 

Lucio Lamberti, Full Professor of Multichannel Customer Strategy, Coordinator of the Physiology, Emotion and Experience Lab
Alessandro Perego, Academic Director School of Management Politecnico di Milano

Inclusion and inclusiveness are key issues for sustainable development: a broad, multidimensional issue that requires not only a transversal effort, but clear vertical projects through which to contribute to real collective progress. Among the various initiatives undertaken by our School, one represents for us a theme that matches our sensibilities, our skills and the type of contribution our institution can offer: the analysis of the effects of technological mediation on study and work relationships.

The Sars-Cov2 pandemic has in fact reaffirmed the position of the home as the central place for work, private life, shopping, information gathering, study and entertainment, through the enormous acceleration of phenomena such as Working From Home (WFH) and distance learning.
In recent months, the social patterns of individuals and families have been transformed with unimaginable vigour and speed. Millions of people have begun to work and study diligently from home, and, although a return to more traditional social dynamics can be assumed once – hopefully soon – the pandemic phase is over, alienation phenomena are beginning to be observed (or at least a reduction in the value of experience) linked to the loss of the physical dimension of sociability, if not manifestations of the so-called Cabin (or Prisoner) Syndrome, i.e. the fear of returning to normal interaction outside the home with the rest of the world for those who are forced to remain confined in a space for a longer or shorter time.

Furthermore, after a phase of focusing on the technological and organisational enablement of WFH and distance learning, it is now time to evaluate their effectiveness compared to traditional models. We are faced with phenomena of historic significance: on the one hand, there is the issue of social inclusion and resilience, since the remote economy exacerbates the consequences of social detachment of the less digitised sections of the population, which are often also the most vulnerable sections of the population (e.g. low-income families, the elderly, the disabled).
On the other hand, in the very complex social equation estimating the social benefits and costs of a progressive “remotisation” of work and training, the terms relating to effectiveness (quality of learning, productivity, innovativeness, etc.) and to the well-being of the individuals involved (satisfaction, quality of life, sociality) are still largely unknown.

These are drivers of social cohesion, individual wellbeing, efficiency and effectiveness at work and at school, and interpersonal and emotional development which, in extreme terms, could be momentous achievements capable of generating sustainable development (less traffic, less pollution, greater inclusiveness, revitalisation of non-urban areas), or dangerous threats of the deterioration of economic well-being, quality of life and quality of human capital, if not of engendering individual, family and social tensions.

The School of Management has embarked on a multidisciplinary and multi-platform research project on the wellbeing of the individual in the remote economy aimed specifically at qualifying and quantifying the dynamics of relationships, engagement and productivity linked to WFH, the dimensions of the effectiveness of distance learning, the cost factors and social benefits of the “remotisation” of study/work relationships.

In order to do this, we want to (and must) draw on the wide range of skills that the School can express: the MIP, a business school at the forefront of the world in distance learning; the Digital Innovation Observatories, which have been analysing for more than ten years phenomena such as Smart Working, the digitalisation of homes and relationship models mediated by technology; the IOT Laboratory, which develops and studies models of interfaces between individuals and their connected devices; the Pheel Laboratory, which studies and measures, in a multimodal way and based on biometrics, the effectiveness and reaction of interfaces and experiences on individuals.

But even such a wide range of expertise risks failing to encompass the complexity of the issue. This is why, in accordance with our strategic plan and that of our University, we are creating a system of relations with the other branches of our Politecnico (e.g. the departments of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Physics, Civil Engineering, Mechanics, Design) with research centres in disciplinary domains other than the Politecnico (Psychologists and Sociologists, above all), and with companies and institutions jointly interested in the topic.

Our platform aims to create experimental environments that mimic the home experience to enable experiments on WFH and smart learning experiences in terms of ergonomics, sound insulation, contextualisation, material impact, user experience and productivity dynamics. In line with the strategic reflection on smart working in our University, we intend to explore the issue of balancing face-to-face and remote working in order to identify solutions that balance the advantages of both while limiting possible areas of weakness. At the methodological level, we intend to work with minimally invasive wearable devices to conduct research on well-being and stress with long-term designs on targeted population panels. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions and teaching practices, we intend to develop 3D simulation, augmented reality and virtual reality spaces and prototype distance learning interfaces.

The key to the project is its multi-faceted nature: the problems of sustainable development are too complex and multi-layered to be tackled really effectively within one subject area such as economics, management or engineering.
It is fusion, cultural inclusion that is the real key to innovation, and it is in this direction that research institutions, in every field, should move.

Inclusion: shaping a better society for all

Conversation with Donatella Sciuto, Vice-Rector of Politecnico di Milano

 

Decreasing the gender gap is part of the 2030 agenda of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including in relation to the prevalence of women in STEM subjects. Disciplines that provide very high employment rates but are still predominantly the preserve of men. What are the factors that are causing this gap?

The factors are diverse and can in my view be traced to three dimensions: individual, context and culture. By individual I mean personal attitudes; by context I mean the environment in which girls grow up – the family, the school, the community closest to them; by culture I mean that of a country or geographical area, which with its own rules can influence individual choices.

Even today, there is still a distinction in children’s play between male and female roles: from pre-school onwards, girls are used to being confronted with certain models, and even those who have grown up with different models when they are with their peers tend to conform to the “expected” behaviour so that they are not marginalised. And growing up things do not change, because in adolescence group identity is even stronger.

At the level of family context, gender socialisation is usually favoured and the same applies to exposure to science, mathematics or technology: girls tend to be less exposed and therefore less interested in these topics, probably also by virtue of group identity. There is a lack of role models, which at this stage of growth are of a different kind.
Girls often have a lower level of risk-taking than boys, which is why families tend to protect them more. In some contexts, scientific careers are considered more “risky” than others, or less appropriate for girls because they are male-dominated, thus fuelling the fear of a hostile working environment.

At the cultural level, there are countries where the study of scientific disciplines is more widespread, such as some Asian countries, and girls are consequently more inclined to study them, even if this does not necessarily lead to scientific careers. In Europe and the Anglo-Saxon countries, the study of science is less widespread, with the exception of the Scandinavian countries where gender equality is more deeply rooted at all levels.

Against this background, what role should universities play in reducing the gender gap in these studies?

We can do a lot, and from the earliest stages of schooling: by working with schools we can show that science and technology have no “gender” and are fun and interesting for everyone.
With this purpose in mind, in recent years the Politecnico di Milano has organised science lessons and workshops for primary school children in collaboration with Focus Junior magazine.

To create awareness and encourage orientation on 11 February, the UN’s day dedicated to celebrating women in science, we published a video to help girls consider engineering as a university path.  The video is now being distributed in the secondary schools we are in contact with. In fact we work a lot with secondary schools, and in particular with physics and mathematics teachers to discuss engineering-oriented teaching. We also organise Summer School Tech Camps for third and fourth year students. Tech Camps take place in English, last one week and involve the development of a technology project (theory and practice) which are presented to the families.

At our university we have also decided to support girls with specific scholarships. The Girls@Polimi programme aims to encourage their enrolment in engineering degree courses where they are less represented, by offering additional financial support funded by companies: in the first year we had 2, in the second 12 and now 20. Then there are scholarships for female master’s degree students, and mentoring courses, again in collaboration with companies.

Finally, and this is a prerequisite, in addition to guidance and support, universities must ensure equality and ban all forms of discrimination.

In Europe, our country has a higher percentage of female PhD graduates, in total and also in STEM areas, more than Spain, the UK, France and Germany (*Ministry of Education report on women’s careers in academia, March 2020). Does this mean that we are moving in the right direction as far as women’s representation is concerned or is this just a first step?

We are only at the beginning. Looking at the data more closely, one realises that it is good because STEM subjects often include biology and medicine, which have never had the problem of a gender gap. Let’s use biomedical engineering as an example: at our university, female students in this course account for 50%. However, in other areas there are very few women, such as electronics and IT, where the female rate is less than 10%, despite the fact that IT professions are in great demand. At doctoral level, the figures improve because we have a lot of female foreign students who decide to study here, so the international presence reduces the gap.

It is true that we are in a moment in history when there is awareness of the problem and a renewed interest on the part of companies to reduce the gender gap, in line with the SDGs, but reality shows that it is the pay gap that is still important, and it occurs from the first job and with equal grades in studies.

In order to help women professionally, it is essential to eliminate the pay gap, and for their development consider them from the perspective of diversity.
An increase in female representation is therefore relative if it relates only to certain functions and areas of the company, which are usually more humanistic.
There is still a lot to be done in this respect and the right place in the job market still has to be won.

Apart from gender issues, what are the challenges of inclusion that you think are most pressing for the research and university sector?

First of all, support the careers of women. As one moves up the academic hierarchy, there are fewer and fewer women, as was found in the report by the Italian CRUI (Conference of Italian University Rectors). Women’s careers should not be damaged by caring duties and motherhood, for example. We have created an economic bonus to support the return of female researchers after maternity leave and support them in resuming their scientific research activities.

Apart from this, I believe the issue of inclusion must be addressed in universities in the full extent: the priority is to create the conditions for welcoming diversity in all its forms.

We are doing this with the “POP” (Polytechnic Equal Opportunities) programme, which aims to ensure a study and work environment that respects gender identities, different abilities, cultures and backgrounds. As an international university, it is also important to learn to live with people from different cultures, and this is a path to which we must all commit ourselves, lecturers, students and administrative staff.  In order to achieve these objectives, in last year’s reorganisation of the services at the Politecnico we wanted to create an organisational unit to follow all aspects, called Equal Opportunities, within the Campus Life area.

People should not be judged by appearances, but by merits.  Only by eliminating any kind of stereotype or prejudice can we build an inclusive world for all.

 

Air transport sustainability: a PhD in collaboration between easyJet and the School of Management

Diego Babuder, easyJet pilot, will undertake the four-year Executive Research Path of the PhD Programme in Management Engineering

 

This year the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, in collaboration with easyJet, is launching an Executive PhD in Management Engineering focusing on sustainability in the airline industry. The course focuses on the challenges and opportunities that digital innovation can have in this area, with a particular focus on how airlines can contribute to the de-carbonisation of the sector and reduce the effects of climate change.

Environmental sustainability is a cornerstone of easyJet’s development strategy and in 2019 it decided to offset emissions from the fuel used on all its flights to meet the global challenges of climate change. “Investing now in the research and development of revolutionary technologies such as hybrid, electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft is the best way to effectively address the global challenges posed by climate change for this sector. This is a historic moment for commercial aviation and we intend to play a leading role in the transition towards solutions capable of significantly reducing the impact of aviation on the environment” – explains Lorenzo Lagorio, easyJet Italy country manager.

“The transition to more sustainable and circular industrial systems is an unstoppable process and for commercial aviation it represents both a challenge and a great opportunity. This is not just about technological innovation, but an overall transformation of business models with systemic impacts at sector level that will lead to the emergence of new supply chains – comments Paolo Trucco, Professor of Industrial Systems at the School of Management and head of the research project with easyJet It is a source of pride and great stimulus for us to be able to study and address these phenomena through a research and training partnership with a leading company in the sector such as easyJet. It is also significant that this collaboration is centred around the doctoral studies of one of their pilots; a demonstration of how the development of human capital underpins the ability of organisations to transform themselves and take advantage of all the technological and operational opportunities to make their business more sustainable”.

Diego Babuder, easyJet pilot for over 7 years, now a new PhD student at the Politecnico, has a degree in air transport management from the UK and has collaborated with the Politecnico di Milano on the lessons of the first level master’s degree in “Fundamentals of the air transport system”. “I am convinced that air transport can play a leading role in combating climate change and set an example for many other industries. There is a lot of enthusiasm for the various research areas that are currently underway, starting with the development of hybrid and electric aircraft and the production of sustainable fuels.”

Fighting food waste: the success of the neighbourhood Hubs for recovery and support for the most vulnerable

On the National Day for the Prevention of Food Waste on 5 February 2021, the data monitoring carried out by the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano shows that, thanks to the Isola and Lambrate Hubs, more than 3,300 families have been reached with 152,000 meals

 

The surplus collection target for 2020 is 76 tonnes: 62 were gathered between January and February and between June and December in via Borsieri and 14 in the newly opened Hub in via Bassini.

The idea of the neighbourhood Hubs stems from the “ZeroSprechi” memorandum of understanding between the City of Milan, Assolombarda and the School of Management at the Politecnico di Milano, signed in 2016. One of the priorities of Milan’s Food Policy is to reduce food waste and innovate ways of collecting food for the needy by designing and testing a model for collecting and redistributing surplus food based on local neighbourhood networks.

This project, as Giovanni Fosti explains, “is made possible by the presence of networks in the area such as the Qubi Programme – Fondazione Cariplo’s formula against child poverty”.

As Anna Scavuzzo, the deputy mayor of Milan in charge of Food Policy, affirms, “this action has allowed us to continue to work towards the goals of sustainability, but also of the right to healthy food”. The commitment to fighting waste will lead to the opening of two more neighbourhood hubs in the Corvetto and Gallaratese areas next summer.

Even in the face of the difficulties of the time” – according to Alessandro Perego, Director of the Department of Management Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano – “the results of the first Hub in Isola and the recent Hub in Lambrate have demonstrated the sustainability of a model that is based on structured operational processes and solid cross-sector collaboration. Hubs are also a central point in the social network of a neighbourhood. We will continue to work closely with contributing companies and all project partners to ensure the continuity and replicability of the system in other areas of the city.”

As Alessandro Scarabelli, General Manager of Assolombarda, puts it, “the crisis caused by Covid has severely affected the finances of many families, unfortunately worsening the conditions of those who were already struggling to find essential supplies. For this reason, the opening of two new hubs is even more significant for the social resilience of the city. The important results achieved are a clear sign of how important it is to team up and strengthen our commitment to build a model of collecting the surplus and redistributing them in support of the most vulnerable people”.

 

Project partners: City of Milan, Politecnico di Milano School of Management, Assolombarda, Fondazione Cariplo, Banco Alimentare.

The Project Work experience, an opportunity to bring your ideas to life

An International Part-time MBA at the MIP Politecnico di Milano School of Management always ends with the discussion of a group Project Work. During this final step, students have the possibility to put into practice what they have learnt during the two years in a consultancy project in their area of interest.

For this occasion, we had the possibility to join up with three colleagues and implement a project in our own company or develop a new business idea with the support of the MIP faculty.

I joined forces with Luca Randazzo, Alessandro Artuso and Alessandro Brunitti in a heterogeneous team in terms of knowledge and competences in the fields of law, engineering, marketing and information technology. We decided to develop our own business idea, willing to venture into a sector different from the one in which we work daily and, for the first time, to be responsible for an owned business, feeling like ambitious entrepreneurs and no longer just employees.

I met my Project Work colleagues for the first time during the MBA. We got to know each other during the courses and became good friends very soon. During the two full weeks abroad at leading European business schools offered by the Part-Time MBA program, we strengthened our friendship and we discovered that we had one common passion: traveling.

We first decided to extend the second of the two weeks abroad by taking the opportunity to explore the city of Munich and then we also organized another trip together to celebrate our graduation.

On these two occasions and in the context of the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 emergency, the idea for ​​our project was born: an app that simplifies travel planning and also brings tourists and tour guides closer thanks to remote tours, live or on demand. An app that allows guides to work remotely and that offers tourists multiple content solutions according to their individual needs. In defining this idea, talking about our past travel experiences and sharing personal stories, we also got closer to each other. Furthermore, we were able to put into practice all the main lessons of the course from Financial Accounting to Strategy and Marketing (to name a few) by applying them to the various project phases and defining an accurate business plan.

In addition to the opportunity to access the PoliHub – Politecnico di Milano’s in-house start-up incubator – MIP has assigned Filippo Renga to us as our tutor, expert in Management Economics, counting multiple personal experiences in different start-ups, also in the tourism sector. Filippo has been able to give us not only technical advice on how to set up a start-up but also food for thought. He often made our sense of security falter by testing our motivation to go beyond the idea of a project, with the simple goal of graduation, but rather, to take the path that would actually bring it into being. He also made us face up to the reality of the entrepreneur’s lifestyle, when you are often alone, fighting against numerous failures by pursuing your own ideas, very distant from that of an employee, both from a practical and an emotional point of view.

And now that we have just graduated, ambitious to carry on with our project, the real test and the most complex part will come: the implementation. But we are ready to get involved, to take our responsibilities and face the risks focused on the next goal, the first public release.

 

 

About the author
Andrea De Donatis

I am Andrea De Donatis, a student of the international part-time MBA at MIP Politecnico di Milano. I Graduated in energy engineering and I am currently working in technical sales for a leading multinational electronics company based in Milan.
I am very passionate about technology, IT and digital marketing. I strongly believe that disruptive innovation is vital to create new value.

 

How to use a “digital mentor” to avoid the dunning-kruger effect

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” (Albert Einstein)

Curiosity is one of the main leverages for continuous improvement. However, it is not enough if you don’t have someone to guide you along a growth path. With this goal in mind, MIP Politecnico di Milano developed FLEXA, the online platform created with Microsoft and aiming to be a digital mentor for current MIP students and alumni, in order to create a path of professional growth that is as flexible as possible.

Thanks to the work of Artificial Intelligence, FLEXA offers:

  • A hard skills self-evaluation
  • A soft skills assessment
  • A digital skills assessment
  • The possibility to insert your career goals
  • The chance to define the daily/weekly amount of time you want to dedicate to your improvement.

The user starts by defining the areas in which he/she wants to grow. After an evaluation, the platform allows the user to identify the gaps and the content necessary to be able to fill them.

Another important component is the time that the user has available for his/her training (“time is money”, they say). The content provided and the growth plan, in fact, consider the weekly hours that can be dedicated to studying and the period within which you want to obtain results.

With only these two pieces of information, FLEXA will provide you with plenty of materials, webinars, articles, events and videos from which you can choose to boost your knowledge.

Let’s talk about the self-evaluation. Is it truly easy to do? Apparently yes, but it’s not.

It takes time to properly evaluate your own level of knowledge. If you do it in a superficial way, you risk either overestimating or underestimating yourself, falling into the Dunning-Kruger effect.

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool”, wrote Shakespeare in As You Like It. And that’s the essence of the Dunning-Kruger effect, according to which those individuals who are least capable in a particular area of knowledge are most likely to overestimate their capability.

Only with experience can you properly get to understand which is your true level of competence.

The Dunning-Kruger effect makes you understand how important it is to fully comprehend your strengths and, above all, your weaknesses. Yes, because you must work hard on these weaknesses to improve yourself and to become an all-round professional.

Aristotle, one of the most famous philosophers in history, was convinced that “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”. And the “beginning of all wisdom” can’t be that easy, can it?

Starting to do a good evaluation of yourself and your competences is the first step towards setting the best path for career growth. So, before beginning FLEXA’s skill assessment, try to focus on yourself. With a digital tutor it is even easier to be honest and admit your weaknesses.

This test will also be a good chance to focus on the main skills you’d like to improve and on the aspirations you have in the long term.

 In the Hard Skills section, you’re encouraged to reflect on yourself and the technical skills you have acquired to date. Through a self-assessment, you will be asked to define your level of knowledge of each of the complex skills that, based on the benchmarking, are generally required to operate within the functional area of ​​your choice.

The Soft and Digital skills sections are a little different and are evaluated through a bunch of multiple-choice questions.

At the end of the set of assessments you will be offered feedback, based on which you will be given a guide for the development of the level of your skills. The top critical skills to be developed for each set of skills (hard, soft and digital) will be highlighted as follows:

during the time, FLEXA will show your progress in each of the three fields of skills. From my point of view this is really helpful, and quite motivating. Having continuous feedback on how much you have improved and the great results you have achieved can be a huge incentive to keep on learning.

So, in order to stay curious, as Einstein said, why not give it a try and start your FLEXA Journey? Go to https://www.flexa.polimi.it/en/ and log in with your MIP email. For any questions or need of support, you can contact the FLEXA Support team by writing to flexasupport@mip.polimi.it.

 

About the author
Marco Di Salvio

Student of the International Part Time MBA at MIP Politecnico di Milano.
Industrial Engineer currently working @ Gucci as WW Supply & Demand Planner, based in Florence.
Tech passionate, Cinema-lover, Sports addicted.
Solving the world’s problems one spreadsheet at a time.

 

A veterinarian in the MBA world: interview with MIP Alumnus Nicola Morandi

The purple background of Teams pulses insistently, asking me to take the incoming call. It is a sunny, post-quarantine day, and I am getting along after home lockdown on my MBA journey. Classes are over and my days revolve around preparing for the project work I will be following in a couple of days down the line. The voice on the other side hails me on a cheerful yet unexpected note, “Hello, doctor!” Nicola Morandi is a former student from the Executive MBA of some years ago. He is the Technical Manager of the Animal Health division at Boehringer Ingelheim, the company where I will be doing the project work, and – the thing has made me most curious about his profile, amongst the network of MIP alumni – a PhD, like myself.

Hello Nicola, thank you for taking the time to talk with me today! I am happy to introduce your experience here: you are a doctor in veterinary sciences, as well as an MBA. Can you tell me about the industry you work in and what part the MBA played in your career development?

“I have been working at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health since 2015. It is a multinational pharmaceutical company, but still a family business. If you have a dog, we are the “Frontline” people, just to make it clear! Our core business is in the production of vaccines and antiparasitics for all kinds of animals. Until 2015, I was a veterinarian, in the most classical way: I was curing animals, and specifically my fields of specialization were internal medicine, bovine surgery and infective diseases. Once I arrived at Boehringer, I found out that despite the fact that my background and knowledge as a specialist veterinarian gave me the basis for a good performance, I was lacking of a set of hard skills that would have benefited my job as a whole. Strategy, economics and marketing are, after all, the pillars of every industry, and of our company as well. I could quite easily have gained these competences with some hands-on experience in the field, exposing myself to all the tasks required in the various roles in my division, but this would have required a lot of time. Indeed, an MBA program could accelerate this path, so I chose the latter option, with an Executive Part-Time program, to gain this acceleration. As of today, I must say I am able to have an impact in many processes of the company going above and beyond my specific job function. I can say that the EMBA really worked as an accelerator for my career path.” 

During the MBA at MIP, you were exposed to themes and tools such as innovation and design thinking. In which way have these been useful and practical in your job?

“One of the most positive aspects of doing an EMBA deals with the possibility of putting into practice tools, methods and models you see during seminars and classes quite straightforwardly. In my case, there were some of them, such as design thinking, innovation of meaning and creative problem solving, that proved truly helpful and fruitful in my job. For instance, they helped me accelerate the sales’ pipeline of one of our star products and this was quite impressive, given the fact that this product was already performing in a surprising way, with 50% of market share.” 

Would you like to share an anecdote about your MBA life?

“When I joined the program, I hadn’t considered two aspects that later on became key takeaways for me: teamwork and time management. The ability to put together effectively your everyday workload, private time with family and the commitment of doing a Master program is challenging at times. However, these are after all the things I remember the most: to perform well, you need to leverage on the strengths of every team member you find yourself working close to in every course of the program and to negotiate successfully the work-study-life balance. Oh yes, and parties too…”

On a serious note, Covid-19 is making organizations experience an unprecedented need for change. What are the implications you see in the upcoming months for your industry and what will be the drivers companies and employees should focus on adapting rapidly?

“As I see it, Covid-19 is a stress test: it made urgent and clear the need for changes that were in a way already programmed or in plan. I am specifically referring to people management and digital transformation. People are the key element of every organization, and this situation is specifically requiring effectiveness by making them feel an active part of the change, not a consequence of a necessary adaptation. Digital transformation is usually seen as a trend that will act as a substitute for people. On the contrary, the missing point in the common way to see it is that it is an enriching element contributing to performance. Of course, this is possible when the transformation is effectively communicated into a people strategy. Another driver that I find important and that we still need to work on a lot are soft skills: with particular reference to the present moment, communication, teamwork, proactiveness and the ability to stay up-to-date, focus on the objectives and resilience are the winning points of the future of work.” 

On this note, Prof Sdogati from our faculty at Politecnico has recently remembered something Gramsci said: “Study, because we will need all your intelligence”.

 

About the author
Marianna Trimarchi
I am a candidate of the International Full Time MBA at MIP. I have a background in academia as a PhD in Communication and Strategic Analysis and a career as content producer in the Media Industry.I have worked for the Italian Television as author and assistant producer for cultural programs as well as for other media outlets as journalist. I am passionate about understanding complex phenomena particularly related to internationalization and global development from a multidisciplinary perspective.