We waited a few days before writing about strAIght to business. It is not easy to process all the information, input, emotions that this great initiative has brought into our lives. We have learned a lot and we want with this article to try to describe to you what strAIght to business has been for us.
It was, first of all, a totalizing initiative for many months. We had to take care of the most organizational, logistical and content aspects of it with Ennova Research. And this last aspect was not easy, not least because we had to convene different aspects: the more technological ones, the social ones and the cultural ones, so that it would be an initiative that fully met the initial ambition: to facilitate access to AI for everyone and to give as complete a picture of it as possible.
We wanted it to be an initiative aimed at students and businesses, so that they could understand its many potentials, and put it into practice immediately, so that they would be less scared of it, through experimentation that could devise new applications of generative artificial intelligence and respond in a concrete way to the challenges of ten companies.
We realized that only by combining everyone's skills, from technological to methodological, as well as the energy of young people, can we concretely meet the great challenges that AI poses to us.
The companies that participated proved to be enthusiastic and ready to get involved right away.We would like to thank the ten companies that participated: City of Padua, Permasteelisa Group, Manni Group, Vega Fuels S.p.A.., Crurated, Medicasa Italy, Caleffi Hydronic Solutions, TAKA-WPR, CFI Refrigeration e Bluewind.
We realized, but already knew, that the Italian economic fabric is made up of people who have enormous potential that technology can only increase. At strAIght to business, four companies told us how they are already successfully leveraging AI in their processes in a very interesting panel discussion: with Lorenzo Gubian of Aria S.p.A., Andrea Beccari of Exscalate in Dompé, Walter Bertona of Caleffi Hydronic Solutions, and Luca Bonacina of Berry.
After the morning conference (we will tell you more about that), the students accepted all the unknowns involved in this experimentation, and we want to thank them because they really put themselves out there.
We realized once again that we need to change the learning method from discipline-based learning to problem-based learning, promoting continuous experimentation: this is the only way to prepare students to enter a job market that will leverage AI to innovate.
We have experimented in multiple directions: from producing marketing content to quality control through images, from managing sophisticated manuals to customizing communication in e-commerce.
In just a few weeks, the working groups were able to produce effective solutions: before strAIght to business, the Ennova Research team built demos, which were, during the two-day event, enhanced through the energy and managerial skills of Ca' Foscari students, the determination to innovate of businesses, supported always by the shared design and innovation method of Upskill 4.0 and Ennova.
We realized that the university must be able to offer these different learning methodologies that are in step with the great changes we are experiencing.
Eurostat data show how Italian companies are lagging behind in adopting artificial intelligence tools. In 2023 in Italy only 4.4 percent of companies with 10-49 employees have implemented at least one artificial intelligence tool (6.4 percent in EU). The percentage stands at 7.3 percent for companies with 50 to 250 employees (13 percent in EU) and 24.1 percent for those with more than 250 employees (30.4 percent in EU). Yet the study "AI 4 Italy," prepared by The European House - Ambrosetti, reveals how the productivity of Sistema-Italia could increase by up to 18 percent through the adoption of generative artificial intelligence. Italy needs generative AI to unlock productivity and counter the adverse effects of an aging population. And it especially needs young people who know how to use these tools.
The prototypesmade during strAIght to business are not just prototypes: this two-day event allowed us to understand, once again, the potential of the synergy between young people, businesses and universities. The really key thing about strAIght to business was the simple working together because it put trust into circulation and triggered collaborative mechanisms. In addition to finally giving a positive (but not sensationalistic) image of AI, strAIght to business allowed us to look to the future with greater awareness.
