The initiative, now in its 11th edition, involved 21 companies - Accenture, Alnylam, Brembo, Bureau Veritas, Covivio, Credem, Edison, EY, FedEx Express, Feralpi Group, Gedeon Richter Italia, GFT Technologies, Industree, Intesa Sanpaolo, Leyton, Linde Gas, Randstad, Sacco System, Sanofi, Sky, STMicroelectronics - and 17 secondary schools - Aslam, Civico Polo Manzoni, Enaip, IIS Bertarelli Ferraris, IIS Galilei-Luxemburg, IIS Lagrange, IIS Russell, IIS Leonardo Da Vinci (Cologno Monzese), Liceo Cavalleri (Parabiago), Liceo Fermi (Salò), ITC Morante (Limbiate), ITCS Primo Levi (Bollate), ITI Hensemberger (Monza), Liceo Galileo Galilei (Caravaggio, BG), IIS Cremona (Pavia ), IIS Fiocchi (Lecco), Liceo Aldo Moro (Reggio Emilia).

Companies and schools worked together to raise awareness among young people about the value of training in technical-scientific subjects and how a solid STEM education can make the difference in finding a job and growing professionally, considering that in Italy the gender gap is very pronounced when it comes to technical-scientific professions.

The training, mentoring and project work programme was developed with managers from different sectors who supported more than 450 girls and boys between the ages of 16 and 19 years old by bringing them closer to the world of work. 

At the end of the project, each class had to create a video showing what they had learnt from the confrontation with the companies. The videos were judged by a panel of experts and shown during the final event, with live feedback from students and companies on the importance of the project's objectives and the work done together. The three best were rewarded with a voucher for the purchase of useful materials for the school and a subscription to Prisma Magazine, which specialises in mathematical games.

The first prize went to the Bertarelli Ferraris Institute of Milan, which worked in partnership with Edison. In the video, the importance of being assessed for one's skills and not for one's gender is emphasised. Thanks to a series of black and white images and effective phrases, they managed to convey very well the concept of equality and the idea that diversity, in this case of gender, ‘enriches the world and creates a fair future’.

Speakers at the event included Anna Scavuzzo, Deputy Mayor of Milan, Amalia Ercoli Finzi, Aerospace Engineer at the Milan Polytechnic, Marzia Scuderi, Head of Development and Management of ‘Care Projects’ at Fondazione Libellula and Alessandro Beda, Managing Director of Fondazione Sodalitas.

First place (Partnership Edison – IIS Bertarelli Ferraris of Milan): https://youtu.be/DOEBA0pqLbk

Second place (Partnership Credem – Liceo Aldo Moro of Reggio Emilia): https://youtu.be/NQJIWghUewM

Third place (Partnership Sky – IIS Bertrand Russell of Milan): https://youtu.be/ARo2eBCInSQ