The alphabet of the future, the fifth stage of the tour organized by Gedi News Network, was hosted yesterday in Udine, in the lecture hall of what is one of the youngest universities in the country, born just 43 years ago, in the aftermath of the disastrous Friuli earthquake thanks to a very strong popular push. And what better venue, a young and dynamic university, which makes innovation its mantra, to talk about digital evolution? This is the theme of the works that saw the participation of the director of “La Stampa” Massimo Giannini, of “Il Secolo XIX” Luca Ubaldeschi, of the “Messaggero Veneto” and of “Il Piccolo” Omar Monestier, of the co-director of the “Messaggero Veneto” Paolo Mosanghini and numerous representatives of institutions and entrepreneurs in the region. Connected from her office in Rome, University and Research Minister Maria Cristina Messa, interviewed by Giannini.
Ubaldeschi, in his opening speech, explained the philosophy that pushes an important publishing group like Gedi to deepen these issues. «Let’s go back to Udine after three years – said the director of“ Il Secolo XIX ”and editorial manager of the tour -. So, in 2018, we were at the beginning of our project to tell the Italy that looks to the future. A very fast future: just think that every 30 seconds 268 people in the world become Internet users, today 4.8 billion human beings are Internet users, about 50 million in Italy. D.we must learn to govern the digital evolution “. The rector of the Friulian university focused on the capabilities and potential of innovation. «Change – observed Roberto Pinton – should be anticipated and promoted, not just riding it. Udine is a very young university, but from the beginning it has focused on innovation, just think of the institution, in 1979, of Information Sciences. Investing in research and in emerging sectors has given us the opportunity to be ready for the appointment with the world of economy, industry, production, with which we collaborate profitably ».
In a Friuli with a “manufacturing valley” mold, the biggest obstacle to the spread of digital is the resistance that is still encountered in small and medium-sized enterprises. A criticality that goes hand in hand with the difficulty in finding people with the most suitable skills for insertion into the company. For this reason, reducing the distance between university and business and implementing actions capable of increasing the culture of change become crucial activities to make the regional productive fabric make a real leap in quality. The topic was dealt with during the dialogue that the director Monestier had with Fabiano Benedetti, president and CEO of beanTech, Gianluca Foresti, director of the Department of Mathematical, Computer and Physical Sciences of the University of Udine, Sergio Barel, CEO of Brovedani Group . “We are a region that invests heavily in digital technology: the situation is good but more can be done – was Benedetti’s impression -. In a territory like ours, with a manufacturing vocation, digitization is at the service of this sector. If in larger companies, awareness of transformation is already a reality, in smaller ones it is more complicated, and projects often fail due to the inability to absorb those technologies capable of creating value. You need a culture to bring them into your business ».
To lend a hand, the Friulian university has invented the Uniud Lab Village, “through which – remarks Foresti – we want to bring companies into the university, sharing experiences and needs”. In Fvg, when it comes to digital, one cannot ignore the Ditedi cluster and Insiel. The first is a mixed public-private cluster, the second is a regional company. “Our goal – explained Francesco Contin, Ditedi project manager – is to provide services to ICT companies to make them grow in a homogeneous way”.
«Our added value – concluded Alessandra Benvenuti, head of Insiel Digital Academy – is being able to provide services and infrastructures at the same time, managing the entire digital supply chain“ at home ”».
Finally, the co-director of the “Messaggero Veneto” Mosanghini talked with Francesca Nieddu, Veneto East and Friuli Venezia Giulia regional director of Intesa SanPaolo.