The first stage of the Mondadori Academy Forum Orienta is underway. Between crowded stands and a cybersecurity hackathon, students discovered the professions of the future and put Gianluca Gazzoli under pressure with their questions.
The first thing you noticed, arriving at the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa in Palermo, were the lines of students entering the former Officine Ducrot complex, the furniture factory that furnished the Grand Hotel Villa Igiea and Montecitorio in the first decades of the twentieth century and which today, on approximately 55,000 square metres, hosts spaces for culture.
On October 28th the Mondadori Academy Forum Orientathe orientation project by Mondadori Media created with Evidence Network, Evidence Network Scuola and UniversityBox. On the first day the kids crowded the stands of universities and companies, investigated a cyber attack, interviewed (or rather, questioned?) a podcaster, asked Palermo Calcio’s marketing team how to work in football without going on the pitch and discussed with the Municipality, universities and businesses whether it makes sense to stay in the city and whether Palermo can offer more.
Do you care about Palermo? The theme of staying in the capital of Sicily was the starting point of the event. At the inauguration Emiliano NovelliCEO of UniversityBoxpresented the data collected among students: 72% of them like Palermo and 75% would recommend it to those who have to choose where to enroll. But 59% imagine their future elsewhere, 44% in the North and 30% abroad.
The morning had begun with Marco Camisani Calzolaridigital disseminator and face of The news spreadsand with a question to the audience: who defends the internet? To answer he started from the basic distinction, that between “black” hackers and “white” hackers. The former use their skills to enter where they shouldn’t: a stranger’s phone, a bank account, a hospital’s systems. The latter know the same tricks, but use them to defend. They look for flaws before others, simulate attacks to discover weak points, reconstruct what happened when an intrusion is successful.
With examples taken from the news and simple words, Camisani showed how this work is now everywhere, and how much people are lacking to do it: companies and institutions are looking for IT security experts more than they can train. Then he addressed an explicit invitation to the children to consider this path. You don’t need to already be a computer genius, and you can also arrive from paths far from IT, even from classical high school. What matters are curiosity, the desire to understand how things work and the desire to be on the right side.
An invitation put to the test immediately: in Spazio ZAC the cybersecurity hackathon organized with Deas put teams of students in the role of forensic analysts, dealing with an investigation based on a real case.
Gianluca Gazzoli passed through Palermo. The most awaited meeting was the one with Gianluca Gazzolivoice of Radio Deejay and creator of the podcast Pass by BSMTwho told how he built a job that, when he started, didn’t have a name. Then the roles were reversed and the kids asked the questions, about choices, failures and obstinacy.
The result is a passionate and exciting story. Gazzoli started from the beginning: the evenings in the tourist villages, the local radio stations, the first videos shot when no one knew exactly what they were for. He did not hide the mistakes, nor the years in which the doors remained closed. The BSMT itself was born from an idea that others had not wanted, and has grown by dint of perseverance. The lesson he gave to the kids was above all one: don’t give up. And knowing how to do even the most uncomfortable things, the ones that no one wants to do but which are needed to get where you want. Much of what he knows, he said, he also learned from his guests: sports champions, artists, entrepreneurs, scientists who went through failure and rejection before success.
The morning on the big stage ended with “The professions behind your passions”, moderated by Sarah Pozzolidirector of Evidence Network Junior. Gaetano Lombardochief marketing officer of Palermo Calcio, the music producer Roberto Cammarata And Ivan Scinardo from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia explained the jobs behind a match, a concert, a film: jobs that cannot be seen from the stands or the stalls and that no one talks about at school.
Meanwhile, in the smaller rooms, the program continued in parallel. The University of Palermo, the Kore of Enna, the LUMSA and the Plena group universities and academies presented their offer. CISIA explained how to deal with the entrance tests: it did a simulation of the entrance test and explained what the post-offer training courses are, while CESIE talked about Erasmus+ and jobs related to sustainability.
“Sicily that innovates” curated by Magnisi Studio and hosted by the actor and presenter Cristiano Pasca, brought to the stage stories of businesses born on the island.
Maria Chiara Valdemone talked about Lalaina, the company that produces prawn colatura. Toti Di Dio, professor of Design at the University of Palermo, presented PUSH, a design laboratory for social innovation, and MUV, the platform that uses games to change the way we move around the city. With them Giorgia Duro, marketing manager of Magnisi Studio.
“From TikTok to retail, Mondadori professions you wouldn’t imagine” showed the lesser-known professions of a large publishing company. Giorgia Mognagawhich deals with personnel selection in the Mondadori group, ed Elena Isacchiniresponsible for people development, explained which profiles a publisher is looking for today: they range from social media to shops, and many are far from those you imagine.
The Forum continues on October 29th with artificial intelligence, computer investigations and a discussion on Sicilian companies. The next steps are Lecce (10-11 November) and Taranto (1-2 December).
The Palermo stage has the patronage of the Municipality of Palermo, the Metropolitan City of Palermo and Sicindustria.
The main partners are Banca Ifis and Deas Cyber+, the institutional partners are the Ministry for Sport and Youth and Invitalia.
The Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, CESIE, CISIA, Magnisi, Mentors4U, Studenti.it and Webboh collaborate.
