We are firmly convinced that as a business school, our role is also to teach tomorrow’s leaders that there is no contradiction between the pursuit of profit and our genuine commitment to building a better society for all. It is around this idea, then, that we have designed Shaping Purposeful Futures, the call4ideas which, on Saturday, 1st April, featured over 100 students and a panel of exceptional speakers.
Led by the moderator, Diletta Di Marco, Eleonora Gargiulo of Ashoka Italia, Anna Simoni, creator of Fondazione Vodafone’s LV8, Chiara Brughera of SheTech, Antonio Piscopo of Teach for Italy, Matteo Scalbrino of Bankers without Boundaries, and Kelly Russell Catella of Coima, each took their turn on stage to tell our students how they strive every day to build a better society.
Inspired by their speeches, the participants then challenged each other throughout the day to generate ideas that could become concrete, scalable projects which can make a positive impact on the community.
“I was glad to take part in the ‘Shaping Purposeful Futures’ event held by POLIMI GSoM, because I had the unique opportunity to get to hear about the amazing and innovative ideas of those who are driving change and shaping our future.
I think that creating an event with such a bold objective has been a successful challenge for POLIMI GSoM and is in line with its very core and founding values, and with its purpose to train future generations to be conscious and responsible leaders”, said Giovanni Mauri, one of the participants, a student of the International Master in Marketing Management, Omnichannel and Consumer Analytics.
Divided into groups, the students worked on three topics ̶ just practice it, with a focus on useful non-profit activities and services, make an impact, on service to the most vulnerable communities or individuals in need of professional support, and create the future, to contribute to the continuing innovation of the school.
“We firmly believe that by investing in the skills and sensibilities of future managers and entrepreneurs, we can be real agents of change”, said the Dean, Federico Frattini. “It is up to us to teach tomorrow’s leaders that the pursuit of profit is not in contradiction with our genuine commitment to building a better society for all. We believe that our community can be a driving force of change beyond the confines of our business school, with projects that are scalable, tangible, and that can make a positive impact for everyone. Through moments like Shaping Purposeful Futures, we stimulate students’ creativity and invite them to transform the skills they have acquired in the classroom into value for the community.”
Many ideas originated on this day – from the app to facilitate connections among the students at the School, to the platform to help international students enter the Italian job market thanks to the support of the alumni community; from collaboration with non-profits to put their skills into play in these contexts, to training for the most vulnerable communities; but only one of the projects clinched the victory.
Congratulations to Virginia Marone, Francesca Ramella and Kahmille Ayleen Ortiz Escalona of the Mexico City group, who won the call4ideas with the “Knowledge is Power” project.
The project looks at the percentage of students who abandon their studies after leaving school, and aims to help them develop skills useful for their professional integration through dedicated workshops, involving POLIMI GSoM’s students and partner companies.
For the winning group there is a dinner at the “InGalera” restaurant in Bollate prison (Province of Milan), which is open to the public and run by inmates.
This award demonstrates once again how each of us can create a positive impact in different ways.