Every year, Bari Polytechnic, PoliBa, selects a maximum of forty STEM students to participate in a training course, called Path to Excellence that is focused on Digital Transformation, especially in sectors such as manufacturing and IT, that more than other need to rely on innovations to improve processes and drive sustainability.
The objective of this training course is to facilitate students’ professional choices, giving them the chance to gain first-hand knowledge and experience that can be immediately put to use in businesses today.
Business importance of developing top quality talent
Fincons Group firmly believes in the importance of training recent or almost graduates, and this is why, in addition to the Fincons Academy training project, Fincons Group collaborates with the Polytechnic University of Bari, among others, to bridge the gap between education and occupation.
Training courses aimed at STEM Master students, such as PoliBa’s Path to Excellence, are paramount not only for students, that can learn directly from companies and gain precious experience from traineeships, but also for companies themselves, that, especially in the IT sector, need to stay ahead of technological innovation. Through these courses, companies can interact directly with students, sharing with them recent sector innovations and trends, and even finding future employees through the related internship program.
Where business meets Academia
In the 2021/2022 edition, PoliBa is collaborating with a range of companies in addition to Fincons Group which sits on the admissions board.
Fincons Group has a long history of investment in youth training and development in the IT sector through the work of its Academies. For the winter edition 2021/2022 of In the Path to Excellence we are providing for four lessons, held respectively on February 25th, February 28th, March 1st F March 2nd, that will cover different aspects of Industry 4.0. Each lesson will cover a Proof of Concept (POC), inspirationally realized during last year’s edition, presented by one of Fincons’ manager, together with former students that have completed their path into the world of work are now Fincons’ employees.
Theory meets practice: topics and technologies for Industry 4.0
The first lesson, held by Nicola Lunanova and Mariagrazia Cirulli, covers Predictive Quality and how Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can improve product quality.
Giuseppe Urbano and Simona De Tullio are the lecturers for the second lesson, that focuses on Shop Floor Optimization, and specifically on line feeding optimization through the implementation of mathematical models, i.e. customised optimization algorithms.
The third lesson is covers Workforce Training & Remote Assistance, looking at how Augmented Reality can be applied to manufacturing process optimization and will be held by Giuseppe Urbano, Alessandro Laricchia and Michelantonio Trizio, CTO of Wideverse and Fincons partner.
For the fourth and last lesson, Nicola Lunanova and Cinzia Calianno will talk about IoT Satellite technologies and new business models, touching current topics such as space economy and how IoT is relevant to every aspect of our lives.
All lessons are based on real-life applications of technology and have, as at least partial subject matter, part the achievement of last year’s talented students.
The first step towards future employment
The final phase of this training course can either be an internship or an internship combined with a dissertation, to be completed at one of the involved companies. In previous years, Fincons was delighted to support students who intended to work on their dissertation while they were completing their internship, and all of them ended up being hired by the company after graduating.
We also the plan is to involve students in the realization of a POC in close collaboration with clients or prospective clients in this edition too.
Bridging the gap between universities and companies
In a time of rapid and continuous transformation, especially in the world of technology, staying up to date with current trends and innovations is no longer enough: the key is to stay ahead of the curve. Students and recent graduates are provided with tailored lessons and expert guidance to improve their knowledge of their field of choice, helping them form a work-oriented mindset that will set them apart from other candidates.
This is why we believe that companies should invest not only in ongoing training and development for their employees, but also in projects aimed at students and recent graduates about to enter the workforce, such as the Polytechnic University of Bari’s Path to Excellence.