LIUC students discovering the University of Greenwich and beyond: from 5 to 10 February a group of Economics and Engineering students had the opportunity to take part in a Winter School full of initiatives and meetings.

Technology and sustainability were among the key themes of the lectures, while the varied programme of meetings was devised thanks to a valuable collaboration with LIUC Alumni, the association of LIUC graduates, which in 2022 opened its first overseas chapter in London.

Thanks to LIUC Alumni, a series of meetings were organised with LIUC graduates working in the UK. LIUC Rector, Federico Visconti, was also present.

“After an Erasmus during my three-year degree course,’ said one of the participating students, Enrico Balzano, enrolled in the Master’s Degree in Economics, Management and Governance, ‘I wanted to have another experience abroad, but this time a shorter one, and the Winter School turned out to be an ideal opportunity. Lectures ranged from blockchain to the use of the Bloomberg database, with laboratory work. But the real added value was in the meetings organised by LIUC Alumni: we heard their stories and investigated the advantages and disadvantages of working in the UK. Not only that, but thanks to them we met other people living and working in London from all over the world. A wonderful opportunity for enrichment’.

‘Today, the role of a university,’ said Gian Davide Orsi, Managing Director of PSP Investments and LIUC Alumni Chapter Leader in London, ‘is also to engage students outside the classroom to provide them with opportunities and experiences that are additional to and different from the purely academic curriculum. It is with this in mind that the London Chapter of LIUC Alumni has made an important contribution to the Winter School by organising meetings with LIUC graduates living in the UK and working in the renewables, AI and private equity sectors’.

Among the meetings was one with Ylenia Marasco, Senior Agile Practitioner at Red Hat, for a focus on software development and Agile methodology. With her was Roberto Castiglioni, CEO & Founder of Ikigai Capital, who shared with the students his thoughts on finance issues related to energy transition.

These valuable collaborations are, according to Alex Alberio, Financial Analyst, Finance Topic Leader and LIUC Alumni Councillor, ‘essential for the life of the association and for the growth of our Alumni community and are also an opportunity to pass on technical skills to students and play a role in providing guidance on new skills’.