On 6 and 7 March 2023 the Conference of Scientific and Space Employees will take place in Padua . Two days dedicated to scientific diplomacy at the service of Italy’s growth, also invited by the National Aerospace Technology Cluster.
Scientific diplomacy at the service of Italy’s growth: this is the title of the 2023 conference of scientific and space workers organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation which took place on 06 and 07 March in Padua. If scientific diplomacy is understood as a fundamental tool for Italy’s growth, it is equally essential to underline how scientific and space workers are the key figures for the functionality and competitiveness of our country, as enthusiasts of knowledge, disseminators of national knowledge and pride; everything starts from here.
Objective of the initiative: to promote the growing role of the scientific and technological research sector by enhancing the government’s commitment to promoting Italian innovation in the world also in support of our businesses. On this occasion, prestigious guests spoke and addressed various issues, all aimed at strengthening the country system through shared participation between institutions, businesses and universities.
The main players in the scientific sector are animated by the desire to participate in the innovation process to ensure that Italy’s growth is exponential and supported by the best contributions coming from men and women driven by scientific interests and high quality skills. This is the inspiring principle also underlined by the dedicated round table entitled “Science and innovation: it is not a gender issue” in which, among others, Prof. Amalia Ercoli Finzi, aerospace engineer and prominent personality at international level, also spoke. world leader in the field of space sciences and technologies.
In addition to the institutional moment with the intervention of the Director General for the Promotion of the Country System, Lorenzo Angeloni, of the Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, of the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, the Magnificent Rector of the University of Padua, Daniela Mapelli, and the astronaut Luca Parmitano, who spoke remotely, the part of the conference dedicated to the awarding of the “Science, She Says” prize to five researchers under 40 to whom This was followed by the presentation of the “Farnesina Award” and the “Innovation that speaks Italian” award.
The afternoon session was characterized by the round table “Space, the new frontier of internationalisation”, moderated by the journalist Giovanni Caprara.
Scientific and space workers from different realities discussed and compared their respective areas of expertise, reporting opinions and experiences.
Cristina Leone, President of the National Aerospace Technology Cluster, also participated at the table, underlining how the Space Economy, combined with digital transformation is probably one of the most interesting examples of the fourth industrial revolution. “The services driver has not only determined a transition from a purely technology-push industry to a market-driven sector, but has enabled the construction of new business models and plans that favor public-private investments for the construction of infrastructures enabling and to generate impacts on the entire value chain.” said the President. To this end, it summarized the technological excellences of the various territories, as described in the three-year action plan and highlighted how the space sector, thanks also to the huge investments of the PNRR, could be a useful tool for attracting skills and talents to Italy.
The program of the second day is also dense and full of interventions, focused on research understood as a driver of the competitiveness of the country system and on the response of Italian innovation to new global challenges.
And here are the conclusions: the number of space scientific workers has increased and the connection between universities and businesses is increasingly fundamental.
New collaborations must be accompanied by solid foundations because interesting projects and brilliant prospects await our country.In this path, scientific and space workers have the task of representing the best of Italy abroad, establishing contacts and profitable relationships to achieve objectives. Finally, we learn from Minister Anna Maria Bernini that Italy’s candidacy to host the Einstein Telescope will soon be officially announced, the instrument capable of listening to gravitational waves with precision never achieved before, a window onto the universe which could find an excellent location in Sardinia.
The key word, as always, is to invest in research because it is an investment that brings value.
