We Need “Heroes”

Towards RomeCup 2023 with Scientific Director Alfonso Molina

“Advancing Technology for Humanity – Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence. The Crucial Challenges for a Better World” is the title we have chosen for RomeCup 2023. We conceived it for young people, for those who are studying today and wondering how to plan their future, but also for those who cannot see a serious career perspective after choosing a path. There will be an extensive showcase area at the Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, with which we are collaborating, where participants  can learn more about the innovative prototypes designed by schools, companies, start-ups, universities and research centres. One of the “allies” of RomeCup 2023 is academia to provide “live orientation” for upper secondary school students through a constant dialogue extending  beyond the narrow limits of a few meetings throughout the school year. This is why we will create contests with universities for the prototyping of robots and the development of software interfaces, as well as university-oriented talks. University experts will address robotics linked to cybersecurity, marine sciences and medicine, engineering and related professions, and digital humanities.

We need “heroes” to stimulate a generation that often feels distant from the challenges of the present and the future. This year, our heroes, our role models, will be the young people engaged in research projects on robotics and artificial intelligence in research centres, agencies, and universities, who will receive reward at the end of the three-day event, in the Rome Campidoglio, following a scrupulous selection. And this to respond to a real need: according to Unioncamere-Anpal, between 2023 and 2027, 34.3% of personnel requests will concern university or professional levels and the numbers will be insufficient to cover the needs of the economic system for about 9,000 units a year, especially in the medical-health, economic-statistics, and STEM disciplines.

This is the model in which we believe and that we will promote this year, too. There still are available spaces for anyone who wishes to participate: www.romecup.org

Alfonso Molina, Scientific Director, Fondazione Mondo Digitale, Personal Chair in Technology Strategy at the University of Edinburgh.