The Future of Work #3 — Interview with Massimo from 42 Roma Luiss
By: Lorenzo Molinari
Tags: Education, Future Of Work, Technology, Programming, Edtech

Biography of the speaker

Massimo Angelini studied Economics at La Sapienza University, Rome, and worked several years with a telecommunications company, Wind, covering numerous Director roles, from Customer Operations and Sales to Public and Corporate Relations. He is now the External Affairs, Corporate & Partnership Director at Luiss Guido Carli University and has been directly involved in the development of 42 Roma Luiss.

Question 1: 42 Roma Luiss is the Italian branch of Ecole 42, a well-renowned computer programming academy. Thousands and thousands of students have joined one of the 42 Schools and the results have been so far outstanding! Can you tell us more about how 42 Roma Luiss started off?

MA: It all started with Riccardo Zacconi, a Luiss Guido Carli University alumnus and the founder of the mobile app Candy Crush. Riccardo heard of Ecole 42 during his work as a digital entrepreneur and he started spreading the word around Luiss University; which was recognised as an entrepreneurial hub in Rome due to the presence of the Luiss Investment Club, Luiss Alumni 4 Growth, headed by Emma Marcegaglia, the club president, Luca Maestri, CFO of Apple, Giovanni Lo Storto, General Director of the university, and Riccardo Zacconi. Everyone in the club was very interested in the idea of Ecole 42: a free and teacher-less school which equips students with highly sought-after digital skills. The team decided to visit the school for themselves and long story short: everyone fell in love with Ecole 42. It was then time to move the project to Italy and they, of course, needed funding for it. Luiss University decided to contribute to the development of an Italian branch of Ecole 42, 42 Roma Luiss, using the space of Luiss Enlabs, the university’s start-up accelerator hub, located near Termini Station in Rome, which was already hosting 60+ technology start-ups. Luiss University funded the initial development work of the physical space and by late July we started the digital marketing campaign. We understood very quickly that this was going to work; in the space of 3 months, we have now had 500k+ unique visitors to the website and more than 5k applications. 800 candidates passed the 2 online tests: a quick 5-minute one and a 2-hour more comprehensive challenge divided in different levels. More than 400 candidates visited us to hear what the school is about and 150 enrolled in the first “Piscine” (“swimming pool” in English), which was held on October 19th. Together with the second “Piscine”, which took place on 23rd November, we will find the first 150 students of 42 Roma Luiss.

ZV: This is a really fascinating story; as Riccardo showed, it is very important to have a good network around you! Can you expand a bit more on the “Piscine”? For example, what are the grading criteria for it?

MA: The “Piscine” is a four-week long assessment centre where students get to experience what the school is like. At the end of the two “Piscine”, we will have the first cohort of 42 Roma Luiss. In terms of grading criteria, we were looking for 150 smart students, who were keen on technology and would like to take their passion a step forward. It is worth mentioning that 80% of the students that join Ecole 42 do not come from a technology background, so the school really is open to anyone. Secondly, the students had to excel in both individual and team-based challenges challenges. We put a lot of emphasis on their ability to work in teams as peer-to-peer learning is the core concept behind the 42 Roma Luiss education model.

ZV: Teamwork is indeed a fundamental skill nowadays — very much needed in most jobs! Continuing our conversation about Ecole 42 schools, we know that there are 30+ Ecole 42 schools all over the world. Are there any differences amongst them?

MA: The educational model is the same across all the schools. The logo has in fact recently changed to elucidate the fact that each school follows the original Parisian model. A key differentiator across schools from different countries lies within the economic model. There are three main fundraising methods for Ecole 42 schools:

The government finances the school directly, so there is a state intervention; A single company finances the school, as it happened in Spain where Telefónica, a Spanish multinational telecommunications company, has chosen to house all 42 schools in their buildings, attributing its name and providing full financing; Multiple companies finance the school in a simple fundraising model, whereby each player owns a stake in the company. This is the structure we are adopting at 42 Roma Luiss; the university set the foundation for the project and we are now looking for partners that can contribute with different ticket sizes. Partners have the possibility to recruit talent from the Ecole 42 and host open days in return of their financial contribution. This is also a platform that gives a lot of visibility to whoever takes part, given the tight connections that the school has with the Silicon Valley technology start-up scene.

It is worth adding that 100% of the students that finish the course end up with a job; that is a 100% employability rate, which really speaks for itself.

The first batch of students at 42 Roma Luiss

Question 2: We are witnessing the rise of many tech academies similar to 42 Roma Luiss, such as LeWagon, Strive School or Boolean Careers. What do you think about the growth of these academies — is this a predictable or unexpected trend? Is it expected to grow?

MA: I believe that if we are working on the space of digital reskilling/upskilling, we really need to keep an open mind. Any other reality that comes into the picture with the purpose of training the workforce in the digital sphere is very welcome. The development of digital skills is a core topic that should really be at the heart of every industry now. Most European countries, including Italy, will have to undergo a digital transformation in their workforce if they want to keep up with a two-pronged job demand: a digital upskilling and reskilling. Equipping the incoming working generations with the right tools and knowledge is not enough; we also have to reskill the current working generations to avoid future redundancies due to a lack of adequate knowledge and expertise. In Paris, Ecole 42 is already working on this: you can find both 20 and 45–50 year olds, who work together to tackle digital challenges.

ZV: In our role as VC investors, we often deal with start-ups that are focussed on the reskilling sector, so it is very interesting that you bring this up. You mentioned that Parisian Ecole 42 schools are already accept applications from people who are currently in the workforce and want to retrain; how will this happen in Italy?

MA: Our current focus is to kick off 42 Roma Luiss along with many other 42 schools all over Italy, Florence and Milan. We aim to create a network of 42 schools that can supplement the government effort to digitally upskill and reskill. To tackle the digital demand of the upcoming years, we will have to work in three main areas:

Training of senior management teams in the digital space so that, combining their managerial skills with digital-savviness, they can continue to push their company/country forward; Development of upskilling and reskilling opportunities for the wider public; Growth of the EdTech sector starting from primary schools, which should incorporate digital knowledge into their early years curricula, leveraging the power of gamification.

If we can combine these three aspects seamlessly, we will reach our workforce’s full potential.

Question 3: What career paths do 42 school graduates usually follow? Are these paths on trend with the technology disruption we are seeing right now in the workplace?

MA: Whoever attends a 42 school has the opportunity to specialise in an area of interest in the second half of the program, such as cybersecurity or mobile app development. Two-thirds of students end up working in the tech space; more than ten percent become entrepreneurs, which shows that the program is not only about technology — students who come out of a 42 school have a breadth of skills that can be applied to many more sectors and which contributes to their development as well-rounded individuals. As you mentioned, the current workplace is undergoing disruption on multiple levels that goes beyond technology. We are experiencing a rupture of the old-fashioned firm-wide hierarchical structure which opens the doors to leaner and faster business processes. Companies are also starting to realise that diverse teams are the key to success, pushing for diversity in thinking and expertise. At Luiss University we are now incorporating more Humanities degrees because we strongly believe in the power of diversity. It is therefore of utmost importance that the future generations are well-equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to work in a new work environment and 42 schools help you do that.

ZV: I definitely agree. We need diverse and practical approaches to solve current global challenges and it is fantastic to hear that 42 Roma Luiss is offering more than just a tech programme.

Question 4: Finally, we would like to talk about diversity in the tech sector. We see a disproportionate balance between women and men in the field, and in particular in the coding space. Given also the discrepancy between demand and supply in the technology job sector, what actions do you think can be taken to involve more women in this sector?

MA: This is a very interesting and important question. Achieving a gender-balanced cohort of students is really at the heart of our strategy. We strongly believe that the digital space is not just for men; we need diversity of thinking, expertise and knowledge. 15% of the current applicants identify as female, which is roughly on average with other 42 schools. It is imperative that we create a different narrative for the digital upskilling/reskilling, otherwise we will end up in the same situation as 30 or 40 years ago, where the equation “coding = men” dominated the discourse. Technology is everywhere right now, even in sectors where there are traditionally more women, such as design or fashion. We have to eliminate the barrier that was created in the past and to do this we need good role models. We have recently reached out to the Italian Minister of Technological Innovation Paola Pisano to help us draft a call to action to involve more women in technology — we hope to see more and more women applying to our program!

ZV: It is very nice to hear that you are inviting female role models into the conversation; definitely a useful way to raise awareness of the importance of technology within the younger generations. Thank you so much for your work in this!

Key takeaways

Grow and maintain your professional network — it can lead to incredible projects such as 42 Roma Luiss. To allow for a country-wide digital transformation we need to train senior management, upskill/reskill and disseminate digital knowledge in early years. We all need to put more emphasis on achieving a gender-balanced digital workforce — leveraging on role models can be powerful.

Closing statement

We thank Massimo Angelini for taking the time to speak with us; if you want to read more about 42 Roma Luiss, visit their website. Feel free to read our other interviews to founders reimagining The Future of Work on Medium: