The Leonardo Committee gives awards for the best theses on outstanding Made in Italy achievements

Rome, 6 May 2013 –  The 16th Graduate Awards initiative, promoted by the Leonardo Committee and aimed at young people, will take place once again this year.

Every year, thanks to support from its associates, the Committee gives awards to recent graduates and final-year students who have written theses on subjects regarding the success of Made in Italy in the sectors of fashion, nautical design, renewable energy, mechanical engineering and enhancement of cultural heritage, which have always distinguished Italy and made her competitive around the world.

The Leonardo Committee, which is chaired by the entrepreneur Luisa Todini, was established in 1993 on the common initiative of Senator Sergio Pininfarina and Senator Gianni Agnelli, Confindustria, the Italian Trade Promotion Agency (ICE) and a group of entrepreneurs, in order to promote Italy’s economy via various initiatives with a view to highlighting the talents of entrepreneurship, artistic creativity, refinement and culture that are reflected in the country’s products and lifestyle.

“The Leonardo Committee has been supporting and giving awards to young graduates for many years. Since 1997, the writers of over 100 brilliant papers have received an award from our associated companies,” Luisa Todini said. “This bears out our commitment to give space to young people, by supporting the most deserving theses that deal with the best of Italy today in various sectors. In a particularly difficult period like the one we’re going through, training, research and the promotion of talent constitute the real key to development in our country.”

All the competitions include a prize of €3,000, except for the one promoted by Bonfiglioli SpA, a leading Italian mechanical engineering company, which has decided to offer the winner a six-month paid internship at Bonfiglioli Mechatronic Research, their research centre in Rovereto.

If you wish to take part in one or more of the competitions, please send an enrolment form, together with your thesis in electronic format and a brief summary of its content, to the General Secretariat of the Leonardo Committee (Via Liszt 21, 00144 Rome – segreteria@comitatoleonardo.it) before and no later than 31 October 2013.

Nine competitions have been announced for 2013, which break down into various sectors:

Mechanical Engineering and Automation

– The Bonfiglioli Group Clementino Bonfiglioli Prize: Development of mechatronic solutions for power transmission in industrial applications;

Fashion

– Florence Italian Fashion Centre Alfredo Canessa Prize: Fashion and Made in Italy;

– Corneliani SpA Prize: As in the Renaissance period, today we have two great revolutions: 1) technological: yesterday the invention of printing, today the internet; 2) psychological: yesterday humanism, today the idea of global awareness, sustainability and a better world. What stance should we take in the face of this revival, which actions should companies undertake and which marketing and communication tools can they take advantage of to prosper and compete in a global market characterised by emerging economies and globalisation that is shifting from American unipolarism to multipolarism?;

Handcrafts – Jewellery

– Il Tarì Goldsmiths’ Centre Prize: Il Tarì: craft tradition and new competitive models for Italian jewellery;

Enhancement of cultural heritage

– Bracco Foundation Linda Cena Prize: New public-private collaboration models for the enhancement of cultural heritage;

Internationalisation and competitiveness

– Manlio Masi Foundation Prize: The internationalisation and competitiveness of Made in Italy in the new global economic scenario;

– Simest SpA Prize: Italian companies and international markets. Funding the Italian economy to develop competitiveness;

Renewable energy

– Two G.S.E. (Gestore Servizi Energetici) Prizes: Scientific and technological development of renewable energy sources in Italy;

Boating

– Two Perini Navi Prizes: The first competition, entitled: Preliminary design for a slow cruising boat, over 40 metres long, with zero-emission electric power systems and and innovative ergonomic solutions for onboard comfort. The second competition, entitled: Nautical tourism: analysis and comparison of the situations in Italy and France.

The winners will be awarded their prizes at the Quirinal Palace, during the Leonardo Prizes award ceremony in the presence of the President of the Republic.

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For further information please contact:

Leonardo Committee Press Office

Close to Media – Milan

Giulia Ferrario, Francesca Pollio

Tel.: 02 70006237

Email: giulia.ferrario@closetomedia.it; francesca.pollio@closetomedia.it