An Ethical Project and a Winning I-DEA
An ethical restaurant, choosing its location, which products to serve to clients, the personnel, and how company profits will be used. This is the project presented by the Bocconi delegation who placed second in the "I-DEA dell'impresa" contest, promoted by the Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Company Managers (AIDDA) and targeted at students from Bachelor and Master programs from all departments at major Italian universities.
"The contest," says Paolo Fontana, a student in the Master of Science in Economics and Management of Public Administration and International Institutions, "required us to propose an innovative idea to be developed in an existing company or to build a new company, which is what we did. The important thing was that it was an original idea." And the idea that Paolo and his classmates came up with was certainly original. The team included Desiree Ciampa, a Public Administration MSc student as well, Lucio Santacrose (Management) and Luigi Guerra (Accounting, Financial Management and Control). "Our ethical restaurant is based on three key elements," explains Paolo, "people-products-environment. More specifically, it's about employing young people who are in difficult situations, such as ex-convicts or former drug addicts, use products from organic farming or fair-trade, or taken from land confiscated by the mafia. Even the location of the restaurant should have a low environmental impact." But the project doesn't end here. Even profits earned, in fact, will be used well, since Paolo and his classmates have decided to "create a non-profit organization that works with disadvantaged youths to earmark proceeds."
The work was very detailed, with lots of strategic planning, and it was recognized on 31 January at the Università La Sapienza in Rome, with the Rector Luigi Frati and President of AIDDA Laura Frati Gucci attending. "Part of the award for second place is a cash prize of 4,500 euros, and part is a three-month internship to be completed at a company selected based on our curriculum," says Paolo.
The project therefore should be placed in the area of social enterprise, which at Bocconi is examined by Francesco Perrini and Giorgio Fiorentini. The faculty members continue to be successful in terms of participation in several important competitions, such as the Harvard Business Plan Competition and Make a Change.
"I hope that the opportunity to develop activities which deal with social aspects will continue to increase," says Paolo. "And competitions like this one allow students with various educational backgrounds to work together towards the same objective."