Alessio Gugliotta is an experienced strategic consultant with 15+ years in innovation management, market analysis, and business development in the ICT sector. Holds a PhD in computer science and has a strong technical background in ICT applied to multiple industry sectors. Skilled in project management, financing, IPR management, and network creation. Contributed to numerous EU/National funded projects, with a focus on Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 sectors. Since 2023, he is Head of Funded Project Initiatives at EIT Manufacturing South.

Engineer, PhD. With 30+ years of experience in digital transformation and innovation across Europe, the Americas, and MENA. After my PhD, I built my career across public sector consultancy and IT corporations before moving into international R&D and business development. I design strategic RDI programs, build high-value partnerships with governments, industry, and multilateral organisations, and turn complex technologies into impactful opportunities, from European funding frameworks to large-scale digital initiatives in emerging markets. Currently, I lead international digital innovation and R&D at Almaviva SpA.

Massimo Mecella, Professor at Sapienza University of Rome, served as Sapienza’s coordinator for the Digital Factories spoke within MICS, the Extended Partnership on Made in Italy Circular and Sustainable. He coordinates Horizon Europe and national projects and previously served as President of Over Technologies, a Sapienza spin-off resulting from an FP7 project. His research focuses on information systems engineering and AI applications across various sectors.

Gianluca C. Misuraca is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Inspiring Futures Europe and co-founder of Inspiring Futures, a global network which provides research, training and strategic foresight advisory services worldwide, where he acts as Vice President for Technology Diplomacy.

Gianluca is the coordinator of the European Artificial Intelligence Skills Hub Academy (AISHA), as well as the initiator and Scientific Director of the Digital Europe co-funded initiative “AI4Gov Accelerate” (AI-Gov-X), and he is leading the programme design of AI-SECRETT (AI Enabled Creativity for the Triple Transition). He is also the founder and Head of the Scientific Committee of the Master on AI for Public Services (AI4Gov), led by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and Politecnico di Milano.

Gianluca is a member of the Council of Europe Expert Group on AI and Education and the OECD Expert Group on AI Futures. As part of his key recent assignments, he has been leading, on behalf of the European Commission’s Service For Foreign Policy Instruments, the “Digital Partnerships in Action” (DPA) facility to support implementing Digital Partnership Agreements with Japan, Singapore and South Korea, and the “International Outreach for human-centric Artificial Intelligence” (InTouchAI.eu) initiative to promote the EU approach to trustworthy AI at the global level.

Before this, Gianluca was a Senior Scientist at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre from 2009 to 2020, leading future-oriented research in Digital Governance, Social Innovation, and Artificial Intelligence. During his professional career spanning over two decades, Gianluca has advised several international organisations and governments worldwide on digital transformation strategies, including serving the United Nations General Secretariat, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He is an internationally recognised scholar and has authored over 100 publications in the area of digital governance and AI for the public sector, being also a research associate and lecturer at various universities in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Gianluca’s educational background is in economics and business administration, with a specialisation diploma in EU Law and Economics. He holds an Executive Master’s in Electronic Governance and a PhD in Management of Technology from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

A sociologist with a background in social research methodology and techniques, Ivana Russiello has been working at SFC Sistemi Formativi Confindustria since 2007, where she works as a project designer, project manager and researcher on European initiatives focusing on active labour market policies and innovation in education and training systems.

Throughout her career, she has designed and coordinated numerous projects funded by EU programmes (Erasmus+ COVE, Forward-Looking Projects, CERV, EaSI and European Structural Funds) on topics including the upskilling and reskilling of workers and managers, the development of micro-credential systems for green skills, gender equality in the labour market, and innovation in companies’ business models. She also works in EdTech, with a particular focus on developing innovative pedagogies for digital learning (e-learning, virtual and augmented reality for work-based learning) and related learning assessment systems.

Since 2019, she has been an EPALE Ambassador for the Lazio Region. She is the author of publications and a speaker at conferences on skills, micro-credentials and innovation in education and training. She has also gained professional experience at the Ministry of Labour, ANPAL, Sapienza University of Rome and non-governmental organisations working in the fields of social inclusion and employment.

Arianna is Partner at Obloo Ventures, where she manages early stage investments from deal flow till portfolio monitoring. Previously, Arianna contributed to create and grow and served as executive chairwoman of a leading technology transfer international advisory firm, supporting startup companies in business development and fund raising.  

Before entering the tech transfer industry, she served as a researcher in sensors and electronics at the National Research Council, National Institute of Nuclear Physics and Fondazione Bruno Kessler.  

Arianna holds a MSc in Electronic Engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, a PhD in Electronics from the University of Trento, a Fulbright Scholarship in Technology Entrepreneurship from Santa Clara University, CA, USA, and an MBA from MIB Trieste School of Management. 

Sara Toticchi is Head of Corporate Funding at ManpowerGroup Italy, where she leads the team responsible for public funding and European funding opportunities for the Group’s companies, including Manpower, Talent Solutions and Experis. With over 20 years of experience in European, national, and regional public funding, she focuses on identifying, developing, and managing funding opportunities to support training, skills development, innovation, employment, sustainability, and digital transformation.

Throughout her career, she has taken on roles of increasing responsibility, coordinating multidisciplinary teams and contributing to the delivery of complex projects funded through programmes such as Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, the European Social Fund (ESF), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). She has developed extensive expertise in European project design, project management, international networking and building strategic partnerships between businesses, universities, research organisations and public institutions.

With a long-standing commitment to environmental and social sustainability, she promotes an integrated approach that recognises skills as a key enabler of the green and digital transitions. Today, she supports organisations and local communities in accessing financial instruments capable of driving innovation, human capital development and sustainable growth, with the belief that skills represent one of the most strategic investments for addressing the future challenges of work, competitiveness and long-term value creation.

An engineer with over 20 years of experience at Thales Alenia Space Italy. She worked at the Rome Integration and Test Centre for 12 years, where she was responsible for alignment testing on satellites and equipment. Valeria then spent five years at the Italy Platform Competence Centre, where she managed bids and investments. Over the past three years, Valeria has worked on the Space Smart Factory project, initially as part of the bid team for the ASI call for proposals and later as Programme Manager overseeing the project’s implementation.

Silvia Zancarli is a manager with proven experience in the startup, innovation and education ecosystems. She holds a degree in Business Economics with a specialisation in Strategy and Marketing. She spent several years working in communication and media agencies, rising to the role of Strategic Director. She then spent seven years as Course Coordinator of the BA (Hons) in Fashion Marketing and Communication at IED Milano, in partnership with the University of Westminster. A mentor to several tech startups, she has coordinated the MAS in Fashion Innovation at SUPSI (University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland) since 2018. She currently serves as Managing Director of EIT Manufacturing South.

Susanna Zuccarini is a Business Development Specialist at Invitalia, the Italian National Agency for Inward Investment and Economic Development, with expertise in project management, business planning and financial incentives for innovative start-ups. Passionate about innovation, she has over 25 years of experience in the design and management of incentive schemes, during which she has assessed more than 500 projects and developed expertise in development policies and business creation.