This collaboration between NanoValbruna and impactmania, which was born during the inaugural edition of the Festival, clearly demonstrates some of the silver linings of the event, which "allowed to establish not only working relationships, but also bonds of friendship" according to Martina Chirico.
From awards and grants, to lifelong relationships, and landing dream jobs, the following report encapsulates the meaningful impact impactmania internships have had on University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) students, faculty, staff, and collaborators.
As a matter of fact, we developed a relevant awareness of the world, which is now — more than ever — required to understand contemporary issues and their dynamics. And it was precisely this aspect which thrilled our editorial staff of teenagers from Friuli Venezia Giulia, forced to stay at home due to the pandemic, but focused on diverse nations, using technology to interview the ones we would had never imagined reaching.
Who is behind some of the work you see? impactmania realized an interview for Lamborghini's media outlets, including video interview, social media, and print magazine. The Lamborghini team and impactmania traveled to CERN in Geneva (2021).
Because that was terrible...that was one of my worst…that company left a crater so deep it has its own Iridium layer! I was on the cover of Wired and 90 days later, I was going out of business.
What I've learned over time is that it's not the only successful model. But that was the model we tended to both invest in in the Valley, and then recruit for, and say implicitly, do you have what it takes?
But in reality, problems like climate are inherently complex, made by multiple players. And if you dig deep enough, you actually could find that maybe this one piece or these several pieces could be the linchpins of making major changes, rather than trying to raise tens of billions of dollars just doing X or Y.