The Master's course that unites university and business: Piedmontese excellence becomes a school of the future

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - To build a real bridge between academic knowledge and business know-how. This is the objective of the new Level I university Master's degree in Innovation and Management for SMEs, promoted by the Department of Management of the University of Turin together with the Saa - School of Management and the Exclusive Brands Torino network. A network of excellence that becomes a school: Exclusive Brands Torino is in fact a unique reality on the Italia scene. Founded in 2011 under the aegis of the Unione Industriali Torino, it brings together 31 companies and eight official suppliers, very different realities in terms of size and sector but united by a common denominator: excellence of product, entrepreneurial history, ties with the territory and a strong international vocation. From textiles to food, from technology to design, from jewellery to advanced manufacturing, the network tells of an industrial Piedmont that is often little known but capable of competing in the world. "Piedmontese people know how to do things very well," says Giulio Trombetta, president of Ebt and president and CEO of Costadoro. And the Master was created to give voice and a future to an entrepreneurial heritage that risks remaining invisible to young talent.

The new training course is not just about theory on sustainability, innovation and digital transformation. Alongside university lectures, students will go into companies, dialogue with entrepreneurs and managers, take part in round tables and project work. An experience built on seven thematic modules dedicated to the real challenges of SMEs. "There is no academic approach," explains Trombetta, "but a practical and experiential approach, because the world of work requires not only notional skills, the so-called hard skills, but also and above all soft skills. There is a set of skills that you cannot learn from books, but you can learn from those who have experience in the field. So, I think it is really a great opportunity to teach the multifacetedness of the entrepreneur'. The idea is therefore simple but ambitious: to train complete professionals, capable of combining technical skills and soft skills. "You need people management skills, diplomacy, vision. These are things that you also learn from confronting those who run a company every day,' reiterates the president of Ebt.

Underlying the project is the Ethical Charter of Exclusive Brands Torino, founded on four responsibilities: towards the new generations, the planet, people and values. "To be excellent, a company must also be excellent socially,' says Trombetta. Hence the concrete commitment to young people: "we must not just criticise them, but offer them real opportunities for growth and integration," explains the president. And the Master's degree is intended to meet this very need and be a response to an increasingly widespread phenomenon: the talent drain. According to the most recent Istat data, in fact, in the period between 2013 and 2023 around 15,000 net graduates per year emigrated and in the two-year period 2022-2023 over 50% of net expatriates aged 25-39 were graduates. "In Turin there are great opportunities, there are wonderful companies and the Master's programme is an opportunity to show young people that Piedmont's industrial fabric also offers international and stimulating careers," Trombetta continues.

Turin, in fact, 'is not just automotive. In addition to the big names, there is a constellation of SMEs that represent the productive heart of the region,' says the president of Ebt. And getting to know these realities means discovering an ecosystem made up of innovation, family tradition and global vision. The Master's course thus becomes a laboratory of mutual knowledge: students enter companies and companies meet new talents, reducing the distance between university and work. The training course is intended for graduates and professionals who want to update their managerial skills and root themselves in a productive context of excellence. Thanks to the network of companies involved, the Master's programme therefore offers concrete prospects for integration and growth.

The uniqueness of Exclusive Brands Torino emerges precisely in this initiative: a network of companies that does not just do business, but invests in training, social responsibility and the enhancement of the territory. A model that demonstrates how innovation and tradition can coexist and generate sustainable development. In an increasingly crowded master's degree market, Innovation and Management for SMEs aims to stand out for its method and values: less abstract theory, more experience in the field; less individualism, more industrial community. Because, as the network's president reminds us, 'the industrial paradise is not always elsewhere: it is often right on your doorstep, you just have to learn to know it'.