Communications

Rome, 5-6 February 2008
 
After the success of the first edition in November 2006, the second MindSh@re Event, involving all the Communities forming part of the Finmeccanica project, was held on February 5-6 in Rome at Palazzo Salviati, the prestigious headquarters of the Advanced Defence Studies Centre.
 
As witness of MindSh@re's high profile outside the Group and of its increasing importance amongst various institutions, this year's event was organised in partnership with:

• AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Associations)
• COTEC (Foundation for Technological Innovation)
• FILAS (Lazio financial holding group for development)
  

under the patronage of the Rome Province.
 
At the opening ceremony, the welcome address was given by General Valotto, director of CASD, followed by General Botondi, Secretary General of Defence/DNA who stressed that "the value of knowledge increases when it can be shared, and is shared." He went on to praise Finmeccanica's in-depth examination of the "mind-sharing" approach in all its aspects and with all its implications.
 
Participants on the opening day included the president-CEO of Finmeccanica, Pierfrancesco Guarguaglini; general manager, Giorgio Zappa; director of technical, industrial and commercial development, Filippo Bagnato; director of human resources, Roberto Maglione; and senior advisor Giancarlo Grasso.
 
The main theme of the 2008 event was the evolution of MindSh@re as a marketplace for knowledge where skills, abilities and experiences, both within the Group and from outside, are shared and exchanged. "We have developed and consolidated the MindSh@re model amongst our companies, and it works," said president-CEO Guarguaglini in his opening speech, stressing that MindSh@re and its extensions aim to give more importance and strength to the Group's intellectual property.
 
The event stood out for the large-scale participation and the high-level contents of the discussions during the seminars and round tables which took place during the two days, attended by leading figures from the industrial, institutional and academic communities. The MarkePl@ce, consisting of a special area with seven stands for the MindSh@re Communities together with spaces set aside for COTEC, AFCEA and FILAS, was a busy focal point for dialogue and contacts with a view to possible collaboration in the future.
 
Here are some of the main figures for the event:

• more than 1,400 attendees
• more than 1,000 effective participants of whom
  - over 180 representatives of military bodies and institutions
  - over 150 representatives of the academic community
• 118 speakers and round-table participants
• 19 round tables and seminars

The many activities were at a high level and most of the projects were illustrated with the help of live demos during the event. The main messages of this edition were:

1. Searching for partners outside the Finmeccanica Group who can make a real contribution by investing with us in the knowledge marketplace.
2. Involving institutional customers in innovative forms of collaboration between defence and industry, with the aim of finding new ways of generating innovation by combining the skills from the two sectors.
3. The new MindSh@re portal (now being set up) which will make it possible to carry out technology transfer and valorisation of the Group's intellectual property.

These are the innovative and tangible activities that MindSh@re is carrying out by involving all our Community members with their enthusiasm and determination.
 
Many thanks to them, and to you, for taking part.
 
Goodbye until the next edition of the MindSh@re Event!.
 

 Poster.pdf (847 KB) .pdf (847 KB)