Contamination Lab Padua, winners of the ninth edition announced

First prize to the team that responded to the Eni challenge

The first prize, worth 2,500 euros, was awarded to Federico Carraro (Management Engineering), Alice Ghiaroni (Industrial Biotechnology), Giulia Savio (Molecular Biology), Elena Tadiello (Geology) and Umberto Guerra (Industrial Biotechnology). The group developed the best proposal for the challenge launched by Eni, dedicated to identifying an advanced sensor system for the real-time monitoring of non-polluting odorous emissions perceptible in industrial complexes.

The award was presented by Monica Fedeli, Vice Rector for Third Mission and Relations with the Local Area at the University of Padua, and by Mauro Conti, Delegate for Relations with Companies.

C_Lab Padova – where the "C" stands for Contamination – is a multidisciplinary program that brings together students from different educational backgrounds, called to work together to develop innovative solutions to the challenges proposed by the business world.

In this year's edition, 12 teams took part, working on challenges launched by Almaviva Bluebit, Banca Annia, Camera di Commercio, Carraro Group, Eni, ENSYS, Gruppo Veronesi, Intesa Sanpaolo, Maxfone, MITI, PwC Italia and Rete Luce in Veneto. The projects addressed key topics for innovation, including market intelligence, human-centric artificial intelligence, digital project governance, modernization of social intranets, local area enhancement and sustainability.

“The Contamination Lab is a concrete example of how the University can create spaces for exchange among knowledge, people and businesses, enhancing the talent of students and encouraging the emergence of innovative ideas capable of responding to the challenges of the present and anticipating those of the future,” says Monica Fedeli. “Contamination among disciplines, experiences and points of view is the driving force of innovation: it is from the encounter between different perspectives that the most original ideas, the strongest skills and the solutions needed to address the complexity of our time are born.”

Second place and a prize of 2,000 euros went to Mattia Favretto (Computer Engineering), Annafabia Gai (Computer Engineering), Raluca Ghet (Clinical, Social and Intercultural Psychology), Dimitri Silvestrin (Mechanical Engineering) and Niccolò Tonetto (Control Systems Engineering). The team developed the winning proposal for the Carraro Group challenge, aimed at transforming the company intranet into a modern Enterprise Social Network capable of connecting all employees, centralizing services and fostering two-way communication, while balancing security, costs and cultural adoption.

“This competition was much more than a challenge: it allowed us to test our ability to work under pressure, listen to one another and build together starting from different ideas,” commented the team members. “We thank the University of Padua for creating a space where talent can meet and grow, and the other teams, with whom we shared an experience made of collaboration, expertise and friendship. The greatest value we take with us is having worked side by side with sixty brilliant young minds.”

Third prize, worth 1,500 euros, went to Marta Basso (Osteopathy), Mattia Bertolassi (Accounting, Finance and Business Consulting), Alice Daldoss (Psychological Sciences and Techniques) and Luisa Franchin (Communication Strategies), who responded to the challenge by Banca Annia, dedicated to rethinking the role of the bank as a platform capable of generating new opportunities and services for younger generations.

A special SMACT mention was also awarded to the team composed of Isacco Bortolotto (Electrical Engineering), Riccardo Covolo (Energy Engineering), Leonardo Pierini (Cognitive Science), Anna Sedazzari (Physics) and Mattia Zabeo (Management Engineering). The awarded project proposes the evolution of the IDA (Invio Dati Automatico) platform through the integration of an AI Copilot capable of interpreting complex industrial data, assisting users with different skill sets and supporting operational processes in real time, while complying with the privacy, security and economic sustainability requirements typical of the manufacturing sector. The award consists of 250 Open SMACT points for each team member, made available by SMACT in support of Maxfone and usable on the Open Innovation platform of the North-East.

C_Lab Padova aims to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship by fostering collaboration among students from different disciplines, faculty members, companies and local organizations. Through multidisciplinary groups, participants develop innovative projects and services in response to concrete needs of the production system. The program is part of Entrepreneurship Education, in line with the European Commission's guidelines for the dissemination of entrepreneurial culture.