THE ORTHOGONAL SCHOOL KICKS OFF

On December 2nd in Bologna, in the beautiful Palazzo Boncompagni, the Orthogonal School, a project promoted by the ELICSIR Foundation and supported by a generous donation from the philanthropic organization Schmidt Sciences with the participation of its president, Stuart Feldman was inaugurated.

The meeting was introduced by a video interview conducted by the President of the ELICSIR Foundation, Ozalp Babaoglu, with Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and founder, together with Wendy Schmidt, of Schmidt Sciences.

The 40 students admitted to the Ortogonal School along with several institutions took part in the presentation. The President of Schmidt Sciences, Stuart Feldman, emphasized the importance of this first class of students who will be “the pioneers and will pave the way for those who come after them.”

“The Ortogonal School is a fundamental step to prepare students for the future and underlines the power of learning in amplifying the impact of technology,” explained Stuart Feldman, president of Schmidt Sciences. “Students will acquire the skills necessary to face complex challenges and drive innovation, fueled by cultural insights and solutions that transcend the single-discipline approach. The program,” Feldman concluded, “will contribute to increasing visibility on the depth and usefulness of modern computer science, which is transforming sectors such as healthcare, finance and entertainment.”

The president of the ELICSIR Foundation, Ozalp Babaoglu, then retraced the difficult path to reach the inauguration: from the “provocation” launched to him by Eric Schmidt to create a path of excellence and higher education for the many Italian talents in computer science, to the actual realization and launch of the Ortogonal School. “Our main objective,” explained Babaoglu, “is to cultivate a new generation of young, capable and motivated computer scientists, helping them in a growth path that enhances their talent and commitment, so that they can in the future guide technological and scientific progress in the productive and research worlds. For this reason,” added Babaoglu, “we created the Ortogonal School, a project with innovative and participatory teaching methods that involves, as mentors, established Italian computer science researchers of high international profile. A special thanks,” concluded Babaoglu, “goes to Eric Schmidt and Schmidt Sciences for wanting to support this initiative and Italian computer science.”