Digital, Ascani: “The world of research must dialogue with companies”

“The true digital transition depends on the people”. Thus Anna Ascani, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Development, spoke at Wmf, the largest Festival on Digital and Social Innovation, staged at the Palacongressi di Rimini again in attendance. Speaking, in connection, during the second day of the WMF, Undersecretary Ascani underlined the importance of technology during the pandemic, a cornerstone for the development of new technologies also within the Public Administration. “In this period we have all understood a little that access to the internet is a fundamental right”. Covid-19 marked a turning point: “in fact, we cannot avoid the digital revolution. We cannot even go back from this evolution which has never been so fast and which will no longer be so slow. The next few years will mark even more radical and faster changes and we will have to be ready, and the only way to prepare is to train people ”. We still need to work on infrastructures but, the undersecretary assured, “as a government we are committed by 2026 to bring connectivity up to one gigabyte to all of Italy. It is the goal that Europe has set itself for 2030 and we have it ”. “We are also committed to ensuring that our companies (whether they are start-ups, companies engaged in the I-city, or traditional companies) – he continued – can purchase technologies with the support of the State. There have already been measures that have gone into this dimension but the most important thing we are doing is investing in skills ”. And on the importance of investing in education: “We must ensure that the world of research – which produces excellent results in this country – dialogues with the business world”. It is important, added Ascani, “to train companies and train people so that they can personally make this digital transition”.