Data girls to face up and win the energy efficiency challenge

Data and data management are the new oil. But don’t take it for granted that this area is automatically a “men's” thing, as is often the case today. The global economy that moves money and power is increasingly premised on the availability and analysis of data. It is also true that up to now, this area has been the preserve of men, for cultural reasons: it is usually the guys who gravitate towards IT subjects and who are therefore more likely to make it to the top. But a LUISS project exists with the aim of taking so-called “pink quota” policies and putting them into practice. It is called GROW (an acronym of Generating Real Opportunities For Women) and gives female students of the various LUISS Business School masters courses the chance to delve into the world of data, whatever their background. “We want to bring girls closer to areas and professions, including at management-level, that until now have been largely male-dominated," explains Angela Argentieri, a lecturer at the university.

Before Covid, the teaching activities took place in-person, for example through shadowing, whereby female students would have the opportunity to “shadow” top managers of large Italian companies, meaning that they would work alongside them for a period of time to “steal” their jobs. GROW started in 2016 and has seen its membership practically double over the years, from 90 to 170. This programme also includes a component called Data Girls – a challenge that Terna also took part in this year, along with three other companies: Iren, Italgas and WindTre. And it was the Terna team that took the final victory. But let's take a closer look at all the stages of a project that aims to train the managers of tomorrow and open the doors to innovation.

This year's contest was the fifth edition of the event and had to be held remotely, with all the attendant difficulties; but it did not prevent the girls from developing work that the university and their respective companies found very interesting. What did the project actually consist of? Each of the four participating companies formed working groups with students who had expressed a desire to take part: “This work is not considered an exam and is not accredited. For the girls, it was a bonus, something on top of their university commitments”, explains Argentieri.

Once the teams had been assembled (Terna was fielding two), there was a preparatory phase in the autumn, with input from the two technical partners, IBM and ISTAT. “The girls learned how to use very advanced software, such as Watson Studio, which is used for data analysis, forecasting models, artificial intelligence, graphics and dashboards,” continues the project tutor. Acquiring those kind of skills was no mean feat, given that the students in Team 2 – winner of the semi-final with the other Terna group – came from backgrounds that were anything but IT or technology-oriented: Chiara Ciccarelli, “spokesperson” for Team 2 explains; “There are six of us and we have a very mixed academic history: I and another girl are language graduates and are now studying Human Resources, while the others have studied Economics, Law, Psychology and Fashion.” On paper there is little connection also with the theme of the Terna challenge: energy efficiency. A Terna subsidiary, Avvenia, identified a company that produces plastic bottles and manages bottling processes; this company provided the students with two historical series of energy consumption data.

The series presented monthly data on energy consumption, compressed air flow and bottles produced, taken at two different times: a month before the implementation of energy efficiency measures, and a month after the measures. The girls' task, spanning a three-month period, was to analyse the data and calculate the actual energy savings achieved. This analytical aspect was then supplemented with a second, more creative part of the challenge: using this and an assortment of other data (provided that particularly by ISTAT), the girls literally had to step into the shoes of company managers and devise a more sustainable business model, to be submitted to the same bottling company for the following year. “It was therefore a question of proposing solutions to increase energy efficiency. The girls were faced with a very real, concrete situation; it really was as if they had drawn up a business plan for the energy saving part,” points out Argentieri.

The solution found by Team 2 (all girls aged between 24 and 29) was to switch from plastic to recycled plastic. “They had a very focused, data-driven approach, but they didn't limit themselves to just processing the data: they also worked on the storytelling side of the project and drew up a proper communications plan. It was a very interdisciplinary task”, notes Argentieri.

Team 1, made up of nine students – including a few male “interlopers” – came up with a project involving photovoltaic panels. Terna was very impressed by both projects, but decided that the project of the Chiara Ciccarelli-led group would go to the final. And, indeed, it was the Terna project that won the final prize, beating the best entries from Iren, Italgas and WindTre.