NASA arrives in Italian schools

They are a thousand students, they are between 7 and 18 years old and are about to receive a special certificate signed by **Houston Space Center **from the Nasa. Not for having participated in a journey into space, but for following Moonshotan innovative educational program that approached them to the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) with the same approach used to train astronauts.

The project, brought to Italy by Novi Educationwas developed in collaboration with the Houston space center and offers children the opportunity to learn, for example, how to cultivate food on the moon, how oxygen is produced or how astronauts protect themselves from solar radiation. But not only: Moonshot He also teaches Soft Skills like teamwork, communication in moments of difficulty, and then he deals with topics such as resilience and responsibility.

Behind this interstellar journey there is the idea of ​​two Italian Finance professionals, Francesco De Ferrari And Valter Spanowho have decided to import an educational method in Italy capable of filling the gap between the needs of the labor market and the current university education in the scientific field. “We wanted to propose a paradigm change with a worldwide world icon such as Houston’s Space Center,” explains Valter Spano, Co-Cece of Novi Education. “We want to stimulate the boys with a practical and engaging method that strengthens their scientific skills, where the major gaps often focus on.”

The program, which started as a pilot experiment in some private schools, landed today in Italian public schools thanks to the support of IFIS bankchaired by Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio. The Institute has in fact financed the adoption of the didactic path in five state schools in Rome – including the Avogadro high school, the comprehensive institute Gianni Rodari and the primary Don Paolo Alberra – guaranteeing free access to more than a thousand students.

“As a system bank, we are convinced that it is our duty to help reduce the gap between public and private, especially in a country like Italy where the brain escape and demographic aging are structural problems”, comments Rosalba Benedettovice -president of Banca Ifis, “supporting initiatives like this means investing in the future”.

The one between Banca Ifis and education is not a recent link: the bank since 2021 supports scholarships for young cones medalized athletes, promotes artistic expression in schools with the project 21gallery in Veneto and collaborated with the songwriter Giovanni Caccamo To create listening spaces on youth fragility. Initiatives that reflect a vision of social patrons that supports – without overlapping – to banking activity.

The collaboration with Novi Education represents a further step forward also in terms of strategic vision. Because the Space Economy is no longer just science fiction: according to McKinsey, the sector could go from a value of 600 billion dollars in 2023 to 1.8 trillion by 2030. Italy, in this global spatial race, has cards to play a leading role. As long as he begins to prepare his astronauts already from the school desks.