S&E Guarantee Pilot: Federico Bono

“The project has different phases,” explains Federico Bono, from Treviso, Italy, as he describes his Masters studies. “First a kick-off in Tallinn, the first year in Milan Polytechnic, a summer school in Madrid, and then a second year in Stockholm.” A true European project if you will…

Federico did a double Masters degree, focussing on data science but including a minor on innovation and entrepreneurship, with courses on management – “the kind of information you need for a start-up. I was looking for something less typical. Most degrees focussed a lot on computer science and engineering. I wanted something different, and I found that at EIT Digital.” Having already worked as a free-lancer, he is very keen not only to learn more about data science, but also the business side of things: “I really enjoy the management courses. I worked at a start-up in the past, and was closely involved from the beginning, and saw the thought-process behind each decision. That’s exciting. After my degree, I will keep free-lancing, but the plan is to set up a business in the software and digital solutions space.”

At the EIT Digital Masters School, Federico was able to focus on his studies without having to worry about finances. “You don’t pay tuition fees, and only start repayment one year after programme completion,” he explains, referring to his deferred tuition payment plan, guaranteed in part by the EU. “That allowed me to reduce my working hours and focus more on the programme itself. Otherwise, I’d be studying at midnight or would have had to get support from my parents to make ends meet.”

Already free-lancing as a software engineer, Federico is keen to help small businesses make the digitalisation: “I specialise in designing, coding and developing software that clients need. My main focus is the digitalisation of company processes. I’ve seen the opportunities for small businesses, but I also saw that these opportunities and benefits are present only if the whole company believes in the digitalisation, learning the new tools and processes that you are creating. You need full buy-in to really get the most out of a digitalisation process. I think most companies saw the opportunities during the pandemic but there are many companies that still prefer, for cultural reasons, more classical ways of working.”

In the second year of his Masters programme in Sweden, he focused on data mining, distributed systems, and business intelligence. And then hopefully offering digital solutions at a company near you!