Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) masterclasses bring students face-to-face with real-world business challenges. In OPIT’s July masterclass, OPIT Professor Francesco Derchi and Ph.D. candidate Robert Mario de Stefano explained the principles of regenerative businesses and how regeneration goes hand in hand with growth.

Regenerative Business Models

Professor Derchi began by explaining what exactly is meant by regenerative business models, clearly differentiating them from sustainable or circular models.

Many companies pursue sustainable business models in which they offset their negative impact by investing elsewhere. For example, businesses that are big carbon consumers will support nature regeneration projects. Circular business models are similar but are more focused on their own product chain, aiming to minimize waste by keeping products in use as long as possible through recycling. Both models essentially aim to have a “net-zero” negative impact on the environment.

Regenerative models are different because they actively aim to have a “net-positive” impact on the environment, not just offsetting their own use but actively regenerating the planet.

Massive Transformative Purpose

While regenerative business models are often associated with philanthropic endeavors, Professor Derchi explained that they do not have to be, and that investment in regeneration can be a driver of growth.

He discussed the importance of corporate purpose in the modern business space. Having a strong and clearly stated corporate purpose is considered essential to drive business decision-making, encourage employee buy-in, and promote customer loyalty.

But today, simple corporate missions, such as “make good shoes,” don’t go far enough. People are looking for a Massive Transformational Purpose (MTP) that can take the business to the next level.

Take, for example, Ben & Jerry’s. The business’s initial corporate purpose may have been to make great ice cream and serve it up in a way that people will enjoy. But the business really began to grow when they embraced an MTP. As they announced in their mission statement, “We believe that ice cream can change the world.” Their business activities also have the aim of advancing human rights and dignity, supporting social and economic justice, and protecting and restoring the Earth’s natural systems. While these aims are philanthropic, they have also helped the business grow.

RePlanet

Professor Derchi next talked about RePlanet, a business he recently worked to develop their MTP. Founded in 2015, RePlanet designs and implements customized renewable energy solutions for businesses and projects. The company already operates in the renewable energy field and ranked as the 21st fastest-growing business in Italy in 2023. So while they were already enjoying great success, Derchi worked with them to see if actively embracing a regenerative business model could unlock additional growth.

Working together, RePlanet moved towards an MTP of building a greener future based on today’s choices, ensuring a cleaner world for generations. Meeting this goal started with the energy products that RePlanet sells, such as energy systems that recover heat from dairy farms. But as the business’s MTP, it goes beyond that. RePlanet doesn’t just engage suppliers; it chooses partners that share its specific values. It also influences the projects they choose to work on – they prioritize high-impact social projects, such as recently installing photovoltaic energy systems at a local hospital in Nigeria – and how RePlanet treats its talent, acknowledging that people are the true energy of the company.

Regenerative Business Strategies

Based on work with RePlanet and other businesses, Derchi has identified six archetypal regenerative business strategies for businesses that want to have both a regenerative impact and drive growth:

• Regenerative Leadership – Laying the foundation for regeneration in a broader sense throughout the company
• Nature Regeneration – Strategies to improve the health of the natural world
• Social Regeneration – Regenerating human ecosystems through things such as fair-trade practices
• Responsible Sourcing – Empowering and strengthening suppliers and their communities
• Health & Well-being – Creating products and services that have a positive effect on customers
• Employee Focus – Improve work conditions, lives, and well-being of employees.

Case Studies

Building on the concept of regenerative business models, Roberto Mario de Stefano shared other case studies of businesses that are having a positive impact and enjoying growth thanks to regenerative business models and strategies.

Biorfarm

Biorfarm is a digital platform that supports small-scale agriculture by creating a direct link between small farmers and consumers. Cutting out the middleman in modern supply chains means that farmers earn about 50% more for their produce. They set consumers up as “digital farmers” who actively support and learn about farming activities to promote more conscious food consumption.

Their vision is to create a food economy in which those who produce food and those who consume it are connected. This moves consumers from passive cash cows for large corporations that prioritize profits over the well-being of farmers to actively supporting natural production and a more sustainable system.

Rifo Lab

Rifo Lab is a circular clothing brand with the vision of addressing the problem of overproduction in the clothing industry. Established in Prato, Italy, a traditional textile-producing area, the company produces clothes made from textile waste and biodegradable materials. There are no physical stores, and all orders must be placed online; everything is made to order, reducing excess production.

With an eye on social regeneration, all production takes place within 30 kilometers of their offices, allowing the business to support ethical and local production. They also work with companies that actively integrate migrants into the local community, sharing their local artisan crafts with future generations.

Ogyre

Ogyre is a digital platform that allows you to pay fishermen to fish for waste. When fishermen are out conducting their livelihood, they also collect a significant amount of waste from the ocean, especially plastic waste. Ogyre arranges for fishermen to get paid for collecting that waste, which in turn supports the local fishing communities, and then transforms the waste collected into new sustainable products.

Moving Towards a Regenerative Future

The masterclass concluded with a Q&A session, where it explained that working in regenerative businesses requires the same skills as any other business. But it also requires you to embrace a mindset where value comes from giving and that growth is about working together for a better future, and not just competition.

Riccardo Ocleppo’s vision for the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) started when he realized that his own university-level training had not properly prepared him for the modern workplace. Technological innovation is moving quickly and changing the nature of work, while university curricula evolve slowly, in part due to systems in place designed to preserve the quality of courses.

Ocleppo was determined to create a higher learning institution that filled the gap between the two realities – delivering high-quality education while preparing professionals to work in dynamic environments that keep pace with technology. Thus, OPIT opened enrolments in 2023 with a curriculum that created a unique bridge between the present and the future.

This is the story of one student, Ania Jaca, whose time at OPIT gave her the skills to connect her knowledge of product design to full system deployment.

Meet Ania

Ania is an example of an active professional who was able to identify what was missing in her own skills that would be needed if she wanted to advance her career in the direction she desired.

Ania is a highly skilled professional who was working on product and industrial design at Deloitte. She has an MA in product design, speaks five languages, studied in China, and is an avid boxer. She had the intelligence and the temperament to succeed in her career, but felt that she lacked the skills to advance and move from determining how products look to how systems really work, scale, and evolve.

Ania taught herself skills such as Python, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud infrastructure, but soon realized that she needed a more structured education to go deeper. Thus, the search for her next steps began, and her introduction to OPIT.

OPIT appealed to Ania because it offered a fully EU-accredited MSc that she could pursue at her own pace, thanks to remote delivery and flexible hours. But more than that, it filled exactly the knowledge gap she was looking to build upon, teaching her technical foundations, but always with a focus on applications in the real world. Part of the appeal was the faculty, which includes professionals who are leaders in their field and who deal with current professional challenges on a daily basis, which they can bring into the classroom.

Ania enrolled in OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science & AI.

MSc in Applied Data Science and AI

This is OPIT’s first master’s program, which also launched in 2023, and is now one of four on offer. The course is designed for graduates like Ania who want a career at the intersection of management and technology. It is attractive to professionals who are already working in this area but lack the technical training to step into certain roles. OPIT requires no computer science prerequisites, so it accepted Ania with her MA in product design.

It is an intensive program that starts with foundational application courses in business, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and problem-solving. The program then moves towards applying data science and AI methodologies and tools to real-life business problems.

The course combines theoretical study with a capstone project that lets students apply what they learn in the real world, either at their existing company or through internship programs. Many of the projects developed by students go on to become fundamental to the businesses they work with.

Ania’s Path Forward

Ania is working on her capstone project with Neperia Group, an Italian-based IT systems development company that works mostly with financial, insurance, and industrial companies. They specialize in developing analysis tools for existing software to enhance insight, streamline management, minimize the impact of corrective and evolutionary interventions, and boost performance.

Ania is specifically working on tools for assessing vulnerabilities in codebases as an advanced cybersecurity tool.

Ania credits her studies at OPIT for helping her build solid foundations in data science, machine learning, and cloud workflows, giving her a thorough understanding of digital products from end to end. She feels this has prepared her for roles at the intersection between infrastructure, security, and deployment, which is exactly where she wants to be. OPIT is excited to see where Ania’s career takes her in the coming years.

Preparing for the Future of Work

Overall, studying at OPIT has helped Ania and others like her prepare for the future of work. According to the Visual Capitalist, the fastest-growing jobs between 2025 and 2030 will be in big data (up by 110%), Fintech engineers (up by 95%), AI and machine learning specialists (up by 85%), software application developers (up by 60%), and security management specialists (up by 55%).

However, while these industries are growing, entry-level opportunities are declining in areas such as software development and IT. This is because AI now performs many of the tasks associated with those roles. Instead, companies are looking for experienced professionals to take on roles that involve more strategic oversight and innovative problem-solving. But how do recent graduates leapfrog past experienced professionals when there is a lack of entry-level positions to make the transition?

This is another challenge that OPIT addresses in its course design. Students don’t just learn the theory, OPIT actively encourages them to focus on applications, allowing them to build experience while studying. The capstone project consolidates this, enabling students to demonstrate to future employers their expertise at deploying technology to solve problems.

OPIT also has a dynamic Career Services department that specifically works with students to prepare them for the types of roles they want. This focus on not only learning but building a career is one of the elements that makes OPIT stand out in preparing graduates for the workplace.

In many ways, the concept of education has remained the same over the millennia – the experienced and learned passing on their knowledge and wisdom to new generations. And some of the biggest revolutions in teaching and learning have been brought about by technology: from the printing press to computers to the internet, they have all changed and democratized the process of teaching and learning. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as the next big game-changer.

The emerging role of AI agents in education is the subject of a new e-book released by the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT). Going beyond simple AI tools, such as ChatGPT’s generative AI, the e-book looks at how sophisticated AI agents can be deployed as education allies, both in the general sense and referencing OPIT’s AI Copilot as a specific case study.

So, what can you expect to learn from OPIT’s e-book?

What Are AI Agents?

The e-book starts by explaining the concept of AI Agents. These are AI tools that go beyond simple “if a then x but if b then y” reasoning. Instead, they can work autonomously towards specified goals, with very little need for user intervention. To achieve this, the AI Agent must be able to perceive, make decisions, act, and adapt.

What those four steps look like in action depends on how the AI Agent is employed. Let’s take the example of an AI Agent deployed to deliver IT support, integrated with the IT system’s knowledge and user management system.

The AI Agent will perceive the nature of the problem from requests for help submitted by users, reading and understanding written requests, and also potentially gathering data directly from devices if they are networked. It then integrates this input with its IT system knowledge to understand the nature of the problem and the required solution.

The AI Agent will then decide the best way to solve the problem and plan what steps need to be taken. It should then be able to act. For example, it can verify the user’s identity and begin the password reset process, send detailed information to the user explaining how to solve the problem, or issue a ticket with the important information to the appropriate human IT specialist.

Based on outcomes, the AI Agent will assess its success in completing this task and incorporate that information into its knowledge base.

As well as saving time and money on these tasks, AI Agents can be more efficient, as they work continuously and reduce human error, especially for repetitive and mundane tasks. Scalability is another advantage of AI Agents, as they can be easily scaled up or down when workloads fluctuate.

AI Agents in Education

AI Agents can be deployed in education scenarios to achieve a number of different tasks, which is something that OPIT is doing with its OPIT AI Copilot.

These can be programmed to work as virtual teachers or study assistants that are available 24/7 and deliver personalized learning plans. For example, the OPIT AI Copilot is trained on OPIT’s library of educational content, including over 5,000 lectures and 3,500 hours of video content across 131 courses. From this base, it can show students the content they need to study based on their current stage in the course and answer questions posed by the student through a natural language interface.

If the student is struggling with concepts, the AI Agent can produce alternative learning materials that may work better with the student’s learning style. For advanced students, it can bring in related content that connects to their interests and understanding.

The AI Agent can help students prepare for exams by creating practice tests and issuing grades, even for long-form answers based on factors such as grammatical accuracy and the presence of essential concepts in the response. This kind of immediate feedback has been shown to improve student results over time.

The AI Agent is also useful for teachers, who can use it for grading simple tests and as a fairness check when grading large numbers of more complex papers. It can alert teachers when students are struggling and might benefit from direct intervention, and can identify course materials that are proving problematic for the cohort as a whole, flagging them up for review.

There are many other potential applications, such as creating virtual tours of lost or distant historical sites, virtual discussion moderation, resource gathering for assignments, and organizing references in the required format.

The Benefits of AI Agents in Education

The e-book takes a deep look at both the benefits and potential issues of AI in education. Some of the clearest benefits are personalized learning that moves beyond “one-size-fits-all” approaches and improved accessibility. At the same time, there are concerns around algorithmic bias impacting learning and reduced critical thinking due to over-reliance on AI tools.

But this is why the e-book emphasizes that AI is not a replacement for human teachers, but a tool that can be used to enhance the learning environment. OPIT devotes a chapter to discussing how teachers are becoming curators of dynamic teaching environments that leverage a variety of tools, including AI, to create stimulating and accessible learning spaces.

Essential to this is teaching students how to work with AI, when it is appropriate and when it can be a hindrance, and how to critically assess the content produced and delivered by AI. This is an essential skill for the future as AI becomes more prevalent in every aspect of our lives, and we must critically assess its outputs.

AI Agents Empowering Learning

Overall, the e-book assesses how AI Agents are being leveraged to empower both teachers and students in the education space. The recently released OPIT AI Copilot is one of the examples discussed in the e-book, but it is just the beginning. We fully expect more complex and sophisticated education AI Agents to emerge as the AI Agents, teachers, and students gain a better understanding of their capabilities. It is an exciting time to be in education.

Download the OPIT e-book AI in Education.

Source:

• Authority Magazine, published on July 28th, 2025

By Kate Mowbray, 7 min read

• Authority Magazine

Source:

• EFMD Global, published on July 29th, 2025

By Stephanie Mullins, 3 min read

• EFMD Global

The Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) is a new concept in higher education that aims to equip people for a fast-changing work landscape characterized by rapidly evolving technology. This goes beyond deep training in trending technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity to reframing our approach to work and how we envision the future of work.

As part of that ongoing discussion, Stefania Tabi from OPIT Career Services sat down with Matteo Roversi, Co-Founder and Chief Community Officer at Cosmico, to talk about how we need to reframe our approach to work to thrive in the future workplace.

Founded in 2020, Cosmico is an Italian-based talent platform that uses AI-powered technology to connect talent – currently a pool of more than 27,000 independent professionals – with the businesses that need them, including many of Europe’s biggest companies. The platform uses AI for talent screening, matching, and recommendations, as well as to assess coding skills. This can reduce the time from request to screening, interview, proposal, and kick-off to between 24 and 72 hours, letting businesses move faster.

New Rules

Matteo started by discussing the aspects of the work landscape that have fundamentally changed over the last decade, and how this is forcing us to reframe our approach to standing out in the workplace.

CV to Reputation

He explained that while for many potential employees, the main concern used to be populating your CV with the relevant skills and experience to land your next job, that is becoming increasingly meaningless. AI can be used to tailor your CV exactly to what a job description wants, bearing in mind that the description was probably also written by AI and will be assessed by AI. As a result, matching CVs to job descriptions has become an increasingly unreliable way to find desirable candidates.

This has shifted the focus to reputation, as it is increasingly important that people are familiar with your work and know people who can recommend you to get your foot in the door.

Execution to Agency

It used to be that your objective was fulfilling the tasks on a job description, which required intelligence and experience, but not necessarily a significant amount of self-direction. That is changing as new ways of solving problems continue to emerge. Today, businesses want employees who have agency and take the initiative to solve problems. In a way, today, everyone needs the self-starter mindset of an entrepreneur.

Specialization to Deep Generalism

In recent years, the work landscape has been about specialization in specific fields and technologies. But Matteo explained how that focus is disappearing. Technology is moving so quickly that specialist software, coding languages, and algorithms are becoming obsolete, or the work previously required is being automated through AI.

Therefore, today, instead of a focused specialization, applicants need deep generalism, with not only a broad understanding of the technological landscape but a deep understanding of how technology can be leveraged to connect different fields of work, solve problems, and judge decisions.

Hours to Progression

The trend of moving away from paying for hours worked to the product being delivered will only become more pronounced, Matteo explained. Things that once took hours can now be delivered within minutes, but that doesn’t necessarily diminish the value of that delivery.

He explained how we need to think of ourselves as mind athletes. For instance, a sprinter may compete for a little over 10 seconds in their principal race, but they spend vast amounts of time in deep training. This is what professionals must do now: invest in their knowledge base so that they can deliver. As an extension of this, just like athletes, professionals need to focus on recovery. No one is a machine, and we cannot be delivering constantly.

Compete to Create

Matteo explained how the workplace mindset has long been one of competition, with talent competing for a finite number of jobs. But as jobs disappear and emerge rapidly, the field of competition changes significantly, and the market no longer feels finite. He also suggested that the best way to find the job that you want is to create it, rather than wait for someone else to make it for you (and then compete for it).

Taking Charge of Your Career

Having looked in detail at how the work landscape is changing, Matteo then shifted gears and shared his best advice for creating the job that you want.

Shift to AI Mode

He started by pointing out that you need to leverage the available technology to stay competitive, especially AI. But you have to do this in a way that increases your productivity and enhances the value of your contribution. He suggests that people embrace and test technologies and automate where possible by delegating. But delegating should go beyond simple tasks to orchestrating processes. When this is in place, you can reshape your vision of your contribution by identifying what you do that machines cannot replicate.

Build Your Work Stack

Once you have identified your value, Matteo explains how to reform what you offer. Start by thinking of yourself as a company rather than a job description. Don’t tell people what you do, but tell them the problems that you solve. Once this is in place, you can build your presence and your audience by making yourself accessible, both online and offline. This helps you grow your network by actively seeking mentors and peers.

Write Daily, Ship Weekly, Share Always

Matteo emphasized that work must be public to build your reputation, an important factor already discussed in his review of the work landscape. To this end, he suggests writing daily, which means spending at least 15 minutes a day focused on your problem. This should result in something you can “ship” every week to maintain your visibility, and always share to build your profile.

Level Up Your Purpose

Matteo agreed with the advice that to thrive in your work, you need to have purpose, but also agreed with the suggestion that people who say to follow your passion are usually already rich and have a safety net in place for failure. He suggested that your purpose changes according to your circumstances and that you should aim to cycle through these different phases.

• Survival – When you need to pay your bills, you need to find clients and sell your work
• Status – Once you have a stable base, you can focus on gaining recognition for your work and attracting clients to you
• Creativity – While many people stop at the status phase, this is the moment to stretch yourself and push out of your comfort zone to do something new
• Contribution – This is the ultimate phase when you can scale up the impact of your work

Preparing for the Future of Work With OPIT

One theme that came through clearly in Matteo’s discussion was the importance of investing in yourself. This is because you are no longer simply being asked to fulfill a job description; you need to frame yourself as a problem-solver who adds value. In today’s work landscape, this means understanding tech trends and their impact on the business landscape. Making that leap can start with OPIT. We offer bachelor’s courses for those looking to build a strong technical foundation and master’s courses for professionals looking to reframe their value proposition.

Discover OPIT’s accessible and fit-for-purpose programs today.

The Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) was developed not only to create dynamic technology-focused courses that evolve with real-world tech development, offering flexible degrees that allow professionals to expand their horizons without interrupting their careers. But what does that look like in practice?

Rinaldo Festa recently shared his experience completing OPIT’s BSc in Modern Computer Science while working as the Chief Technology Officer at Cosmico. He explained why he chose to further his studies, his experience at OPIT, and how it has affected his career.

Meet Rinaldo Festa

Rinaldo describes himself as a results-oriented engineering leader with a journey from military services to a successful startup exit. His experience bridges the gap between product and engineering by driving technical strategy and mentoring high-performing teams.

He is now the CTO at Cosmico, an Italian firm that specializes in matching digital talent with companies. This allows businesses to access the most experienced workers for projects as needed and expanding the horizons of digital experts working remotely. They currently have a team of over 27,000 experienced professionals with expertise in areas such as design, coding, data, AI, and cybersecurity. They have worked on major projects for major organizations such as Accenture and Huawei, as well as startups such as Scalapay and Unguess.

The Challenge

While Rinaldo could certainly characterize his career as successful, he felt the need to balance innovation with practical application, ensuring he could not only lead a team but also not lose touch with the technical elements. This led Rinaldo to ask himself: “Am I truly staying ahead, or merely keeping up?”

A curious professional with a growth mindset, Rinaldo was not looking for a new job, but he did want greater clarity. He wanted to better understand the fundamentals of the technologies that are driving advancement and transformation, such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and cybersecurity. He also wanted to deepen his understanding of the strategic application of these technologies and also dive deeper into essential questions such as the ethics of AI.

This led Rinaldo to search for a path forward that wouldn’t interrupt his career but would rather expand his horizons. Enter OPIT, offering flexible courses that you can complete remotely on your own schedule. These courses maintain a dynamic structure and actively keep pace with the latest technological developments, rather than following a limited approved curriculum. Another factor that attracted Rinaldo to OPIT was the faculty, working professionals who lead in their industries and actively teach and share their experience of current, real-world challenges and applications.

Studying at OPIT

Once he started his course, Rinaldo quickly realized that he had made the right decision. While embracing the opportunity to be a student again and acknowledging that he had much to learn, he also appreciated how OPIT respected and valued his experience, while also challenging his assumptions and helping him to grow. He quickly realized that OPIT’s courses are “designed for people like me.”

Rinaldo also shared that he was pleasantly surprised by how fast the theories he learnt became practical knowledge and then actionable insight that he could apply in his professional life. New methods, tools, and mental models were immediately useful in team reviews, architecture choices, and product strategies.

Professional Transformation

While Rinaldo is still enrolled, his studies at OPIT have already had a transformative impact on his professional life. Continuing his role as Chief Technology Officer at Cosmico, he has a new vision, enabling him to work on new transformational projects.

Rinaldo now focuses on developing AI-driven solutions for the future of talent management. For example, while many already use AI to read CVs and resumes to identify qualified potential candidates, Rinaldo leverages AI to do much more. New AI agents are capable of context-aware skill extraction, not only identify keywords linked with certain skills but also understanding the context behind each skill listed in a CV.

The team at Cosmico also now committed to creating responsible AI tools that are fit for purpose, not just producing tools with the popular AI-powered label. A major part of this is education before implementation. According to Rinaldo:

“Let’s face it: most people who discuss AI don’t understand what they’re talking about. They confuse basic machine learning with agentic AI. They implement ‘AI solutions’ that are nothing more than glorified ‘if/then’ statements. This is only ineffective; it is dangerous.”

Cosmico is building programs to demystify AI concepts and create a common language about capabilities and limitations.

This is how Rinaldo is leading from the front, made possible by his time studying at OPIT. Rather than a career shift, he achieved a mindset shift that is helping him to be more strategic, aligned, and aware.

OPIT Programs

OPIT is now offering a range of programs that can help professionals upskill, develop a better understanding of the technologies that are transforming the way we live and work, and take a more strategic approach to their application and implementation.

While Rinaldo chose OPIT’s BSc, there are also many other MSc programs open to people with a bachelor’s in any subject; it does not need to be technical.

The MSc in Digital Business and Innovation empowers professionals to drive innovation in both established companies and digital-native contexts by leveraging the power of digital technologies and AI.

With strong emphasis on real-world applications in areas such as natural language processing, computer vision, business, sensor systems, and industry automation, the MSc in Responsible Artificial Intelligence combines technical expertise with a focus on the ethical implications of modern AI.

The MSc in Enterprise Cybersecurity integrates technical and managerial expertise, equipping students with the skills to fulfill the market’s need for versatile professionals capable of implementing security solutions and leading cybersecurity initiatives.

Meanwhile, the MSc in Applied Data Science and AI equips students to work at the intersection of management and tech and solve real-life business problems using data science and AI.

Not sure which course is right for you? Chat to OPIT’s Career Services team for advice.

The Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) is a dynamic new university that provides practical learning opportunities for people looking to thrive in a dynamic, tech-driven workplace. It offers bachelor’s courses for those at the start of their journey and master’s courses for professionals hoping to expand their horizons. This includes students like Silvia Garavaglia.

We recently spoke to Silvia about her experience studying with OPIT. She shared how her professional interests led her to OPIT and how her studies have led her to a new and unanticipated career path in artificial intelligence (AI).

Understanding the Data

Until recently, Silvia Garavaglia worked as a project manager, leading complex assignments across a variety of European firms. Silvia shared that she was increasingly working on data-driven initiatives and learned the value that big data, combined with AI, could deliver in business. However, she felt that she was just scratching the surface of what AI-enhanced data analysis could do and that her lack of experience on the technical side was holding her back from doing more with it.

In short, Silvia found herself wanting to move from just managing and leveraging data to truly understanding how the technology works under the hood. She knew that she would have to find educational resources to support this journey.

Finding a Learning Partner

Silvia’s professional goals motivated her to start looking for a learning partner. But this was a challenge for a number of reasons. First, she needed a flexible program compatible with her busy work life. Many of the courses she found weren’t flexible enough in their availability to fit into her schedule. Second, many relevant programs demand a strong technical background for master-level courses.

From her on-the-job experience, Silvia knew that she wanted a course that combined technical skills development with teaching strategic approaches that focus on application. She knew that the things she wanted to achieve would require a combination of the two.

OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science & AI

After much research, Silvia chose OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science & AI, which is designed to prepare students to occupy the intersection between management and tech. A master’s course designed for professionals with varied backgrounds, the program combines technical courses on data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence with courses on business management and problem-solving.

What students learn in their dynamic online classroom is then applied to real-life business challenges that can be addressed using data science and AI. These solutions are taught by a faculty who are not just teachers, but active professionals working at the cutting edge of their fields.

The course also includes an internship or a capstone project that sees students apply their learning to new challenges, turning theory into experience.

Silvia said that she chose OPIT due to its practical content and human-centered approach. This set it apart from other academic programs because it was a course “built by people who build.”

She knew she had made the right decision when she started the onboarding process, which she described as responsive, transparent, and unexpectedly personal.

Learning That Changed Everything

While Silvia has always considered herself an eternal student, interested in always learning and growing, she said that the course changed her perspective. While she may have started out simply looking for knowledge to help her do her job better, what she learned made her completely rethink her role. She began to see new possibilities for her career, creating opportunities rather than fitting into cookie-cutter roles.

Silvia explained that she went from seeing herself as someone who supports tech teams to someone who creates technological solutions that solve real-world problems. She was no longer playing catch-up with her tech team; she was ready to create while following her own path forward.

A New Path

Silvia is currently interning at Midnight Ventures, an engineering company that develops cutting-edge AI agents that solve real business problems with intelligent automation and multi-agent systems.

She is working on a medical AI diagnostics platform for aesthetic medicine that analyzes ultrasounds in real time, identifying dermal fillers and skin conditions with medical precision, enhancing diagnostic capabilities. Silvia said this project appealed because of its focus on leveraging technology to solve human problems, supporting doctors to better serve their patients.

Among other things, Midnight Ventures is also working on a platform to democratize access to algorithmic trading by converting natural language trading strategies into executable code.

All of OPIT’s master’s courses include a final capstone project that lets students apply their learning to real-world challenges that inspire them. For her Capstone project, Silvia is working with HYPE, a financial services firm in Milan, on an AI-powered onboarding agent that combines technology with crafting the best possible human experience.

An Exciting Future

Overall, Silvia says that she is excited for the future. She is on the path to becoming an AI developer, learning to code step by step, while leading real projects that leverage AI to solve human challenges.

Others looking to do the same might also consider OPIT as a gateway to a new path forward. OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science and AI is a great place to start.

OPIT Master’s Courses

OPIT also offers an MSc in Digital Business and Innovation for professionals who want to drive innovation and lead digital entrepreneurship with a focus on growth hacking, digital transformation, and leveraging AI to drive innovation.

The MSc in Responsible AI also combines technical expertise with real-world applications, with a focus on the ethical implications of modern AI and the architecture of sustainable AI systems.

OPIT’s MSc in Enterprise Cybersecurity is focused on digital security solutions, but also focuses on combining the technical and managerial sides to bridge the gap between coding and application.

Contact Career Services to see how OPIT can support you on your journey toward your professional goals.