ROME –On Tuesday the Economic Department of the University of Roma Tor Vergata hosted the Blockchain Innovation Day presented as “the first event to bring blockchain technology to 360 degrees.” Blockchain technology continues to shape the prospects of innovation, competitiveness, and management of numerous economic activities. The adoption of this technology allows for faster and more secure financial transactions, but extending well beyond the economic-financial ambition, being also useful in various domains as real estate, fashion, logistics and agri-food.

To analyse this trend in constant growth in Italy and in Europe, an agreement was inked on June 24th 2019, between the Rector of Tor Vergata University, Professor Giuseppe Novelli and and Donato Iacovone, Deputy Director of EY in Italy and Managing Partner of the Mediterranean Area. This agreement, aimed at fostering collaboration in the development of innovative solutions within the domains of Blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT), led to the establishment of the "Innovation LAB" within the university premises. This lab focuses particularly on research activities, as well as the organization of seminars, workshops, and events centered on Blockchain and IoT technologies.

The Blockchain Innovation Day emerged as a full-day public conference designed to give the opportunity to professionals and students to acquire knowledge with a series of presentations about the blockchain industry. The event featured an array of presentations from esteemed speakersincluding Caterina Ferrara, director of the Think Tank ‘AURORA’ presenting the next research horizons of her foundation around ethics of algorithms; Lawyers Salvatore Luciani Furnari and Giuseppe Proietti who explained the legal environment surrounding this new digital system and a Nicola Nannini, creator of the bitCashback platform, whodelved into Bitcoin's potential contributions to an ideal circular economy.

The Blockchain Innovation Day also offered networking opportunities with other participants, partners, and sponsors of the event during a live cooking show curated by the Chef and entrepreneur Giorgio Gramegna. Along with the Youtuber and writer Luca Boiardi (The Crypto Gateway) and the Professor Raffaele Lener.

The day drew to a close with an engaging "Ideathon," wherein participants immersed themselves in authentic "crypto-startupper" experiences, leveraging blockchain technology to devise solutions for real-world challenges faced by local enterprises.The competition  was supervised by Mirko Maggiore (ICP.Hub Italia), Enrico Coviello (Besteams), Marco Fioravanti (MF Logistics), Salvatore Luciano Furnari (Studio Lener & CryptoShields), Daniele de Ferra (N26) Jacopo Cucci Colli (HyperFoundry) and Gabriele Agasucci (CryptoRoma Community) and gave the opportunity to the winners to participate in the Innovation LAB and to be candidate to potential scholarships.

The inaugural Blockchain Innovation Day thus exemplified the University of Roma Tor Vergata's commitment to fostering collaborative ecosystems that drive technological innovation and empower future leaders in the ever-evolving landscape of blockchain technology.

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