Silvia Mari
S.Mari - Una Formazione Su misura che parla molte lingue
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With a solid background in chemistry (degree in Milan and PhD in Madrid) and specialisation in project management and innovation management in the biotech and pharma sector, Silvia Mari has developed a cross-disciplinary professional profile. After academic experience in Italy, Spain and Switzerland, she has been responsible for Continuing Education at the SUPSI Department of Innovative Technologies since 2025. We explore with her the experience of a “tailor-made” training programme developed in collaboration with Lombardi SA: a co-designed, multilingual course that has strengthened the technical and cross-disciplinary skills of participants in the field of project management. This is an example of how SUPSI supports local organisations with training programmes designed to meet real needs.
SUPSI's tailor-made training always starts by listening to the company. In the case of Lombardi SA, what were the elements on which the co-design of the programme was based?
When a company approaches tailor-made training, there are generally two main elements that need to be satisfied. On the one hand, there is a need to provide a common language in a specific area of knowledge; on the other hand, this result needs to be achieved by working directly with the existing business realities.
During the co-design with Lombardi SA, the needs in the area of project management were clarified and the objectives of the training programme were consolidated: sharing of best practices, knowledge of reference standards and access to one of the most sought-after certifications in the field of project management (PMP® certification - project management professional - from the Project Management Institute). Finally, given the large number and diversity of professional profiles, the training was structured into three modules, ranging from basic to advanced, allowing each participant to build their own personal training path.
The link with professional practice and the immediate impact on daily work is clear. Can you give an example of how this alignment between training content and real needs developed?
During the tailor-made courses, we work directly on cases or business activities, allowing the training to have a direct impact on the company's experience. During the first training session, the participants defined the projects they wanted to work on, and the working groups were formed accordingly. During each meeting, each group had assignments to produce and share with the other groups.
The discussions that emerged, the comments and exchanges with other groups always provided interesting and enriching ideas and perspectives. These dynamics contributed to the consolidation or hypothesis of new good practices, thus promoting collective intelligence at Lombardi SA.
The course had a modular and multilingual structure, with activities in three locations and in three languages. How did this choice affect the quality of the training experience and the strengthening of collaboration between colleagues from different locations?
The modularity of the training course allowed each participant to personalise their training experience. In addition, the possibility of receiving training in their mother tongue allowed for more direct and in-depth discussions. SUPSI made an effort to maintain a single version of the teaching material and strong alignment with the training teachers.
One of the main shared values was the work produced by the various groups. Some of the work (e.g. the structure of the company project portfolio), collected jointly by the various working groups, proved to be a real asset for the company.
Finally, the training was also an opportunity to effectively share existing company initiatives, which otherwise would not have found such a strong context for sharing.
This collaboration demonstrates how training can become a strategic lever for innovation. How does SUPSI intend to develop this approach?
Through its continuing education programmes for companies and professionals, SUPSI is able to create a safe environment for experimentation, sharing and enhancement. All this is guided by a single common thread: continuous improvement.
Our task is to facilitate and guide the exchange between professionals in our area, to select good practices that can be inspiring, and to encourage their transfer between different sectors. This translates into a wide range of initiatives, from catalogued courses to tailor-made courses, from open lectures to tutoring of company projects, from meetings between companies in the same sector to visits to our laboratories to see possible directions for innovation first-hand.