Do I need an idea to join?
No, and about half of each cohort arrives without one. Five of the eleven evenings are workshops built for finding a problem worth solving and the people to work on it with. Joining someone else's idea counts exactly as much as bringing your own.
Is it really free?
Yes. No fee, nothing to buy during the programme, and no equity. The room is provided by SAA School of Management and the speakers come for nothing.
Who can apply?
Anyone over eighteen. Students and people already working both take part, and you do not need to be enrolled at the university or studying anything in particular.
What language are the sessions in?
Italian and English. Most evenings run in Italian, with English whenever the speaker or the room needs it. Teams work in whichever language suits them and the final showcase can be in either.
What is the difference between the two kinds of evening?
A practitioner evening is one person who has done the thing — priced a product, raised money, signed the contracts — talking about the part they know, then answering questions for as long as the room keeps asking. A peer workshop has no speaker: a mediator runs the room and the work is done by the people in it, on their own problems.
Why is there no session on 21 October?
One deliberate break, a fortnight in. The two opening evenings are talks; the workshops that follow ask you to turn up with a problem you have actually thought about, and that week is for doing exactly that.
What if I miss an evening?
Nothing happens — there is no penalty and nobody chases you. The certificate is the one place attendance matters: it asks for most of the evenings that count, and the exact figure is on your own page once you enrol.
Do I have to come every week?
Come to what is useful. The workshops build on each other more than the talks do, so the middle stretch rewards turning up; the talk evenings stand alone and you can pick the ones you want.
Can I speak, or run a workshop?
Yes — every evening has an open slot. Practitioner evenings want somebody who has done the thing in question; workshops want a mediator who can run a room without dominating it. Write to the programme and say which evening and why.
What happens after the eleven evenings?
The last evening is a showcase: teams put their problem in front of the room and the mentors. What comes after that is yours — some teams keep going, some people join another team, and some decide the problem was not worth it, which is also a result.