The virtual rooms are silent. The bluish glow of the screens illuminates the faces of the participants, framed in the windows of the connection platform.

In the background, different environments; some are not even within the reassuring walls of their own home. You can see that the kids are excited, but their eyes do not betray concern. The tests of the previous weeks have prepared them for this moment. Just looking at them is enough to perceive the awareness that, in the imminent challenge, every strategic decision could make the difference. Thus begins the last phase of the University Talent Challenge, where it is not just about competing, but about building a piece of the future.

The Challenge began weeks earlier, with a lively and palpable enthusiasm. The selected talents passed individual tests designed by Artemat to assess their skills and competences. The Skillgame tested their hard skills through a multidisciplinary timed quiz. In the video interview, each demonstrated their communication skills and told their vision of the professional future. With the Web InBasket, instead, they experienced managerial role-playing, demonstrating decision-making readiness and the ability to solve complex problems. “Every challenge faced was a valuable lesson,” Kevin will comment on LinkedIn, condensing the value of the experience in a few, significant words.

This suspended atmosphere is interrupted by the calm and reassuring voice of our facilitators, who take the floor to start the last, exciting phase of the Challenge. With precision and a hint of enthusiasm, they explain to the participants the rules of the Business Game and evaluation parameters. The kids' attention is focused on every word: "What you are about to try is a simulation, but it works like the real world," says one of them, looking intently at the crowd of faces on the screens. "There are no right or wrong answers, but consequences. You will have to be good at predicting and managing them." His words resonate as an invitation to go beyond theory, to immerse yourself in the complexities of the market, like true professionals. It's time to turn skills into action.

Participants are quickly directed to the “virtual rooms” of the assigned teams, where they meet their adventure companions for the first time, with whom they immediately try to establish a connection. This “ice breaking” lasts only ten minutes but, before entering the heart of the challenge, it creates that climate of complicity that is essential for effective collaboration. And so the kids exchange information about their respective study paths and talk about their professional expectations. They lay the foundations for an understanding that will be decisive when the game begins.

Some of them minimize the pleasantries and get ahead of the game. In an attempt to optimize the moments before the game, they put the first strategic ideas on the table, sketched out on the few details gleaned during the general presentation of the Business Game: the mission is to launch a virtual start-up in the competitive mobile app market, having a certain budget available. Giuseppe, one of the participants, will later tell that "being part of this contest was more than a learning experience; it was a real-time skills test, a real opportunity for growth and networking with other determined young people".

Once the ice is broken, all the teams are ready and, each with their own approach, they begin to implement strategies to beat the competition. The competition is lively and dynamic, decisions follow one another quickly, both by those who prefer a cautious approach to the market and by those who are animated by a bold spirit. Round after round, the virtual companies reconfigure their strategies based on the results of the simulated semester just ended. At the end of each round, in fact, the participants leave their virtual rooms to meet again "in plenary". In the presence of everyone, the facilitators take the floor to comment on the situation with the help of the infographics automatically produced by the platform. It seems like we are witnessing a real market challenge, twists included! In all of this, the HR of the partner companies do not miss a move, studying the responses of the young managers during each phase of the Challenge. "The candidates have exceeded our expectations, brilliant and motivated", Alessia from A2A will comment enthusiastically. And in fact, every decision made reflects not only the skills, but also the ability to adapt of the young people.

University Talent Challenge is a real format and includes interludes that, in addition to allowing candidates to catch their breath, help them find the inspiration to continue with greater motivation towards the goal. In these “decompression moments”, partner companies tell about visions and career opportunities, with multimedia pitches that light up the eyes of the kids. After seeing the enthusiasm of the participants, Denise di Lipari will underline the value of merit in the Challenge: “We can’t wait to get in touch with the kids to get to know them better”.

When the gong rings, at the end of the fourth round, the Business Game is over. The participants anxiously await the final verdict in silence, knowing that they have used every last ounce of talent. “It was very interesting to follow the guys while they were involved in the various rounds,” commented Francesca from Cegeka. “They were committed and I must say that they all collaborated in a constructive manner.” But, as we know, in each race there is only room for one winner. Two teams in particular, Pink and Blue, chased each other spasmodically throughout the entire test, staging a thrilling head-to-head. Everyone holds their breath, waiting for the announcement. Finally, the graphs appear and speak clearly: amid virtual applause and congratulations, the Pink team is carried in triumph.

Then, the awards are also assigned which, like last year, consist of four types of "open badges". The one referring to the "best team" is awarded directly by the partner companies, who observed the groups working for the entire duration of the game, and goes to the Blue team. Andrea Laura Bonfiglio, from the University of Brescia, gets the one for having recorded the most effective pitch, also in this case by decision of the sponsors. While Berardo Botteri, from the University of Milan "Bicocca", gets the credit for having distinguished himself in the initial Skillgame. But no one is left empty-handed, because, as a reward for having gotten this far, everyone receives an open participation badge. That same evening, some of the competitors already start proudly displaying them on their LinkedIn profiles. The beauty of this experience, in fact, is that it is not a competition tout court but a real opportunity for personal and professional enrichment. An engaging and exciting way to get in tune with the dimension of teamwork. Laura, one of the university students competing, described it in a post as “a journey of discovery and growth that I will always carry with me”.

And so, after the ritual good luck, both from us and from the HR, the second edition of the innovative digital assessment contest that puts the spotlight on young Italian university talents ends successfully. The boxes with the faces of the kids turn off one after the other, leaving the screen all for us organizers. At this point we have nothing else to add, except a knowing smile on our tired but satisfied faces. Until the next adventure, with new challenges, new talents, new dreams and new stories to tell.

After all, what successful companies have now understood is that if an assessment does not turn out to be a “win-win” process, then it is lacking. The value that fuels the success of the most flourishing companies is the result of a reciprocal exchange: from employees to the company and from the company to employees. Understanding and accepting the fact that time is a precious resource for the candidate too is a great place to start. Heroic journeys are best left to adventurers hunting for lost treasures.