Have you ever wondered why companies are also called “businesses” or “organizations”?

The first term refers to the idea of accomplishing a work. While the second is linked to the concept of a coordinated relationship of mutual dependence. They are synonyms linked by a double thread, there is no need to go further. To organize ourselves and accomplish an undertaking we must communicate. Which does not only mean bouncing memes on WhatsApp and launching comments on social media.

For this reason, in the contemporary business ecosystem, the communication has evolved from a simple personal aptitude to a fundamental pillar of professional success. Much of the team's efficiency and therefore the company's goals depend on it. Which is why Artémat's commitment to helping HR evaluate this soft skill during assessment processes is increasingly intense.

"Communication, at its deepest core, is the infrastructure of human understanding." Peter Drucker, the mind behind some of the most brilliant theories on modern management, said this. These words capture the essence of what makes this soft skill more than a mere exchange of information, but rather the bridge that connects minds and hearts, facilitating understanding, sparking connections and encouraging collaboration.

In the work environment, communication takes on many facets. From attentive listening to non-verbal interpretation, to the art of expressing ideas clearly and convincingly. This is why it it is closely intertwined with other transversal skills such as leadership, empathy and problem solving, forming the core around which all professional interactions revolve.

Being able to communicate effectively means generating impact, creating resonance and creating opportunities for mutual understanding. In a work environment, where success often depends on the ability to work together towards common goals, this skill is a key indicator of performance and leadership potential.

We can put it this way: Effective communication is the lifeblood of the team. Imagine a project where brilliant ideas are clearly expressed, conflicts are resolved with empathy, and every team member feels listened to and valued. The result? A synergistic, harmonious, and productive work environment where nothing stands in the way of achieving and even exceeding goals with grit and creativity.

In an environment that tends to be pervaded by psychological pressure and conditioning such as the classic interview, It can be difficult to assess an individual's actual communication ability. Performance anxiety, for example, is an unpleasant little beast that infests rigid and formal contexts. When it attaches itself to the poor candidate's calf, he begins to fire off prepackaged answers that represent him as much as a portrait painted by a mole with Parkinson's. Answers that fuel - and this is perhaps even worse - the fermentation of a vast bouquet of cognitive biases on both sides of the desk.

This is where we at Artémat come in. Our Business Games create simulated scenarios that push candidates beyond the confines of conventional interviews, allowing HR to observe communication skills in a realistic context. Traditional interviews rarely offer the opportunity to observe candidates in group dynamics. Yet this is a fundamental aspect for evaluating the skill communication which everyone must rely on in a real work context.

Furthermore, standard interviews often do not simulate challenges and complex situations that an individual might encounter in the workplace, limiting the ability to assess how he or she communicates under pressure or in unstructured situations.

Faced with these challenges, our approach is innovative and effective. Imagine a “game” where candidates are immersed in complex and realistic business scenarios, collaborating to achieve common goals. These can range from project management to strategic challenges, requiring participants to interact effectively to achieve a team result. Situations that can lead to disagreements or tensions are often simulated.

Here, our Business Games create these experiences, offering HR a privileged window to observe (without being noticed) the candidates' ability to communicate, manage and resolve conflicts, negotiate, exercise influence and organize themselves in pressure situations, to collaborate constructively.

And since we learn by doing, in addition to making the evaluation process more efficient, help candidates develop teamworking skills, as they provide a rich, nuanced context for learning the importance of active listening, giving and receiving feedback, and how to express one's ideas clearly and respectfully.

Ultimately, they are revealing tools through which many large companies have discovered extraordinarily gifted talents. Because, as already mentioned, the communication is rooted in other key skills such as empathy, teamwork and leadership. And at Artémat, through Business Games, we promote a holistic discovery of soft skills, facilitating the emergence of balanced leaders, empathetic collaborators and creative problem solvers. In short, we do not only design assessment tools but catalysts for growth and development. It means opening the doors to a future where every talent is recognized not only for what they know, but also for how they connect to others.

The first act of the Challenge ended with the skill game.

But the best is yet to come, as we have only just met the protagonists of this talent show. Having gathered an exceptional cast of academic diversity – with about 30 universities represented and talents from the faculties of Engineering, Economics, Finance, Statistics, Computer Science and Physics – the curtain will soon rise on the second act.

We will see the protagonists individually grappling with video interviews and role play. In these tests, each will have the opportunity to show their aptitudes to an HR audience that is waiting to discover the new stars of the world of work.

But it is in the third act that the decisive performance will take place, the one in which the plot will reach its climax. And it will no longer be narrated individually, but in a choral manner. To face the business game, the skill will consist in weaving stories of cooperation, innovation and strategy. A combination where individual talent, like in an exciting musical, dances with the magic of teamwork, going towards an explosive finale: a professional offer from a leading company in the international market.

But despite the metaphors used in these lines, for the best of the best the conclusion of the Challenge will not be a fiction, but rather a debut in the real world. An occasion that could transform into the opportunity of a lifetime. There will be a fourth act, in short, that will be written in the offices of those companies where they will have the chance to transform themselves into business stars.

University Talent Challenge, in fact, is not a theater of skills as an end in itself. For some of our talents it is certainly a preview of their professional future. For all the others, no less than the dress rehearsal of what tomorrow can bring them. A formative experience of inestimable value.

To all participants, therefore, we sincerely wish to make the most of what they have acquired in their academic journey and to find the determination needed to write their own career success. Good luck and happy Challenge to everyone!

Go to the site:

www.universitytalentchallenge.it

There are teachers for whom the sound of the bell, more than the lesson, marks the beginning of a mission. Teachers who roll up their sleeves and make a difference, because they look beyond the program. Teachers who believe in the power of education as a means of growth and change. Therefore, they constantly update themselves and experiment with new methods, determined to best prepare their students for the future.

In fact, at school, young people acquire knowledge regarding the various subjects of study but also the skills necessary to face life. The system, therefore, should also help them develop a mindset that will be useful when they begin their work chapter. For these teachers, always looking for new solutions and innovative methods, business games represent the next frontier of learning.

Games have always been a powerful learning tool. We all remember the lessons we learned through playing games. Games teach us how to think critically, solve problems, and work in teams. That's why business games are increasingly popular at all levels of education.

But what is a business game? It is a virtual but realistic simulation of how a company works. Students, divided into teams but also individually, manage a virtual company, facing challenges and making decisions with the aim of learning the main business dynamics and understanding how they are connected to each other. This approach is based on psychological principles such as experiential learning and gamification, and can be applied in all sectors. The competitive element adds an additional level of involvement and stimulation.

The benefits are obvious both for students, who are offered a safe environment to develop and enhance technical skills (analysis, strategy, marketing, economics, etc.) and transversal skills (communication, teamwork, decision making, etc.), and for teachers, who can teach complex subjects in a more engaging and interactive way. “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn,” said Benjamin Franklin.

Imagine a class of students running a startup in the mobile application market. Every decision, from budget management to the valorization of intellectual capital, affects the success of the company and, in turn, offers the kids the opportunity to understand well how sustainability works in business. The benefit is that, when their time actually comes, those kids will have a valuable experience on which to base their first, important decisions.

In summary, business games are divided into 4 steps:

1. Team building: Where students are divided into small groups.
2. Industry Selection: Where each team identifies the area to focus on.
3. Management and strategy: during which groups make decisions of various kinds.
4. Evaluation and feedback: choices and their effects are analyzed to draw valuable lessons.

At this point the doubt is legitimate: does this approach work with the very young as much as it has proven effective with the adults? Certainly. This is confirmed by the largely positive feedback we collect from thousands of students who participate in the business games designed by Artémat and distributed in schools by Ligra srl. Most of the students report an increase in their understanding of business dynamics and improved soft skills.

This shows that this is not just a trend, but the future of education. Companies are adopting this approach to recruit and train their employees, universities have introduced it to improve both the input and output of teaching and even schools are slowly converting. In a rapidly changing world, business games represent the fastest and most effective transition between theory and practice. Because as Plato said: “The direction in which education begins a man will determine his future life”.

In Africa they say that “alone you go faster, but together you go further”. In the business world it works exactly like this. In fact, all of them allocate a lot of resources in the formation of teams capable of expressing a value that is greater than the simple sum of the parts. In short, companies are not only looking for young talents, but also young talents who can work perfectly in harmony with each other. So, guys, the sooner you learn to work as a team, the sooner you will have access to great professional satisfactions.

But how can you train this soft skill if you are not yet part of a corporate team? The answer seems obvious only after reading it: by playing. More precisely, we are talking about an innovative and dynamic approach to training, on which we at Artémat have based the University Talent Challenge format. We are talking about “gamification”.

This is a technique that uses game dynamics to stimulate engagement and collaboration. The final phase of the University Talent Challenge, in fact, is a Business Game, a simulated but extremely realistic experience, which places teams of participants in front of challenges and problems regarding business management. In this context, the individual talent is important, but it is the synergy of the group that leads to ideal solutions.

“Role playing” is the key element of gamification. During the simulation, participants spontaneously and naturally take on a role within the team, compare ideas, overcome obstacles and make decisions together. In the context of the University Talent Challenge, working together is also an opportunity for cultural contamination that can also prove profitable on a creative level. In fact, the teams are made up of undergraduates and recent graduates from the faculties of Engineering, Economics, Finance, Statistics, Computer Science and Physics of all Italian universities.

The game phases take place in a protected environment, that is, free from the inhibiting psychological factors that one might be exposed to in a real workplace. Since it is a fiction, one is not afraid to speak one's mind, one does not fear failure nor does one feel the weight of responsibility, because one cannot cause harm. In this context, talent is expressed to the maximum, therefore the potential of the group is also increased.

Why does it work? Simple, play has an incredible power over the human psyche: it stimulates enthusiasm, (healthy) competition and determination. When you play as a team, as happens during our Challenge, another fundamental aspect emerges: cooperation. Victory is a common goal, a milestone to reach together. And everyone plays a crucial role in reaching it.

Theory taught in the classroom is essential, but it is in the real world that skills are put to the test. The University Talent Challenge represents the perfect bridge between these two worlds, because it provides participants with the ideal opportunity to apply what they have learned, bringing value to the team to which they are assigned.

Participating in the UTC is not only an educational experience, but a real preview of what awaits you in the working world. And during the challenge you will realize that, in the professional universe, individual talent can shine, but it is the set of stars that lights up the sky.

For more information and to participate:

www.universitytalentchallenge.it

info@universitytalentchallenge.it

In a rapidly changing world, where competition to access the desired job positions is increasingly fierce, Artémat – in collaboration with a2a, Accenture, Barilla Group, Brembo SpA, Decathlon, Deloitte, EY, FINCANTIERI, Chegeka, General and NTT DATA – presents University Talent Challenge: an innovative digital “career format” conceived and designed for undergraduates and recent graduates of the faculties of Engineering, Economics, Finance, Statistics, Computer Science and Physics.