Intré Camp 21 February 2025 – Country house La Lodovica

Gildonference

The term “gildonference” comes from the combination of the words Guilds and conference: it is a sort of mini-conference dedicated to the Guilds, a special opportunity for all Intré members to share the results and experiences gained in the active Guilds during the last semester. In the following paragraphs, you will find a summary of the presentations of the Guilds from the third semester of 2024.

On the “Guilds” page of our company website, you will find the summary sheets of these recent Guilds and previous ones.

i3Presence

During the third iteration of the Guild, dedicated to the development of the application for managing desk bookings and office attendance tracking, new features were developed, still in Flutter, such as notification management and the admin interface. A graphical adaptation for web-browser platforms was also handled.

Rust in peace

The Guild, created with the goal of thoroughly exploring the Rust programming language, gained a solid foundational knowledge of the language through the complete study of the book “Rust – From the Basics of the Language to Advanced Techniques” and practical exercises (katas) that helped discover how to optimize code for the underlying architecture.

Game Design

The Game Design Guild aimed to explore the dynamics of video game design, tackling the creative process from the conception of the idea to the development of a playable prototype. Through brainstorming, mind mapping, game flow study, and level prototyping, the Guild experimented with new design and development techniques. The results include a first level prototype and an original and humorous game narrative.

I3 Finance

Through lectures, hands-on exercises, and a structured path, the Guild delved into key topics such as inflation, interest rates, diversification, and risk, analyzing financial instruments including stocks, bonds, investment funds, and ETFs. Participants gained the necessary skills to manage their financial resources effectively, plan investments, and build a portfolio suited to their life goals, thus contributing to greater financial awareness. The Guild’s output will be the design and delivery of a course on the topic for all colleagues.

I3Skillz

The i3Skillz Guild focused on exploring microfrontend architecture, choosing Angular as the reference framework. Through practical experiments, it created a PoC to integrate microservices into the internal application used for time reporting, addressing the complexities of migrating an existing system. The results include a working backend in development, the analysis of the Skill Matrix, and a document with the next steps.

History of Interfaces

The Guild aimed to explore the evolution of digital interfaces, identifying the origins of paradigms and patterns that are still present today. The path included studying modern interfaces related to virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and wearable devices, with a focus on the impact of artificial intelligence on the design of the future. Thanks to collaboration and individual contributions, the Guild developed a broader and more critical view of interface design, connecting the past, present, and future.

Skip the Guild

Intré also offers the option to not join any Guild, allowing individuals to pursue independent learning paths, known as “Skip the Guild.” Below, you will find the list of participants and the results they achieved through their journey.

• Alberto Acerbis followed a course on Microsoft Learn and renewed his Azure Solutions Architect certification.
• Luca Cruciani completed the Copy42 “Writing for the Web” training course, enhancing his Digital Copywriting knowledge and skills, particularly for writing more effective web copy. Luca obtained the course certification.
• Roberto Aceti consolidated his existing knowledge and deepened specific skills in Angular, as well as some front-end development expertise.
• Yordan Asenov completed an in-depth study of the new features introduced between Java versions 8 and 17.
• Carlo Ballabio obtained the AWS Certified Solutions Architect certification.
• Andrea Giovane followed a path to achieve the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification.
• Miriam Lapedota followed a path to achieve the CKAD certification.
• Michele Nava took two courses on React to obtain the first-level certification.

For further details about the history of our Guilds, visit the dedicated page on our company website, which contains, for each Guild:

• a descriptive sheet;
• a link to any associated artifact (a video, article, podcast episode, etc.).

Unconference

Stefano Maffeis facilitated the marketplace moment during which the unconference schedule is actually created: each participant, armed with post-its, presents their session and places it in one of the time slots provided in the agenda.
After the presentations, a few minutes were dedicated to confirming the current configuration of the presentations or making adjustments, with one rule: only those requesting a change, along with the post-it owner involved, can make a decision about it.

The unconference of this camp was full of proposals thanks to the contributions from external guests: from technical topics such as Property Based Testing, GitOps, and micro frontends, to methodological issues such as the role of the Product Owner, workflow improvement, and managing interruptions. There were also sessions dedicated to artificial intelligence presented by the business unit Memoria and those focused on cybersecurity held by Betrusted.

AI, Friend or Eneny of Carabinieri?

During their presentation titled “AI for Security and Crime Control,” Andrea Caglio and Luca Giudici explored the role of Artificial Intelligence in combating fraud and illegal activities. They explained how AI algorithms can identify suspicious transactions in real-time, predicting fraudulent behaviors.
A focus was given to visual investigation, with image upscaling techniques to improve forensic analysis and facial recognition. The topic of deepfake was also addressed, increasingly used for identity theft and information manipulation. Finally, the speakers discussed the AI Act, the European regulation that will govern the ethical use of artificial intelligence, balancing innovation and security.

CopywrAIting

Luca Cruciani prepared a presentation on the topic of web copywriting, dividing it into three parts: “How to write web copy,” “SEO and copywriting,” “AI and copywriting.”

How to write web copy
Before starting to write content for the web, it is essential to ask three questions:

• Who am I addressing?
• Where will my copy be published?
• What is my goal?

Writing means informing, engaging, convincing, and, above all, persuading. From here, Luca introduced the principles of persuasion theorized by Robert Cialdini in his book “Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion“, showing examples from corporate web pages. He also emphasized the importance of tone of voice (ToV), a crucial element for adapting the message to the context and the audience. To support this, he referred to the “temperatures” of tone of voice described by Valentina Falcinelli in her book “Testi che parlano.”

SEO and copywriting
An effective copy must not only be well-written but also visible. This is why SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a key element. Luca explained how SEO strategies help content rank among the top results on search engines, thus increasing the chances of being read.
Key concepts discussed:

• SERP (Search Engine Result Page): the results page generated by a search engine in response to a query.
• Keywords and search intent: choosing the right keywords means exactly capturing what the user is searching for.

AI and copywriting
In the final part of the presentation, Luca analyzed the impact of Artificial Intelligence on copywriting. Today, there are numerous AI tools capable of generating text, creating images, and analyzing data. Many companies use them for marketing and other activities, but it is crucial to use them wisely.
Tools like ChatGPT offer great support, but they cannot replace the human touch: intuition, creativity, and the ability to evoke emotions remain irreplaceable. AI is an ally, not a substitute.

The power of tidying up

Francesco Sacchi shared a reflection on the importance of tidying up, inspired by reading a book on the subject. This book is a guide to letting go of objects that create “noise” around us. Since the home is also a workplace for many, a well-organized environment can improve productivity, focus, and mental well-being. Francesco and other colleagues shared their experiences in distancing themselves from objects, tidying up, and creating new space—not only physical but also mental.

Open Source Culture & Ecosystem

Valentina Sona, Offensive Security Specialist at Betrusted, offered an interesting session on the topic of open source.
Software is perhaps the most well-known and widespread application of the open-source philosophy, but it is certainly not the only one: open culture spans across many disciplines with numerous branches.
Many topics were discussed during the meeting, thanks to questions and insights from the participants: what does it mean to own your own data or devices, management and security of software dependencies, internal governance of a project, right to repair, interoperability, open data formats, privacy, copyleft.
Valentina also explored specific case studies of interest, such as the case study of the backdoor inserted in the open-source library XZ Utils and the practical difference between copyright and patents, and how they relate to the public domain.

Conclusion

After the last track of sessions of the unconference, we gathered in the common room to exchange some feedback on this Intré Camp and close the intense day.

See you at the next Intré Camp!