2024 Student-Centered Workshop on Innovative Solutions to Business Challenges Leading to Paid Internships

Event Date: Saturday, March 23,  2024
Event time 9:00 a.m.
Location: Baker Scholars Conference Room, 5^th floor Regents Hall

The One-Day Student-Centered Workshop on Innovative Solutions to Business Challenges Leading to Paid Internships has served as a bridge between business and academia and offers students a great opportunity to intellectually engage in finding solutions to real challenges confronting the business world today. This unique event features leaders from well-known and established Italian companies who will challenge students to come up with innovative solutions to these issues. The workshop encourages students to engage in collaborative research that will lead to paid internship opportunities with the firms. 

This workshop is held every spring semester and is open to all Georgetown University undergraduate students.

Application Deadline: Thursday, March 21, 2024

We have reached the maximum capacity of students for this year’s workshop and are no longer accepting applications. We look forward to reviewing your application next year!

Participating Italian Companies

Eni S.P.A. is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome engaged in the exploration, development and extraction of natural gas and oil, power generation from traditional and renewable sources, refining and chemicals. The goal of sustainability incorporates business at every level. 

The challenges faced by the global energy system are environmental sustainability, universal access to energy and energy security. Eni recognizes the need to be lean and flexible in coping with this trio of energy issues by adopting a model based on diversification of energy types and geographical sources, development of new technologies and the central role of natural gas. In this context, we are leveraging alliances with the countries in which we have been investing for years, focusing our objectives on a socially equitable and just energy transition.

Prioritizing our customers, we strive to offer increasingly decarbonized products and services. In order to share growth and development with our host countries, since 2019 we have incorporated the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into our mission. For each of them, we have set targets to be achieved in the short (2023-2026), medium (2026-2030) and long term (by 2050).

Eni wants to be a leader in the energy sector with a long-term strategy toward carbon neutrality in 2050. Following a phase of great transformation that allowed the company to increase and diversify its portfolio whilst strengthening its financial structure, in 2020 Eni reached a new milestone in the development of its business model by presenting its first long-term strategic plan. The company is combining the goals of continuous development in a rapidly evolving energy market. With a significant reduction of its carbon footprint, the company’s long-term strategy takes full commitment to reduce all GHG emissions related to the energy-related activities. In 2021, Eni took a further step towards products sold (Scope 1+2+3) forward, committing to total decarbonization of all products and processes, outlining the integrated and evolutionary paths of its individual businesses towards carbon neutrality in 2050.

In 2022, we further enhanced our strategy by leveraging technology integration, development of new business models, and close collaboration with stakeholders, accelerating our path towards Net Zero in 2050, with new short and medium-term targets that confirm our commitment to further align our emissions reduction trajectory with 1.5°C scenarios.

The new short and medium-term targets envisage a 35% reduction in absolute net scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 2030 and 80% by 2040 (vs. 2018), accelerating the 25% and 65% reduction targets of the previous plan. These targets clearly show our progress in implementing our decarbonization strategy.

Proprietary and breakthrough technologies will be the strategic drivers of the decarbonization path, ensuring a leading position in the energy transition through research and technological innovation. Moreover, Eni has long-standing and solid partnerships with academia, civil society, institutions, and business associations to contribute to the energy system decarbonization.

This is the ninth year Eni has participated in the Georgetown workshop. On a rotating basis, students from the chosen team are offered paid internships at Eni’s Washington DC Office. Two of the past participants have been offered positions in the company. Marco Margheri, Head of Eni’s US Relations and Chairman of Eni New Energies US Inc. will present the challenge.

Marco Margheri
Head of Eni’s US Relations and
Chairman of Eni New Energies US Inc.

Marco Margheri is the Head of Eni’s US Relations and Chairman of Eni New Energies US Inc. He oversees relations with US Authorities, US-based IFIs, and multilateral processes of interest for the company. Marco is also a board member of the Atlantic Council, a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, and chair of the WEC – World Energy Council for Italy. Before joining Eni, he was Italy’s Edison Executive Vice-President for Sustainability, Institutions & Regulation, overseeing activities in Rome and Brussels, and held positions with GE Oil & Gas and Cohn Wolfe. Marco is also a visiting professor at LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome, a member of the Italian press, and an Honorary Member of the Milano per la Scala Foundation in Milan.

Sam Oswald, SFS student who participated in the Workshop and was offered a position at Eni, S.p.A.

At the Eni Washington DC Representative Office, I work as the Government Affairs & Policy Specialist handling US Administration, Agency and Institutional engagement. Since I first joined Eni as an intern in the winter of 2020, I have been fortunate to study the company’s industry-leading decarbonization and energy transition first-hand. Working in Public Affairs, I see the full prism of Eni’s objectives and enjoy communicating to US stakeholders our advanced energy expertise. Each day, I am afforded the opportunity to discuss with public and private energy and foreign policy thought-leaders, exercising my long-held interests in international affairs and markets established since my time studying Global Business in the School of Foreign Service. For the eager Georgetown student, I strongly recommend attention paid to the exciting professional opportunities of the energy transition and say that Eni is a fitting home for those dedicated to serving the global community and with a passion for innovation.

Leonardo is an international leader in Aerospace, Defense, and Security, a global solutions provider, and a trusted long-term partner of choice for governments, institutions, and business customers. Headquartered in Rome with more than 105 industrial and administrative locations throughout the world, Leonardo delivers cutting-edge and dual-use technology and, in doing so, strengthens global security by protecting people, territories, infrastructure, and cyber networks.   The company comprises five divisions:  Helicopters, Aircraft, Space, Electronics, and Defense & Security Systems.  

Leonardo consists of more than 7,000 employees within the United States, with the bulk primarily in its Electronics and Helicopters Divisions.  With industrial presences in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, as well as sales and administrative offices in Texas and Virginia, Leonardo produces and delivers a broad portfolio of products and services from the U.S. for municipalities, states, federal departments, and the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as other domestic commercial customers. 

Marta Pentassuglia 
Senior Vice-President, General Administration, and Ethics Officer at Leonardo US Corporation

Marta Pentassuglia has served Leonardo in the US since 2011, where she currently holds the position of Senior Vice President, General Administration, and Ethics Officer at Leonardo US Corporation and Leonardo US Aircraft, LLC. In her capacity, she supervises various processes, such as human resources, facilities, and general administration, to ensure efficient and effective day-to-day operations. She collaborates with other executives to align administrative processes with the organization’s goals and objectives and guarantees the alignment between the guidelines set by Headquarters and US Federal and State regulations.

Having been part of the Finmeccanica Group since 1982, Marta has a rich history within the organization, handling diverse responsibilities in Italy, the UK, France, and Germany. Concurrently, she has served as Vice President at the Crystal City Pentagon Rotary Club for the past three years. As Rotarian she is actively engaged with HIBS – Honduras Independence Bilingual School, aiding students from disadvantaged backgrounds in achieving a life of independence.