StartCup Ceremony and Winners! (June 29, 2006)
Because of some of our business courses that we were taking, we were given the opportunity to enter out Business Plan that we were developing for one of our courses into the StartCup...a competition whereby business plans were selected for monetary prizes. The money received was to further the venture to the next phase of development, such as a prototype. Then another round of money could be gained to enter the next phase of the business plan.
So two of the groups entered with their business plans.
1. Plattone - to develop a low cost brick from recyclables for interior decor like wall partitions etc.
2. NanoSole - to develop solar panels using nanotechnology.
Below is the StartCup ceremony in Padua.
The first winners from our class...yay Nanosole! From left to right: Binay, Nicolo, Gianluca and Davide.
The the other winners from our class, Plattone. From left to right: Stefano, Surinder, Alessandro and Matteo.
Back in the classroom the next day...more celebrating going on. All the winners again.
A closeup view of the 1000 euro cheques. The top one is someone else's.
Miscellaneous June Photos...spring!
These are just miscellaneous photos in June...it's warming up nicely...finally!!!
Attending a lab demo about one of the microscopes at the University of Venice.
The entrance to the University of Venice where the labs are located.
A group of us out on the town partying it up. The camera guy said something funny, which is why we're all smiling so much.
Andrea...the new age man...comfortable with his manhood and female accessories! Uh Andrea, I would like my purse back.
Now switching with Andrea's clothes! But that was because I was very cold and he was a gentleman to lend me his sweater. It is a bit big.....
Two buddies cozying it up while we were waiting for the vaporetto. Sara (Andrea's girlfriend), you might have some competition from Peppe!
Another lab using the NanoEducator device, a miniature Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) device for educational purposes. AFM is a method by which the atomic forces are measured between the probe tip and the atoms/molecules to calculate the distance.
This allows surface topographies to be viewed at a high resolution.
The NanoEducator itself in all its majesty!!!
World Cup Begins!!!!
World Cup finally began in Germany with the usual excitement around the world...but for me, it was a completely new experience. And I have to say that being in Italy added a lot to the atmosphere, especially since ALL my Italian friends and the others were REALLY into World Cup. My friends were most patient, explaining the rules and answering all my basic questions. The result?? I now have a full appreciation of World Cup and I really got into it as well!! Here are some photos to show how we got into the spirit.
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Waiting for the game to start for Germany.
Post-game hanging out.
Alberto becoming a little too friendly with Surinder.
Nicolo showing off his 'true' colours of Germany.
Alberto...his usual goofy self.
Stefy's Birthday - June 6
Stefania, an amazing woman with intelligence and style, also graced us with her culinary skills by bringing us her homemade baked tarts and a bottle of champagne!!! They were really awesome!!! Yum! Thanks Stefy!
Misc and 2 Nights out in Venice
Miscellaneous PhotosSome photos to show us in a normal way of student life. We weren't always studying!! We actually did have a chance to enjoy the Venetian scene.
Above from left to right: Giuseppe (aka Peppino or Bradapeppe = Slow Peppe), Surinder, and Andrea.
Above: Surinder trying to warm up while studying. We had such a tough life!
Above from left to right: Andrea, Giuseppe, Stefano and Binay enjoying a home-cooked meal of spaghetti...the right way, and a bit of vino.
The guys enjoying an afternoon of soccer. (above & below)
(Below) Giuseppe & I delivering our Business Plan presentation to the class.
First Night Out in Venice
A bunch of us decided to head to Lido (beach) island where we went to a bar..called Quotamare. Apparently it's a gay bar...but since it seemed to be a quiet night, nobody was picked up.
Some of us as we're leaving Quotamare.
Back on the mainland, we went to a bar for drinks and food.
The whole gang!
Second Night Out in Venice
This time we went out to see the opening of the new clock tower in San Marco square.
There was a big show on that was really really late in starting...like 1.5 hours late!!!! Now that's Italian time for you....even worse than Chinese time!
But when it finally got started, the performances were very good....the one on the right was a performance on the wall of the bell tower, which was very cool.
Another 'fiery' performance!
The clock tower in its restored glory!
The gang before partying it up at a bar nearby.
Another picture of the gang.
Stefania and me!
Andrea and Peppe not wanting to be serious to take pictures.
Valerie and Levinia having a laugh.
The post-dance snack at a bar.
The other part of our gang at the bar.
Class Trip - Milan and Turin
So initially, Civen was supposed to have arranged a class trip to Intel in Dublin, Ireland, at the beginning of May, but unfortunately that fell through. Instead, we went to Turin to meet with the Fiat research group, and to Milan to meet with ST Microelectronics. Each company visit was a day each with a chartered bus.
Early in the morning meeting at Civen for the bus. An espresso would've been very helpful at that point.
But since we didn't have access to an espresso machine, the next best thing was to snooze!! Doesn't Alberto and Camille look so cute and peaceful!
Our first company visit to he Fiat Research and Development group in Turin.
A few future researchers relaxing in the hotel near Turin.
From left to right: Surinder, Gianluca and Davide.
All of us waiting outside our hotel to head to dinner. In the meantime we enjoyed a glass of wine to toast.
Table 1 at dinner in a small local, but excellent restaurant.
From bottom left clockwise: Manish, Anna, Matteo, Stefania, Nicolo', Camille, Alberto, the bus driver and Binay.
Table 2, which was of course the more important table because I was there!! Haha
From bottom left clockwise: Martin, Francesco, Mikkel, Stefano, ME!!, Alessandro, Giuseppe, Andrea, Valerie, Davide and Gianluca.
Enjoying a moment with friends post-dinner. Now the party starts.
From left to right: Andrea, Stefania and Binay.
Me and Andrea.
The party starts to get crazy. For some reason, Alberto (middle) has sprouted a moustache, Nicolo' (right) has grown a goatee, and I can't really describe what is on Giuseppe's head (left)!! Those crazy Italians!
But wait, it's just starting to warm up!
Camille also gets into the action of the fun.
So it looks like Surinder and Martin decide to hit the sack and get some sleep. After all, it's 3am in the morning.
But Giuseppe decides that sleep is over-rated and crashes their slumber party. Besides, didn't someone say that a threesome is more fun!
No, apparently, a foursome is where the party is at. Alberto likes it really cozy in the bed. :-)
The morning after on the bus to Milan.....nuff said.
Can you say "tired?" That's what having coffee is for, right?
Our second company visit in Milan at ST Microelectronics. They create silicon chips just like Intel. The tour was quite cool, very modern facilities.
A display case in the lobby, showing silicon wafers that they produce (top shelf) from the raw silicon material (2nd shelf) and the ingots (2nd shelf), which is the pointed shape in the centre,
Thus ended our class trip to Milan and Turin. Absolutely a fantastic time!!
Above from left to right: Giuseppe (aka Peppino or Bradapeppe = Slow Peppe), Surinder, and Andrea. 
Above from left to right: Andrea, Giuseppe, Stefano and Binay enjoying a home-cooked meal of spaghetti...the right way, and a bit of vino.
