ROME, JUNE 25 – Giorgia Epicoco, 28 years old and originally from Perugia, works at UNIDO -the United Nations Industrial Development Organization- as a Project Associate. Her educational path is unique and fascinating: after a Bachelor degree in Political Science and International Relations, at the Cattolica University of Milan, Giorgia moved to Beijing for a Double Degree Masters in Public Management and Social Development. She first came into contact with UNIDO through a six month internship, and was eventually called back and offered a payed position. Read this interview to delve into the world of the fourth industrial revolution: digitalisation. What advantages can we draw from this transformation, and what are its implications for development?
What professional and education experiences, passions and interests brought you to pursue a career within the UN?
My educational path began with a Bachelor at the Cattolica University of Milan, in the field of Political Science and International Relations. At the time, I had actually developed an interest for journalism, which led me, with the end of my studies, to pursue an internship with an Italian newspaper. Through this experience I actually discovered that journalism was not for me, so I decided to take a turn not only in my professional aspirations, but also in my educational path. I moved to China, Beijing, for a Double Degree Masters in Public Management and Social Development, born from a collaboration between a Chinese and Danish university. I decided on this programme because I was hoping to find something capable of teaching me how to implement and make use of the skills and competences acquired in this field, something which Italian universities -with their theoretical based approach- often fall short. I was also really curious to live in China and see for myself whether the western media’s portrayal of this country and society actually matches reality.
The second year of my Master Programme required me to conduct a six month internship in a public or private organisation working on issues which bridged the realities of China and the European Union. Finding an internship turned out to be extremely challenging for me, since I was the only non-Chinese and non-Danish student in my class, meaning the programme had nothing to offer me in terms of network and internship opportunities. Searching tirelessly for an internship I stumbled upon UNIDO, which was one of the agencies at the time, in 2015, which worked in the field of corporate social responsibility, my Master specialization. I applied and, a few months later, I was taken.
I arrived to Vienna and, ironically, my experiences turned out to be completely different from what I had imagined. I ended up working on a project, one of the first focusing on the fourth industrial revolution: digitalisation. Through this experience I gained a rich variety of knowledge on the digital market, and the development of the technological sector. I was given the opportunity to gain a detailed overview of the international digital market, and the role played by the UN within it.
Unfortunately, I had to leave Vienna a bit earlier than expected, and return to Beijing to finish my Master thesis. Because I never managed to do only one thing at the time, I found myself a job upon my return to China, in a consulting company conducting a mid-term review of the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP), a set of EU rules allowing exporters from developing countries to pay less or no duties on their exports to the European Union. Eight months later, once my Thesis was done, I actually moved back to Vienna as I had received a job offer at UNIDO. And here we are to today.
Could you please describe the projects you have worked on at UNIDO, both in your present day position and during the course of your internship?
In October of 2015, I re-joined the same UNIDO team I had been assisting during my internship. The team was responsible for the entire organisation of the GMIS, the global manufacturing industrialisation summit, a first of its kind, focusing on the future of manufacturing and the fourth industrial revolution. We were a very small team at the time. This meant that my colleague and I were essentially coordinating the entire summit on behalf of UNIDO, for a total of two and a half years. We took care of multiple aspects, from laying out the agenda and picking the topics, to organising the discussions and debates, to identifying and inviting all the actors and stakeholders involved. We send invitations and engaged all sorts of stakeholders: private and public sector actors, academics, NGOs.
Every month we would organise one workshop or main event focusing on a specific country and its experience with the digital revolution. As you can imagine, this required thorough research into that country’s digital context: at what stage of development is the fourth industrial revolution and how is digitalisation being applied? At the beginning, our efforts centred around developed countries -from Italy, China and Japan, to Austria and Germany- but eventually we also started engaging developing countries, like India, Mexico and Brazil. We even managed to do a lot of work in the African continent. Each year, these monthly efforts would culminate in a annual summit, which essentially summarised and reflected upon all the lessons learned. The first was held in Abu Dhabi. The second in the Russian Federation.
Given that I had been working with the GMIS program since its beginning, I eventually went from covering a more supportive role, to a coordinating one. My first two assignments under this greater responsibility were two regional events in Africa, which was a really important deal for us. Although we had already engaged the African continent in this discussion, this was the first time that two major events -involving Ministers and Prime Ministers- were being hosted here.
Two and a half years later, I felt I had learned everything I could from the program. It was time for a change. Looking back, I think this experience was an essential stepping stone in my UNIDO career. You see, UNIDO is divided into a more normative function and a more technical, operational function. The normative function is where the diplomatic side of things happens. You are exposed to the bigger UN machine, and the way it works across countries, on a global scale. The technical function, on the other hand, is far more practical and is focused on a specific country context. Through my experience at GMIS, I came in close contact with the normative side of UNIDO’s mandate, I learned how one ought to behave in certain diplomatic situations and environments, and I got exposed to the bigger UN machine. Today, I work in the Agro-Industries and Skills Development Division, the more technical side of things.
My work here focused primarily on supporting skill development and technical vocational training. Our projects are partnership based and mostly take place in the African continent, although we also have projects in other places around the world, as we are growing by the day. We work to take the so-called ‘skills mismatch’, an increasingly important topic which will also be a key theme in the upcoming G20. The issue is the following: the lack of communication between the private sector and the public sector, coupled with the speed at which technology is developing, is creating a situation where many of today’s workers struggle to be equipped with the technical skills needed for the jobs of today (and tomorrow). Worldwide, we estimate that around 1.3 million people are affected by this skill mismatch, especially women. Climate change is furthermore widening the gap.
By working directly with the private sector, so to understand their demands and needs in terms of worker skills, we try to reduce this existing gap, thereby reducing unemployment levels. Once we understand what technical skills the private sector needs in a worker, we communicate them to the government and the public sector. In other words: we work to create jobs.
Could you give us an example of a project aimed at closing this skill gap?
In Uganda the infrastructure is not adequate for trains to run efficiently between cities and regions. The problem is structural because there are not enough local technicians capable of developing such roads. To help bridge this gap, we partnered with a Japanese company: while they offer the machinery and equipment needed to build such road infrastructure, we work with educational centres to develop the necessary mechanical skills among the Ugandan Youth. As this project shows, bridging the private-public sector gap also has important implications for economic development.
What nexus exists between digitalisation and development?
The issue of digitalisation and development is surely an important one. The producers of technology are usually industrialised countries, which often do not have the interest to transfer their knowledge and technology to developing member states. However, developing countries are starting more and more to chase after industrialised ones, and are beginning to produce their own technologies. They are furthermore offering their human capital, something which is urgently needed in Europe, given our ageing population. This could be an interesting bridge, a point of collaboration, between developing and developed contexts.
What we are also seeing more and more is that technology is actually allowing developing countries to become independent. Thanks to technological developments like block chains, these countries are increasingly in charge of what they produce, as they require less intermediaries in the production chain. They can begin to produce the entire product locally, which brings higher gains, better quality and increased employment.
In your experience with GMIS, what points of discussion came up often, and how did the conversation around the fourth industrial revolution transform over time?
In my experience, many stakeholders emphasised the need for the public and private sectors to work together, which is also why UNIDO strived to create these spaces of conversation and exchange. Even when private sector companies reach out to us now, they do so because they feel they don’t have access to the governments and the public sector, this therefore remains a pivotal area of intervention.
In my opinion, given the experience with GMIS, the narrative around the fourth industrial revolution, when comparing today to the start of the movement, changed significantly. At the beginning, many were afraid of the challenges which the technological revolution could bring about. Rather than embracing digitalisation and technological progress, many feared that machine labour would replace human labour, paving the way for high numbers of unemployment. As the discussion moved ahead, permeating into different sectors and countries, the narrative shifted to having a more positive connotation. Instead of fearing a total automation and an unprecedented loss of employment, the focus shifted to the question of: how can we create new jobs through human-machine integration?
Furthermore, developing countries -which previously feared a widening inequality gap as a result of this digital and technological revolution- now see that they can actually benefit from this phenomena. After all, we cannot escape from it. We just need to learn to use it to our advantage.
What suggestions would you give to a young person looking to work for UNIDO, or the UN more generally?
To begin with, it’s important not to be afraid of the UN game. Yes, it’s a competitive environment, but this does not mean its unachievable. The UN always has a lot of internship opportunities and vacancies, and at some point your expertise will come in handy. Just be curious and persistent.
It’s also important to collect international experiences, and gain an awareness of multiculturalism. Don’t be scared to move abroad, pursue a study or an internship in a new country, or even a new continent.
I think its also important, once you are given an internship opportunity, to be as proactive as possible. Ask for more work, more responsibility. Not only will this make your experience far more stimulating and interesting, but it will also make it easier for you to be called back for a job. (@OnuItalia)
