Pizza, Pasta, economico, ospitalità, grazie

For us students and alumni from THM, the annual Alumni Day is always something special. It’s not just another meeting on the calendar – it’s the moment when our community really comes to life. We get to see familiar faces again, meet new ones, and share experiences that go far beyond lectures or business talk.

Our connection with our Italian friends is one of the things that makes this event so unique. Every year, our joint sessions are more than just academic collaboration – they’re a mix of learning, laughter, and cultural discovery. We don’t just exchange ideas; we exchange stories, perspectives, and a good dose of Mediterranean spirit - and this weekend provided all of it!

Professor Mauro Cavallone, who can be considered an ambassador of Italian culture, recently changed from the University of Bergamo to the University Parthenope of Napoli. As he offered “ospitalità” - hosting the yearly Alumni Day and keynote speakers on innovative and big trends, there was no question - Let's fly to Naples - Pizza, Pasta, economico, ospitalità, grazie!

By stepping out of the airplane at an EU airport, nothing unexpected, but that was it. A small-cap passionate driver who brought us too fast, through too much traffic chaos for Germans to the downtown city. Surviving, we searched for our accommodations. Lively city, overwhelming sound and impressions, and colder than expected, we searched for the first food. What to say, the food is fantastic. È l'Italia. 

The Alumni Day

The Alumni Day was the next day, on the German Unity Day. Meet up at the University Parthenope of Napoli. Do not forget to mention the espresso bar, which you can find on each corner. Two Lessons learned before the keynotes. Never order a coffee with sugar, and Neapolitans can't make a Cappuccino, but they make the best espresso in the world.

The university is excellent. Balcony near the classroom with an ocean view. The Alumni Members, the board, professors, speakers, and Master Students, who joined the meet-up, connected in a great atmosphere and joined conversations.

The day started with Michele Simoni, Professor in Innovation and Business Design and Director of the PhD program: Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He passionately talked in his keynote about how a new method developed in cooperation with MIT could foster Entrepreneurship and Innovation in a framework. 

Switching gears to Intercultural Marketing, cross-cultural communication, and cross-cultural management, Professor Chiara Cannavale, Chair of Intercultural Marketing & Communication. highlighted differences in marketing strategies depending on target markets and customer segments.

Professor Marco Ferretti, Promotor and organizer of a five-year agreement with the Sloan School of Management of MIT on joint master’s program and young researchers exchange programs, showcased to the participants how a region or megacity, such as Naples, can use innovative simulations to attract more entrepreneurs and start-ups in a region. He built an excellent bridge for the after-lunch program, where the practical part, the visit to the start-up centre, was planned. But before: lunch break. Pizza, pasta, vino: solo delizie.

A “Spici” Business Game

We headed over from the university to the start-up centre of Napoli. The Spici S.R.L. Digital Innovation Hub welcomed the mix of MBA Alumni Members and Italian Master Students from the Bergamo Partner University that shared the experience of playing a business game. The goal was to create a model of a monument made of spaghetti for the city of Naples, which represents Italian heritage and one of the following focus topics: sustainability, robotics, fashion, VIPs, or innovation. The “Spagettenergia” monument won by the Energy group, who celebrated the Italian master of physics, Enrico Fermi, and Italian culture with an atom made from spaghetti. A great and intense experience. After the evening „Aperitivo“, the group met and closed the day with a 4-hour dinner in a small Italian restaurant. Pizza, Pasta, economico. Grazie.

The signseeing

On Saturday, the Alumni Members switched to a more casual program, a sightseeing tour through the old city of Naples. Also, Mr. Cavallone did an amazing job and booked an excellent city guide. 3 hours of peaceful exploring and enjoying a mixture of cultural heritage, historical places, churches, and palaces, and beeing in the pulse of a southern Italian city. 

The group enjoyed that tour, which offered a perfect base for deeper exploration in the afternoon. The official closing of the Alumni days was in the evening at the Palazzo Petrucci Pizzeria, where the Master students also joined. What a lovely day. Pizza, Pasta, compagnia, grazie.

Marketing in everyday life (an epilogue from two alumni)

Julian and I (Sam) used our rainy Sunday in Napoli to visit Castel Saint'Elmo & Chiostri di Saint Martino, the hilltop castle and museum on the western side of the city. As it was the first Sunday of the month, we were able to visit both for the bargain price of 0 euros. Timing is everything!

Despite the rainy day, it was still warm and very humid. The 190 meters up the hill meant we both had a sweat on. Just shy of the top, an enterprising resident had set out a table with cold water and homemade lemonade with a hand-drawn sign saying 1-2 euros respectively. 

Given the constant flow of visitors to and from the castle and the workout from walking the steps (people go to the gym for the same punishment), this was a perfect example of the 4Ps of marketing, presented in this form by McCarthy in 1960.

Product - By the time you have almost reached the top, you are warm and thirsty, and here you have exactly what you need. 
Price - The price is very fair, the same or less than the supermarket, even if you were prepared, and way less than you could expect from a tourist site kiosk. 
Place - This stand was maybe 200ms from the top. You have almost made it and need a drink, but not so close that you can already see the cafes along the main road at the top. 
Promotion - This simple hand-drawn sign and the display of products were all that was needed. 
A simple reminder from daily life that if you can cover the basics, a business can be created anywhere.

Sitting on the plane, reflecting on an amazing weekend, two things came to mind. The culture of food, coffee, and ‘aperitivo’ is amazing, and a weekend in Naples can feed your soul for weeks, but what really stands out are all the small, authentic touchpoints with these passionate and lovely people, who live service and cultural openness by nature, which was again a heart-warming moment. We should all be a bit more Italian. Grazie mille, people of Naples.

We hope you enjoyed this article, which was written without AI to truly mirror the passion and excitement such a trip can create.

Grazie
Samuel Tucker and Julian Schepp

// Authors and Pictures: Samuel Tucker and Julian Schepp