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For third year UWA Bachelor of Arts student (Political Science and Italian Studies) Carlo Guaia, the Australian philosophy of 'having a go' has always been close to his heart.

Carlo is the founder of the Italian Scientists and Professionals' Community in Western Australia (ISPC-WA), an organisation that aims to create links between academia and the private sector and assist the exchange of ideas.

“The objective is to create new channels of communication between Italian and Australian researchers and professionals in Perth and wider Western Australia,” says Carlo.

“The organisation promotes the bilateral flow of information between Australian and Italian students, scientists, scholars, and entrepreneurs. Through networking opportunities we foster the exchange of ideas between academia and private sector.”

It was Carlo’s experience as Vice President of the UWA Italian Club that sparked the idea to create a way to encourage greater collaboration between the Italian community and professionals.

“I realised that my community was divided and lacked a network that could link researchers with the private sector, even though there were a lot of Italians with great ideas and creative projects,” he said.

Through existing networks he developed relationships with other members of the Italian community who had experience with community building. They started meeting, collaborating and generally helping each other out, a process that slowly developed into ISPC-WA.

“We officially launched in November, and the event was incredibly successful. We gained a lot of exposure across the Western Australian business community which is important if we want to develop stronger ties with the private sector. The attendees of the launch were really inspired by the energy of our young Italian scholars and professionals,” he said.

ISPC-WA is now well established and runs regular events for its 900 members and Carlo is looking forward to the future.

“I think fostering stronger relationships with Italy and the European Union as a whole is critical for the development of Western Australia”.

If you'd like to find out more or support ISPC-WA, please contact Carlo Guaia at [email protected] or 0431 105 508.

Check out the group's latest updates and events:

• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ISPCWA
• Website: https://www.ispcwa.com/