Next-generation skills

The Capgemini 5G Academy is teaching students essential skills in the field of 5G. By doing so, we are investing in the future workforce – and encouraging the development of ideas that can change the world.

Technology powered by 5G is revolutionizing sectors as diverse as entertainment, manufacturing, and healthcare. At the Capgemini 5G Academy, based in Naples, Italy, and run in collaboration with Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, a group of students has gained hands-on industrial experience of these technologies.

Launched in January 2020, over just seven months 30 undergraduate and graduate students explored the dynamics of digital transformation stimulated by 5G, under the supervision of an expert panel of Capgemini lecturers.

The skills of tomorrow

Equipping the next generation of young people with 5G skills is more essential than ever – and an investment in the future workforce. Indeed, 65% of participants in the academy were later hired by Capgemini to bring their skills into the wider company ecosystem.

Four teams of students, with diverse backgrounds and skillsets, collaborated to research and develop actual 5G solutions that companies would be able to adopt soon after. The four areas of focus were healthcare, media and entertainment, manufacturing, and insurance.

Deep brain stimulation

The healthcare team developed an exciting application in the area of deep brain stimulation (DBS). Group member Francesco Barbato explains the concept: “DBS is a technique used to help treat patients with conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. The treatment involves implanting electrodes into the patient’s brain that emit electromagnetic signals. This regulates brain function and blocks faulty nerve signals that cause tremors, slowness, stiffness, and problems with walking.”

Therapy through 5G

One drawback to this technique arises when the neurostimulator, implanted under the patient’s skin like a pacemaker, needs to be adjusted. This normally requires the patient to be hospitalized.
“We designed and built a wearable transmitter called the Neuralibre, which connects to the patient’s DBS unit,” said Francesco. “This system sends and receives medical data across 5G, adapting the treatment automatically, allowing the remote participation of a healthcare professional. The result is a highly personalized therapy that doesn’t require the patient to be hospitalized.”

Pushing the boundaries

Pushing the boundaries of healthcare technology to create a better future requires expert contributions from a variety of disciplines. Francesco and Mario Ambrosino, an economist and theoretical physicist by training, were grouped with two biomedical engineers, Martina Giangrieco and Alfonso De Vivo, as well as Giovanni Crisci, another economist.

“They knew us better than we knew ourselves,” said Francesco. “They could tell which other students would complement our abilities and interests, and who would stretch us in new ways.”

A blend of skills

For Mario, one of the most important lessons was about working together. “The academy taught us the importance of teamwork. Over the seven months of the project, we blended our expertise together, and came up with something we are all really proud of.”

Inside stories

Future-shaping projects

Hunting for dragons

Sarah Gonçalves wasn’t always a data engineer. She began her career as an archaeologist, unearthing the secrets of the past in sites across France before retraining as a data engineer. She brings the same curiosity to her new vocation at Capgemini, using artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover what lies beneath the surface.