The school integration of developmental children, especially those with autism spectrum disorder, is anything but simple. There are many boundaries and limits that often do not allow it in the necessary times and ways.
A startup, Fifth Ingenium, aims to overcome them all with the help of innovative solutions. “We are confident that technology can be used to circumvent the effects of disability" says one of the founders, the software engineer Antimo Musone.
How is it possible?
Fifth Ingenium has created a "kit" made up of some "intelligent" objects and specific software (it can also be installed on the electronic blackboards supplied to schools) which offers educational paths and experiences. It is also possible to create new ones, safeguarding both the educational aspect and adherence to the program followed by the other students.
Fifth Ingenium got incentives from the program Smart & Start Italy, a fund that rewards innovative startups with high technological content. The call for applications supports projects with an amount of expenditure included between 100 thousand euros and 1,5 million euros: loans that are used to purchase goods and bear the costs of business management. For startups in Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily you are entitled to an extraordinary discount. In that case the 20% of the funding is non-refundable. The founders of Fifth Ingenium are Antimo Musone e Matthew Valoriani, computer engineers and Dominic Letizia, lawyer.
Fifth Ingenium: versatile growth
The project is broad and takes into account different aspects of interaction. It is not a tool to be adopted in a passive form, but by its nature it is modular (A kit is made up of different "cubes" that can be programmed and used by students) and object-oriented. The goal is to find and exploit the lowest common denominator between different types of subjects.
Part of the project is linked to the development of their own activities by teachers, and responds perfectly to the philosophy of activating the autonomous participation of all school subjects.
In summary, Fifth Ingenium takes its first steps towards a school of new conception. Almost personalized. A school that can simultaneously guarantee a harmonious development for all, respecting even the great differences in skills and knowledge.
