From Campus to Milan: Sprott Social Impact Hub Students Deliver Solutions to Partners in Italy
At the Sprott School of Business, business education centres on experiential learning, allowing students to gain real-world perspectives and transformational experiences.
Through the Sprott Student Impact Hub (SSIH), students work with nonprofit partner organizations to drive impact and create a brighter future together. While most of SSIH’s partners are locally based, SSIH has partnered with two organizations based in Italy, thanks to SSIH founder and faculty director Emily Jones Joanisse and the connections she made while living and working in Italy early in her career.
For the students working on these projects, the year culminated in the exciting opportunity to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to work onsite in Milan with their Italian partners, Mission Bambini ETS and Il Nodo ETS.
Mission Bambini, a Milan-based NGO focused on children’s health and education, partnered with the team to support its expansion into North America. Over the year, the SSIH student team analyzed communications strategies, developed multimedia content, refined English-language messaging, built Google Ad Grant campaigns, and researched potential corporate and foundation partners. Going to Italy and working onsite in Milan provided the opportunity to present recommendations directly to the organization.
“It was so much more fast-paced when we were onsite,” said Giorgio Manasseri, Bachelor of Commerce student and program manager for the Mission Bambini project team. “There was more discussion, and we had the opportunity to meet more members of the organization and see how passionate they are for their cause.”
Manasseri describes working onsite with the Mission Bambini team as a collaborative experience where the students not only had the opportunity to facilitate workshops on their deliverables, but they also had the chance to learn from Mission Bambini members who generously shared insights to their work. In addition, the Mission Bambini team invited the students to visit a school in Milan where they are modernizing an educational model that is innovative, technological and inclusive.
For Manasseri, who is of Italian descent and had never been to Italy, the trip also provided a chance to learn more about the culture.
“I’ve never travelled internationally so it was a new and intimidating experience for me, but I am really glad I did it,” said Manasseri. “It makes so much sense given it’s an Italian international partner. Going there grounded the relationship and continued collaboration with SSIH. On a more personal note, getting to be in that culture and experience the community, it was so rewarding. I loved it.”
For Tharindi Nadugala, Bachelor of Commerce student and co-general manager of SSIH, the trip to Milan provided her with the opportunity to work directly on a client project after two years on the operational side of SSIH.
She and another member of SSIH worked on a short-term project for Il Nodo, an Italian-Cambodian nonprofit that supports vulnerable communities in Cambodia through education, social design and community development initiatives. Il Nodo founded Bottega Dell’Arte, a social design school that provides young people in Cambodia with vocational training and apprenticeships in Milanese design and craftsmanship.
Nadugala and her teammate provided onsite support by helping enhance key communications materials, including creating subtitles for video content featuring deaf students at Bottega Dell’Arte, English copyediting, website analysis and recommendations.
SSIH students also participated in a professional photoshoot with photographer Giacomo Carlini, modelling jewelry crafted by Il Nodo artisans for the organization’s upcoming Il Nodo Around the World exhibition in Milan during Salone del Mobile 2026.
“We all got to model the jewelry and participate in a last-minute photo shoot,” said Nadugala. Carlini is a Milan-based SSIH advisory board member and former fashion photographer.
The experience also shed light on how much work goes into running nonprofit organizations.
“There is so much work that goes on behind the scenes,” said Nadugala, whose onsite location was at the home of Il Nodo’s president and co-founder Luciana Damiani Cannetta. “I think we all know the nonprofit world is extremely demanding. Seeing how much thought goes into every decision and how many priorities they are balancing, it really inspired me and I want to continue to help them.”
The Sprott Student Impact Hub is currently recruiting students for Fall and Winter. Earn academic credit, gain career-benefiting experiences and help nonprofit organizations expand their impact. Open to all Carleton students, the deadline to apply is June 7. Learn more and apply on the Sprott Social Impact Hub website.