With a young family - Francesco's Story

I joined Rotary in 2009 while in Italy and two weeks later I left my country to come to England to work and live. Since then I experienced different working environments and towns of this beautiful island but only when I started to attend with continuity the Rotary Club of Edgbaston Convention in 2012 I could truly appreciate the "living British" experience.

Moving for the nth time to a new place, Birmingham in this case, I felt the need, as never before, to connect to the area and my first thought was to contact one of the many Rotary clubs in town. The reason was twofold. Firstly, Rotary's many charitable activities fit very well with my own pro-active attitude. Secondly, seeing myself as a long term member of this community I needed (and I emphasise the verb "needed") to expand my network locally. Indeed, one of the main assets we (my wife Valentina and myself) left behind when we moved from Italy was the richness of connections we had built in years of human and professional interactions. Part of this scenario was also the birth of our son Antonio (same year in December) who triggered in me thoughts like "who can provide me with information about schools?", "what if I need a specialist doctor?", "what if I need a lawyer?" (it is incredible what a baby can do to you!!!). I know what you are thinking.... "Google it!". Yes, everything is searchable, but coming from a culture of family-oriented and personal relationships I needed a "personal touch" to my life and for my young family. This (and more!) I found joining the Edgbaston Convention Rotary Club, the first one I visited! I am now an active member of this club and I am growing socially and professionally with a diverse group of committed individuals.

As a professional, I currently work at the University of Birmingham in the Technology Transfer arena dealing with commercialisation of Research. I hold a Master in Mechanical Engineering, a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and an MBA from Ashridge Business School (UK).