At ESE Milan, our students are living educational and personal experiences that will favour their future, as leaders and changers of the status quo.
Last Spring 2020, we decided to plan some specific activities on the themes of  Diversity&Inclusion, based on the belief that promoting education at an international scale and across different industries, also means educating in empowering self expression and uniqueness, as the main drive to personal and professional success.

We started with a very special fashion shooting at the Campus, called “EYE CONTACT” with the dancer and advocate for visually impaired people, Elena Travaini. Our goal was to disrupt stereotypes on beauty, ability and ambitions.
We went on planning and acting and last 14th October 2020,  we invited Claudio Guffanti, founder of Unlimited Views, to hold a very special Masterclass on Diversity and Inclusion applied to the Fashion and Luxury Industry, at the Ese Milan Campus.

As these topics are not just related to fashion but could, should, be at the basis of any products and services development strategy, we asked our students for some action.

“Accessibility is the result of an inclusive design, aimed to deliver products and experiences to more people, with a wider range of abilities” said Claudio, and based on this quote we involved our students in a task, to rethink existing products and services, in a more diversity-friendly way.

We received many creative ideas including how to make hearing-aids more glamourous, no matter what the age the user or suggestions on how to help seniors have access to technology and all its benefits.

But there was one, that caught our attention and that, together with Claudio, whom we thank for his availability in going through all the projects with us, we believe has a potential.

Our third year Bsc students Monica Rivolta and Alberto Cortese presented an interesting project that involved mobility and the needs of left-handed people. More than 800 million people are left-handed, and thinking about the market of users it is approximately 10% of it (if not more from recent studies). Talking business, this is for sure a target of customer to address in a more appropriate way.

Monica and Alberto underlined that, left-handed people could encounter issues such as: 

  • using a fountain pen (they would pass their hand over the writing and “smear” the ink);
  • playing the guitar (usually thought for right-handed people);
  • using the car gearbox (located on the right);
  • using the playstation joystick (made for right-handed people);
  • using the most common scissors
  • writing on the little tables set on certain conference chairs (usually mounted on the right)
  • eating, studying or writing at the table when a right-handed person is on their left side.

Wouldn’t it be easier if everyday actions could make you free to choose what hand to use? Based on this question Monica and Alberto thought of E-left.

“We have noticed” say Monica and Alberto “that many left-handed people have problems during, for example, the practical driving test to obtein their driving license, as they are used to holding everyday-objects with their left hand. So, in addition to being new-drivers, they also struggle to manage the gearbox.”

In 2009, Triumph created the first geared motorbike thought for left-handed people. It was available as a free option to be delivered only after the presentation of a medical certificate, proving the left-handed condition and after passing manual tests in the presence of the instructor.

This is the idea that inspired Monica and Alberto to create the first electric scooter for left-hand users called E-LEFT, where “E” stands for environment, ecological, and electronic.

The scooter will have the physical-mechanical characteristics of any traditional scooters, with the throttle grip also available on the left side.Left- handers claim to have more sensitivity in the hand used every day, so the E-LEFT scooter, in addition to being more comfortable for the user also increases road safety.

If this modification may seem trivial to many, let’s just try to empathize and imagine you, if you are a right hand user, should use the throttle grip placed on the left hand side, with your right hand. Quite  impossible and totaly unsafe! We will go on educating and challenging ourselves and our students towards a more diversity-inclusive world and future for all.

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