H-FARM College and Georgetown University: a journey into the heart of Italian luxury fashion with Dolce&Gabbana

A week-long deep dive into the world of Italian fashion and luxury — an outstanding educational experience featuring H-FARM College, Georgetown University, and Dolce&Gabbana.

From May 11 to 18, 2025, our Campus hosted 20 students from the prestigious McDonough School of Business, marking the second year of an international partnership that blends academic training with direct exposure to the excellence of Made in Italy.

This year’s program, focused on the fashion industry, represented a significant evolution of the H-FARM College Challenge format, where students tackle real-life business cases from leading companies. As an exceptional partner, Dolce&Gabbana invited the American students to work on four innovative challenges: integrating AI into consumer relationship management, redefining luxury beauty for a digital-first generation in the U.S., exploring the use of AI-driven smart contracts for legal solutions, and developing strategies to position the brand as a global authority in the beauty sector.

For over two months, Georgetown’s young talents worked remotely, guided by our team and supported by Dolce&Gabbana experts, before arriving in Italy for the final stage of the project: an intensive week that combined academic sessions with exclusive experiences in the beating heart of Italian fashion and luxury.

The students spent their first few days on H-FARM Campus, fully immersing themselves in the innovative atmosphere that defines our ecosystem. Mornings were dedicated to intensive lectures on entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence, featuring hands-on workshops led by our faculty and industry professionals, to fine-tune the projects ahead of the final presentation to Dolce&Gabbana.

Afternoons and evenings were all about community and connection, brilliantly organized by the Student Life team. The American students got a taste of authentic Italian culture: from the unmissable Pizza Night to a fun tiramisu cooking class revealing the secrets behind one of Italy’s most iconic desserts. Sports tournaments created moments of friendly competition and team building between Georgetown and H-FARM College students, alongside informal networking events and relaxing times in the Campus’ green spaces.

The highlight of the experience was the trip to Milan, where students presented their final projects at Dolce&Gabbana’s Beauty Headquarters, located opposite the brand’s main offices. The quality and dedication of their work were met with great enthusiasm and admiration. After the presentations, the D&G team hosted an experiential tour of their Milan flagship stores and a refined Sicilian-style aperitivo. As a surprise, CEO Alfonso Dolce delivered a heartfelt motivational speech on passion and the human-centric approach in modern management, ending with personalized gifts for each participant.

The second day was dedicated to discovering other iconic Italian luxury brands: from Fondazione Prada, where students explored the intersection of art, luxury, and contemporary culture, to the Armani Hotel Milano and the Armani Manzoni 31 flagship store, and the prestigious Bulgari Hotel. One of the most meaningful moments was the meeting with Attilio Marro, Global General Manager of Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, who shared valuable insights into luxury hospitality and the importance of attention to detail.

“The experience with Georgetown students was truly extraordinary. Seeing the enthusiasm with which they tackled the challenges proposed by Dolce&Gabbana and the quality of their solutions was exciting. The most impactful moment was certainly the encounter with CEO Alfonso Dolce, whose words left a lasting impression on the students. This experience gave them direct access to some of the most iconic brands of Made in Italy. A learning journey woven with strategy, culture, creativity, and managerial inspiration,” said Anthony Saccon, Education, Equity & Inclusion Program Director at H For Human Foundation.

“For H-FARM College, internationalization with outstanding partners such as the McDonough School of Business is a strategic goal. In designing the second edition of the program, we brought together H-FARM’s roots—being a pioneer in the world of entrepreneurship since 2005—and our digital spirit, with a specific focus on AI. The Georgetown students were engaged on multiple fronts, both online and in person, through a multifaceted academic program that began in March and concluded in May.” explains Silvia Dell’Acqua, Head of International and Corporate Relations at H-FARM College.

“This bootcamp is part of a broader framework called the ‘Grand Tour’: immersive projects with international universities that, based on H-FARM’s areas of expertise — including entrepreneurship, technology, and digital transformation — are developed across five verticals: Italian entrepreneurship, arts & culture, fashion, product design, and food & wine. These are custom-designed immersive programs that follow a blended formula: ‘start online, finish on H-FARM Campus’,” highlights Antonella Sannella, Executive Director at H-FARM College.