Two university students in Naples have just discovered that the America's Cup runs on more than wind and water. It runs on Wi-Fi, cabling and a network that cannot afford to fail.
Adriano and Chiara, both students at the Università di Napoli Federico II, joined the America's Cup event IT team for a two-week internship during the Naples Preliminary Regatta.
The placement grew out of telecommunications planning for the Cup itself. Discussions with Professor Giorgio Ventre, of the university's Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, opened the door to giving local students genuine, hands-on experience rather than a token work placement.
Andrew Ferguson, Director of IT Services for the America's Cup and a Director at OneThirtyWest, was invited by Professor Ventre to address students on his Network and Cloud Infrastructures course, part of the MSc programme in Computer Engineering. Ferguson spoke about his own 25 years in IT and event technology. Students keen to get involved with the America's Cup were then invited to apply for an internship.
Adriano and Chiara were chosen from that group, and quickly moved from simply observing to becoming working members of the team.
Adriano brought networking knowledge that has already been put to practical use. Chiara's background in computer systems has proved just as valuable.
Both have impressed enough to be trusted with their own projects, solving problems, supporting customers and helping build the technology infrastructure needed to run the Preliminary Regatta, scheduled for 24-27 September 2026. Their work has spanned installing infrastructure, configuring equipment, and managing networks, Wi-Fi and connectivity throughout the event.
The IT team wanted to offer something more substantial than shadowing professionals from the outset. Adriano and Chiara were given real decisions to make and real problems to solve, alongside the responsibility that comes with working inside a team delivering a major global sporting event.
It fits a broader goal around the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup in Naples: making sure the event leaves something behind for the next generation, not just for the harbour it races in.
Years from now, Adriano and Chiara may look back on these two weeks as the experience that helped start their careers. If that happens, the project will have done exactly what it set out to do.
