Abdallah Alshatali and Niccolò Maffoni: the First Talents Supported by the Dompé Foundation to Graduate from MEDTEC School
Some journeys begin with a belief in the future. Six years ago, Abdallah Alshatali and Niccolò Maffoni chose to enroll in MEDTEC School, the innovative, internationally recognized program established in 2019 through a partnership between Humanitas University and Politecnico di Milano. By combining Medicine, Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, the program prepares a new generation of physician-engineers.
Today, with their graduation, that journey has reached its culmination. For the Dompé Foundation, this achievement is especially meaningful: Abdallah and Niccolò are among the first scholarship recipients supported by the Foundation to complete the MEDTEC School program. Their success embodies the Foundation's mission to invest in education, foster talent, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge.
In the testimonials below, Abdallah and Niccolò reflect on what receiving a Dompé Foundation scholarship has meant to them, the defining moments of their university experience, the research projects that became their final theses, and the emotions they felt on graduation day.
Niccolò Maffoni's Story
"Receiving the Dompé Foundation scholarship meant having my commitment recognized: not just my potential, but especially my willingness to put myself on the line and work with dedication to reach this goal. In such a demanding course of study, knowing that someone believed in my abilities and determination was invaluable support that accompanied and motivated me from day one.
Over the years, I experienced many moments I will always treasure, first and foremost my time in the hospital. Direct contact with patients taught me a great deal, both professionally and personally, while the relationships I built with my colleagues proved essential in facing the challenges of such an intense program together.
The research project I dedicated myself to, which later became my thesis, was another defining experience. It gave me the opportunity to bring together the two dimensions of this program, putting into practice both the medical and engineering knowledge I had acquired and discovering how much these disciplines can enrich one another.
Finally, graduation day arrived, filled with emotion. It was a day of great pride for the milestone I had reached, but above all of deep gratitude toward everyone who supported me along this journey: my family, friends, professors, and of course the Dompé Foundation. Without their support, this achievement would not have had the same meaning."
Abdallah Alshatali's Story
"When I was in high school, I discovered MEDTEC. It was exactly the kind of school I had always dreamed of attending. There was one obstacle: the cost. After being admitted, I wrote to the President, Professor Maria Laura Costantino, to ask whether any funding opportunities were available. She told me about the Dompé Foundation scholarship. That moment taught me an important lesson: golden opportunities are often waiting for us simply to ask.
I was awarded the scholarship, which covered my full tuition and made my dream financially possible. But the greatest gift of the Dompé Foundation became clear only later. When resources are no longer the limit, ambition expands. You stop focusing only on what seems possible and begin believing you can achieve truly ambitious goals.
My final research thesis reflected exactly that journey. I developed an artificial intelligence model to improve the accuracy of next-generation CT scans, with important applications for the treatment of cancer patients.
Graduation day, however, was about more than earning my degrees. When I first moved to Milan, I knew no one. On that day, I was surrounded by my family and by the friends I had met along the way. I am deeply grateful to all of them, and to the Dompé Foundation, whose belief in me made all of this possible."
