The Diga project in Milan: presentation at the Severi Correnti Institute
Lo scorso 18 settembre si è svolto a Milano, presso l'istituto superiore Severi Correnti, l’incontro di presentazione del progetto DIGA. Ecosistema sostenibile per la formazione e l’orientamento, promosso dalla Fondazione Mondo Digitale in collaborazione con Dipartimento di Informatica dell'Università degli Studi di Milano. L’evento ha segnato l’avvio ufficiale delle attività formative nel territorio milanese, con la partecipazione di dieci classi quarte della scuola.
Il progetto, selezionato e sostenuto dal Fondo per la Repubblica Digitale Impresa sociale (bando Polaris), ha una durata di 18 mesi e coinvolge complessivamente 1.800 studenti e studentesse di scuole secondarie di secondo grado, insieme a docenti e genitori. L’obiettivo è creare un ecosistema di apprendimento e orientamento innovativo che colleghi territorio, scuola e università, per potenziare le competenze Stem e diffondere maggiore consapevolezza delle opportunità formative e professionali, anche con strumenti di sviluppo personale.
On 18 September, a meeting was held in Milan, at the Severi Correnti Institute, to present the DIGA. Sustainable ecosystem for training and guidance project, promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science of the University of Milan. The event marked the official launch of training activities in the Milan area, with the participation of ten fourth-year classes from the school.
The project, selected and supported by the Fondo per la Repubblica Digitale Impresa sociale (Polaris call for proposals), will last 18 months and involve a total of 1,800 secondary school students, together with teachers and parents. The aim is to create an innovative learning and guidance ecosystem that connects the local area, schools and universities, in order to enhance STEM skills and raise awareness of educational and professional opportunities, including through personal development tools.
The Milan ecosystem: focus on artificial intelligence
For Milan, the chosen theme is artificial intelligence (AI). During the launch meeting, students had the opportunity to learn more about the fundamentals of computer science and receive an initial introduction to the world of AI, which will be at the centre of the school year's educational programmes.
The local ecosystem involves three schools (Severi Correnti and Vittorio Veneto in Milan and Primo Levi in Bollate) together with the Department of Computer Science at the University of Milan. The common commitment is to bring girls and boys closer to technical and scientific disciplines and to support the presence of women in STEM courses.
Cecilia Borzese, DIGA project manager, commented with satisfaction on the active participation of the classes: ‘We shared the project's objectives with the students, offering them a solid introduction to computer science and artificial intelligence. I would like to thank the headteacher, the teachers and all the participants for their attention and enthusiasm.’
A national project with four thematic areas
DIGA is an initiative that activates four territorial ecosystems, each with a specialisation linked to the skills of the partner university departments:
- Rome: holistic sustainability and robotics
- Turin: sustainability and innovation
- Padua: life sciences
- Milan: artificial intelligence
The chosen structure allows for the inclusion of hard and soft sciences and transversal skills, creating an innovative model of training and guidance that can also be replicated in other territories.
Objectives and impact
The project aims to:
- reduce the mismatch between labour supply and demand (which reaches 50% in Veneto, 48% in Piedmont, 45% in Lombardy and 39% in Lazio, according to Excelsior data)
- guide adolescents towards informed educational and professional choices
- introduce girls and boys to STEM disciplines and strengthen the presence of women in technical and scientific fields
- support female talent in science and technology
- accelerate the education system's response to labour market needs
- increase opportunities to meet new emerging professionals
- promote connections between schools, universities and the local area, validating a scalable and replicable model.
In addition to courses for students, DIGA also provides training activities for teachers and awareness-raising events for families and educational communities, which are essential for supporting young people in their future choices.
