Guidance and educational innovation from the teachers' perspective
The DIGA project. Sustainable ecosystem for training and guidance, coordinated by Fondazione Mondo Digitale and selected and supported by the Fondo per la Repubblica Digitale Impresa sociale (Polaris call for proposals), is also active in the Padua area with a thematic focus on life sciences.
In Padua, DIGA contributes to the construction of an educational ecosystem that connects schools, universities and the local area, offering students guidance and experiential learning pathways with the aim of strengthening STEM skills and supporting more informed educational choices. At the national level, the project involves a total of 1,800 students in four Italian cities.
The Padua branch is run in collaboration with the Department of Information Engineering (DEI) of the University of Padua and offers students the opportunity to learn about the applications of engineering and digital technologies in the fields of health, biomedicine and life sciences.
The perspective of the Enrico Fermi high school
For Professor Claudio Maddalena, teacher and collaborator of the headmistress Tiziana Petruzzo of the Enrico Fermi state scientific high school, participation in DIGA represents a strategic step for the school, which boasts a solid tradition in robotics-related activities and previous collaborations with the DEI. As Maddalena himself points out, the school expects to “be able to broaden and deepen our collaborative relationship with the University of Padua in general and with the Department of Information Engineering in particular”.
The aim is to help the entire school community grow: “to broaden our knowledge and experience as an educational community, both as teachers and students, in the fields of computer science, robotics and the application of artificial intelligence to biomedicine and life sciences”. The project is part of a medium- to long-term vision: the school is ready to launch, from the 2026-2027 academic year, a specialisation in applied sciences dedicated to data science and artificial intelligence. In this context, “the DIGA project gives us and will give us the opportunity to prepare ourselves in the best possible way for this new proposal and this new educational challenge”.
The educational vision of the Ippolito Nievo secondary school
At the Ippolito Nievo secondary school, coordinated by headteacher Carlo Marzolo, Professor Paola Capitanio, teacher of Natural Sciences and project coordinator, focuses on the orientational and pedagogical value of the experience. According to the teacher, “today's school must be a place where boys and girls not only learn but also understand who they want to become”, and digital technology, if used wisely, can become a fundamental lever in this process. With DIGA, the aim is to offer students “a broader view of digital technology, not only as a tool they use every day, but as an environment in which to create, design and collaborate”. And guidance comes from concrete experience: ‘guidance means just that, gaining experience and thus recognising what belongs to us’.
The synergy between school, research and the local area is also central: the collaboration with Fondazione Mondo Digitale brings an innovative and inclusive approach, while the collaboration with the DEI of the University of Padua allows students to get closer to research, meet professionals and imagine their future with greater awareness.
An ecosystem for the future
The words of the teachers confirm the value of the project: Diga aims to enhance STEM skills, support orientation towards high-demand sectors and reduce the mismatch between education and work.
