The new edition of Ambizione Italia for Schools, the educational programme promoted by Microsoft and the Fondazione Mondo Digitale and dedicated to artificial intelligence and robotics kicks off in Milan. The programme, which aims to prepare Italian students for the jobs of the future, has already reached over 360,000 students (age 12-18) and teachers with on-line and traditional courses in 37 hubs in 14 Italian Regions. New hubs will be added during the course of the current school year.
This initiative is part of Ambizione Italia, a wider education, lifelong learning and requalification project on digital skills through which Microsoft aims to involve, by 2020, over 2 million students, NEETs and professionals throughout Italy, training over 500,000 individuals and certifying 50.000 professionals to boost employment and the national growth by reducing the skills mismatch.
The key theme this year is accessibility. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by Microsoft with the Italian Association for Dyslexia calls for intense training and awareness-raising activities amongst teachers and families. The aim is to promote the use of tools that can help overcome learning difficulties and promote reading, immersive writing, dictation and translation for over 276,000 students
The Milan hub has been redesigned thanks to the contribution of the C2 Group, a leader in the design and supply of technology-integrated school environments, that has transformed the AI Class into a classroom that will allow experimentation of a range of didactic methodologies. Particular shapes, their robustness and the possibility to optimize spaces, will allow a range of different lab set-ups to promote communication, collaboration and the critical reasoning of students. Group work will become easier and allow all students to participate actively and feel more included.
“Our commitment continues with Microsoft to provide thousands of young men and women and teachers with the opportunity to experiment new digital living, learning and work methodologies. We aim to communicate the value of technology as an accelerator for development – not only economic, but especially social and cultural. It is a powerful tool for inclusion. It reduces gender differences, creates new work opportunities and provides concrete solutions to individual needs. And this allows people to feel part of more open, welcoming and resilient communities,” points out Mirta Michilli, Director General, Fondazione Mondo Digitale.
Press Release [pdf, in Italian]
