Small businesses, big opportunities

As part of the Ital.IA Lab program, promoted with Microsoft Italy to encourage the adoption of artificial intelligence as a tool for inclusion and growth for people and communities, the training course “Small businesses, big opportunities. Discover the power of generative artificial intelligence for productivity and automation”, created in collaboration with Unioncamere and Dintec, an in-house agency of the Chamber of Commerce system specializing in innovation and digital issues.
 

The focus of the training program is the exploration of artificial intelligence platforms and technologies both as levers of personal productivity and as means to carry out company tasks, thus supporting the performance of recurring activities. There is also a final challenge, which will take place on May 7, 2025 as part of the RomeCup event, in which 50 selected SMEs that have participated in the training course will be able to work on the design of innovation processes that they can implement in their own work contexts, guided by trainers and business experts.
 

The initiative is being promoted throughout Italy thanks to the involvement of the PID – Punti Impresa Digitale (Digital Enterprise Points), offices present in all the Italian Chambers of Commerce to promote the digital transition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

THE TRAINING COURSE
The training course, which is free and entirely online, is aimed at entrepreneurs and employees of small and medium-sized enterprises who want to learn more about how to use artificial intelligence to respond to business challenges and achieve process innovation objectives. 

During the training sessions – which you can attend even if you have no previous knowledge of programming languages or AI skills – examples will be presented of the use of machine learning and computer vision, automation and intelligent agents, and the introduction of artificial intelligence in areas such as sales, customer service, human resources management and purchasing. The training is enriched by the intervention of a Microsoft expert.

THE CALENDAR

Webinar 1
Generative AI and Copilot
March 24, from 2 to 4 p.m.
This training module offers an introduction to generative AI, exploring its differences with other artificial intelligence technologies. It analyzes the limitations of existing chatbots, the advantages of Copilot, the implications for data management and the best prompt design techniques to optimize its use in a business context.

Webinar 2 
Generative AI tools and applications
April 7, from 2 to 4 p.m.
The training module guides you in the conscious use of generative AI tools, developing skills gradually. We'll explore speech-to-text and text-to-speech solutions, image generation with Copilot, as well as tools for creating graphics, videos and presentations, with a focus on transparency and accessibility.
 

Webinar 3
Automation and intelligent agents
April 14, from 2 to 4 p.m.
This training module explores the potential of generative AI for business productivity, illustrating examples of automation and the creation of intelligent agents with different platforms. Strategies for identifying automatable processes and guidelines for responsible use in view of the AI Act are also provided.
 

Webinar 4
Microsoft Power Automate and Copilot Studio. Concrete examples of AI in business
April 17, from 4 to 5 p.m.
The fourth module is led by a Microsoft expert and aims to present demos of intelligent agents already implemented and working, such as custom automations and copilots.

Webinar 5 | only for 50 selected companies
From theory to practice: preparation for the final challenge workshop
April 23, from 2 to 4 p.m.
The fifth and final online appointment is reserved for SMEs selected to participate in the challenge workshop that will be held in person in Rome, during the RomeCup 2025. Participants will discover the scenarios they will be invited to address and will be guided in working as a team. 

The training is held by Andrea Boscaro, trainer of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale and founder of The Vortex, with the participation of Silvia Ruvolo, Technical Specialist ERP&CRM, Microsoft Italy.

CHALLENGE-WORKSHOP

The final event will take place on 7 May from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Engineering Department of the Roma Tre University in the exciting setting of the RomeCup 2025, the great event dedicated to robotics and artificial intelligence, which every year hosts over 3, 000 young visitors with robotics competitions, conferences and international guests, educational workshops, hackathons and an exhibition area with prototypes from schools, universities, research centers, start-ups and Italian companies. Among the partners of this edition: Microsoft, Avanade, Google.org, ING, SAP, Intesa Sanpaolo, Johnson&Johnson and many others. 

The final event of the training course is organized as a workshop-challenge: 50 SMEs selected from among those who have followed the training course have the opportunity to work in teams to identify business processes that can give life to development projects for automation and intelligent agents within their companies. Following the work, in addition to the trainers of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, there will also be experts and partners of Microsoft.
 

The number of places is limited. Priority will be given to companies that:

• guarantee the presence of the entrepreneur/company owner on May 7th
• claim to have more than 10 employees
• claim to have already started an internal digitization process and/or to have used one or more of the digital performance evaluation tools offered by the Digital Enterprise Points of the Chambers of Commerce.
   

In the event that the limit is exceeded, priority will be given to companies that have booked their place at the event first and to geographical origin, in order to encourage territorial diversification.

Please note that travel expenses to attend the final event are to be paid by the interested party.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

To participate, you can register by filling out the online form by March 20.