Lombardy and Google join forces to bring AI to ITS

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Artificial Intelligence is coming to the classrooms of Lombardy’s technical colleges (ITS), thanks to a partnership between the Lombardy Region and Google for Education. This initiative provides AI training and certification for teachers and students, with the key aim of leveraging the Google for Education ecosystem to design the best possible learning pathway for the ITS. The project will launch at the start of the next academic year, 2026/2027, and comprises two streams: one for teachers and one for students. Specifically, the first stream involves training – using the ‘Train the Trainer’ methodology – and the certification of teachers. The other consists of the Gemini Academy – the training programme promoted by Google for Education – and the subsequent attainment of certification by students.

“Artificial intelligence represents an extraordinary opportunity to make our education system even more competitive and better aligned with the needs of businesses. Thanks to our partnership with Google for Education, we are bringing an innovative model to Lombardy’s technical colleges, one that combines technology, skills and responsibility,” said Simona Tironi, Regional Councillor for Education, Training and Employment. “We want to train young people to be ready to face the challenges of the future, with recognised qualifications and advanced skills that enhance their value in the labour market. Lombardy is thus reaffirming its role as a national hub for innovation, investing in people and the professions of tomorrow,” emphasised Tironi.

Through this partnership, the Lombardy Region aims to highlight the importance of AI by offering students and teachers at ITS an innovative programme based on the use of Gemini for Education. This represents a significant step towards the specialisation of skills, supported directly by Google experts.

“To turn Italia’s potential into tangible growth, we must focus on its most important resource: its people. The project with the Lombardy Region is a concrete example of this vision: by bringing training and certification to ITS institutions, we are giving young people the exact skills they need to be immediately competitive in a labour market that demands them more and more,” explained Marco Berardinelli, Head of Education at Google in Italia, alongside Roberto Sella, coordinator of the Lombardy ITS Network, who added: “Acquiring skills in the field of AI has become central to our institutions and is developing along two key strands. On the one hand, there is the technological aspect: learning to make the best use of tools such as Gemini to enhance and develop professionally, thereby ensuring that technology is an ally rather than a substitute for human labour. On the other hand, there is an essential focus on legal and ethical awareness, which is indispensable for the responsible and mature use of Artificial Intelligence.”