Work in progress in Palermo for the technological cradle of the Its Academy A. Volta

It is called Biomed and Biotech 4.0 Technological Cradle and will be born, is being born, in Palermo, in an area of 1,800 square metres within the Opera Pia Santa Lucia Institute. Financed with six million Pnrr it will be inaugurated in February next year. And it is yet another step forward for the Its Academy Nuove tecnologie della vita A. Volta that, after having consolidated its presence in Palermo, has landed in Messina, Milazzo, Trapani and Catania and currently has 10 active courses and about 300 students in the classroom. A path of growth that was emphasised during the conference held a few days ago in Palermo, where the urgency for Sicily to train and place young specialised technicians in the world of work was underlined. An event that ended with the awarding ceremony of the diplomas to the students who obtained the specialisation in Biomedical Technician Specialist and Quality Biotechnologist in the year 2024. "After five years since its inception, we can finally say that our Its Academy is now a Community," says President Maria Pia Pensabene. "Twenty schools, several public bodies (the Municipality of Palermo, the City of Trapani, the Chamber of Commerce of Palermo and Enna), the University of Palermo, Research Institutions, more than 100 companies represented by the country's most important employers' association, Confindustria; and above all, 300 students in the classroom and as many families are an extraordinary community.

A community that will have a modern facility with operating theatres and laboratories in the four Its areas: Biomedical, Electronics and Advanced Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Informatics and Telemedicine 4.0, and Chemistry and Biotechnology. "The Its Academy A. Volta demonstrates that the educational responsibility of companies works, especially in Southern Italy, where the impact of a new, workshop-based and more open to work didactics is more evident in a socio-economic context that faces significant criticalities every day," says Riccardo Di Stefano, president of the Young Entrepreneurs of Confindustria and Education Delegate. "Confindustria has supported virtuous Its schools like Volta from the outset because, in addition to meeting the needs of companies, they have become ambassadors of entrepreneurial culture in the educational system. The numbers of the Its Academy A. Volta are really important: in less than two years' time we will have another 300 specialised technical graduates who will go on to strengthen our Sicilian companies by making an irreplaceable contribution of enthusiasm, innovation and energy. It is also for this reason that we are asking the institutions to support the Its institutions, which have demonstrated that they know how to invest well and with foresight. I hope that these aspects will be taken into account when discussing the budget law'. Guido Torrielli, President of the National Its Italy Network, tells us what the numbers are: 'The Its Academies represent the second tertiary education system in our country, together with the academic one; with a level of allocation in the working world that exceeds 90%. The Higher Technological Institutes are a fundamental tool because we are talking about technologies that are renewed every day, and the Its Academies can change their study paths every year, they can adapt immediately to innovation and market demand. A quality that increasingly leads us to be internationally competitive'.

The entrepreneurs are witnesses that this model works, the schools too: 'educational action in the suburbs is certainly complex, but we have a duty to eradicate all forms of prejudice,' says Sara Inguanta, of the E. Ascione Institute, based in the complicated Borgo Nuovo district of Palermo. Ascione, which is based in the complicated district of Borgo Nuovo in Palermo - The Its is not a fallback education but an extraordinary opportunity'. And Regional Councillor for Education and Training Mimmo Turano reiterates his commitment on this front: 'The Region is focusing on the Its system. We are aware of the enormous need for advanced and innovative technical skills in the various sectors, otherwise it will not be possible to initiate a real process of sustainable innovation'.