From research to skills: developing AI and robotics skills for territorial innovation with the involvement of undergraduate and graduate students, PhD candidates, public administration employees, citizens, researchers, professionals, teachers and SMEs
The RAISE Training Program, as a whole, has strengthened the role of education as a driver of territorial innovation. The activities created connections between research, institutions and society, disseminating strategic skills and fostering a shared technological culture. The project has contributed to making Liguria a dynamic laboratory where knowledge, experimentation and application point the way towards sustainable, future-oriented development.
The Training Program offered advanced training pathways to students, PhD candidates, researchers, teachers, SME professionals and Public Administration staff. The program was structured into eight projects, differentiated by content, duration and target groups, in order to address specific training needs in a targeted way.
Data from the Training Program implemented by RAISE within the framework of Spoke 5 clearly demonstrate the capacity of the Ligurian ecosystem to translate vision and research into widespread skills, broad participation and measurable outcomes. The pathways dedicated to artificial intelligence and robotics involved academic communities, public administrations, schools and professionals, strengthening a territorial fabric that recognizes innovation as a concrete lever for development.
The initiative delivered 973 hours of activities, including online training and in-person events, and reached 7,673 participants. The digital component attracted 5,741 individuals, while workshops and local events involved an additional 1,959 attendees, creating opportunities for direct exchange and knowledge transfer. The educational model, hosted on the Moodle platform, enhanced interaction, personalization and experiential learning through short learning units, multimedia content and continuous assessment tools.
University students and public administration employees formed the core of participation, accounting for 42% and 43% respectively. Teachers, PhD candidates, master’s students and SME employees contributed to a broad and interdisciplinary training ecosystem. The participant profile shows a strong presence of high school graduates and university degree holders, reflecting a highly motivated audience eager to strengthen both digital and transversal skills.
The impact of the program is clearly reflected in the results: 2,308 online courses completed and 1,936 Open Badges issued, linked to the skills developed. Students from the University of Genoa, representing 65 different academic programs, included 1,591 RAISE courses in their study plans, confirming full integration between project-based training and formal education. Female participation reached 52% of the total, exceeding expected targets and confirming the project’s commitment to gender balance in technological disciplines.
Among the individual pathways, P4 (Basic AI & Robotics Skills at University Level) – dedicated to developing basic skills in artificial intelligence and robotics for university students and interested citizens – stood out for the breadth and continuity of engagement. The program recorded nearly 4,000 participants, 1,659 courses completed and 965 Open Badges issued. The inclusion of modules in academic study plans encouraged steady participation and strengthened the link between RAISE training and academic careers.
P5 (AI for Public Administration), aimed at strengthening public employees’ ability to adopt innovative technologies in urban, healthcare, environmental and port sectors, had a significant impact on public administration. More than 1,000 participants and the involvement of 313 administrations, including public bodies, municipalities, healthcare organizations and cultural institutions, testify to the relevance of this pathway in supporting the digital transformation of public services.
P1 (RAISE Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Academy), focused on technology transfer, intellectual property and deep-tech entrepreneurship, supported researchers and professionals in developing skills to enhance the value of research results.
P3 (Officinae RAISE), designed as an advanced pathway in design thinking, business modeling and scientific storytelling applied to robotics and AI, engaged graduate students and PhD candidates in intensive, collaborative experiences.
P6 (Basic AI & Robotics Skills for Secondary Schools) promoted a community of practice in artificial intelligence and robotics through teacher training, student laboratories and the development of educational materials, contributing to the dissemination of technological knowledge from the early stages of education.
The programs targeting SMEs, P2 (Basic AI & Robotics Applications for SMEs) and P7 (Advanced AI & Robotics Applications for SMEs), pursued the goal of fostering the adoption of AI- and robotics-based solutions in local companies’ production and management processes. Engaging the business target required tailored engagement strategies, yet still activated interested participant groups, particularly through in-person meetings, round tables and networking opportunities.
P8 (Boosting PhD Students’ Careers), designed to support PhD candidates in developing scientific and transversal skills and to facilitate their entry into the job market, offered modules on open science, research communication and grant writing, recording growing participation and a steady production of Open Badges.
Cristina Battaglia, RAISE Programme Manager
“From its very beginning, the RAISE ecosystem has invested in training in robotics and artificial intelligence, designing and implementing a rich and diversified program. Participant numbers and feedback collected have confirmed the importance and strategic value of developing and consolidating skills in RAISE’s core areas. Through the Training Program, the RAISE ecosystem has helped strengthen the conditions for the development of a high-knowledge-intensive and competitive economy, in line with the objectives of Mission 4 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which identified key challenges such as the skills mismatch between education and labor demand, the limited demand for innovation and highly qualified human capital from businesses, and the insufficient integration of research results into the productive system.”
Nicoletta Buratti, Head of the RAISE Training Program
“Since the design phase of RAISE, great attention has been given to training, considered a fundamental element of the technology transfer program. The objective of the RAISE Training Plan immediately appeared ambitious and challenging: to contribute, through targeted pathways, to the dissemination of knowledge aligned with the challenges posed by a constantly evolving context, in which artificial intelligence and robotics play a key role throughout the entire innovation process—from generation to dissemination, including concrete technology transfer initiatives. Each target group was offered a specific pathway based on a blended formula combining digital content delivery with moments of meeting, discussion and sharing, with the dual aim of enriching individual skills while simultaneously facilitating, through networking, the creation of a community of innovation enthusiasts. There is still much to be done, but the results achieved are encouraging and lead us to believe that it is both possible and necessary to continue in this direction.”
For more information on the results of the training program, click here.
