Collaboration with universities and schools

In line with the IdeAzione and The School I Would Like initiatives, the Acea Group launches GenerAzione Digitale, the new training and career orientation program for young generations.
The program aims to instill in the new generations the importance of sustainability and innovation in environmental protection.
The program – entirely digital – involves 480 4th and 5th-year students from technical vocational training institutes in Lazio, Umbria, Campania and Tuscany. Teams of participants take part in a “Digital Creathon” and take on the challenge launched by the Acea Group, which focuses on a new development model centered around the conscious respect for natural resources.

Consorzio Elis, partner in this initiative, supports Acea in the relationship with schools and students during the design thinking stage necessary to develop innovative and creative solutions. In the project development stage, students will be able to request advice or feedback from Acea’s business or innovation experts.
Acea Sustainability Ambassadors play a key role in the project. They promote the culture of sustainability, awareness of environmental impact, and circular economy, inside the Group as well as outside. Their role is to accompany students along the journey to discover these topics.

Acea’s commitment to schools continues even during the health emergency. We submitted a digital project to show our support and closeness to students involved in the IdeAzione program. The objective is to strengthen the message LaScuolaNonsiFerma (School does not Stop) and give students the chance to propose a learning model based on their experience during the last few months.

This initiative, in collaboration with the ELIS Consortium, consists in two stages: the first comprises webinar sessions to prepare for the “La scuola che vorrei” (The school I would like) project work; the second is focused on the students’ elaboration of the project proposal. The programme is also enriched through learning pills and inspirational talk events. In the 2020 edition, the students were invited to redesign the School of the Future, proposing a new teaching model based on their actual experience as a result of Covid-19.

Alternating between school and the workplace gives us an opportunity to create a bond with schools in the community and to help young children develop and possibly become Acea's resources of tomorrow.

Together with the ELIS Consortium, we launched the project IdeAzione to start up this virtual circle of exchange between school and company. Students from Technical and Vocational Schools have the opportunity to learn useful methods for the world of work; whereas it is a chance for Acea to address the new generations and encourage its values of sustainability.  The professional staff and experts at Acea - named "Trade Masters" - together with the teachers, are there to guide the students to develop innovative projects, with which to challenge themselves in a competition of ideas. The winners take part in a week at the Elis Summer School where they build the prototypes for their ideas. The winning schools are awarded a contribution by Acea's Ethics and Sustainability Committee.

We are constantly pursuing potential collaborations with the university world, because these are the institutions through which the innovative development of our business and the local community passes. In recent years, we have strengthened our relationships with some of the major universities, such as Tor Vergata, La Sapienza, LUISS Guido Carli, European Studies - Rome, University of Naples Federico II, Cassino University.
In 2020 we renewed agreements for curricular and extra-curricular internships with the Roma Tre, Tor Vergata and La Sapienza Universities and defined specific agreements for some master programmes at the Campus Bio-Medico University in Rome and at Rome’s Tor Vergata University. Moreover, again in 2020 we activated 35 traineeships and 16 curricular internships, in addition to the recruitment of 17 new graduates and the stabilisation of 36 young people previously included in traineeships and internships.
Again with regard to training we placed the professional competencies of our staff at the disposal of university courses and masters or projects of a technical nature. In 2020 qualified company personnel took part as lecturers or with business testimonials in masters degree programmes, which dealt in particular with issues concerning energy, the environment, sustainability and innovation.

Are you a university student and interested in becoming part of Acea Group?