The new training course will start in October at the ITS Academy Lazio Digital Foundation in Rome “Microsoft AI Architect & Agentic Developer“, an experimental course in higher technological education dedicated to enterprise Artificial Intelligence. The course was created as part of the national collaboration agreement between theITS ITALY Network Association and EY Foundationa third sector philanthropic body in the EY network, a world leader in professional and consultancy services, which will contribute to the provision of teaching together with Microsoft Italy, making its experts available.
This is one of the first experiments in Italy of a model that combines the ITS Academy system, strategic philanthropy and a large global technological partner: EY Foundation will support the project with a donation to support the ITS laboratory equipment — with high-performance workstations dedicated to students’ practical activities — while EY and Microsoft Italy they will make their experts available as teachers through volunteering for the specialist modules of the course, from the Azure AI Foundry platform to agent systems, from RAG to governance and compliance (GDPR and AI Act), up to the Copilot ecosystem.
The course forms the Senior technician for the development of AI & Cloud solutions on Microsoft platforms (EQF level 5): a figure capable of designing, developing and managing Artificial Intelligence solutions across the entire Microsoft Azure stack, with professional opportunities such as Azure AI Engineer, Copilot Developer, Cloud Solutions Architect and LLMOps specialist.
After the selection phase, which will lead to the formation of the class group, the students will face 11 months of practical-laboratory lessons, at the end of which they will be able to access the 800-hour internship at EY and Microsoft, for direct experience in the production contexts that are driving the digital transformation of the country.
Registrations are open on the www.laziodigital.it portal. The course is free for students, as it is financed within the ITS Academy 2026 programming of the Lazio Region, and is aimed at young graduates interested in specializing in the technologies most requested by the job market.
«This course is the result of an unprecedented alliance between ITS, corporate philanthropy and a global technology leader — he declares Euclid of SightPresident of the ITS Academy Lazio Digital Foundation —. We offer young people from Lazio an unparalleled path: cutting-edge laboratories, teachers who work every day on the technologies they teach and a direct outlet in the companies of the Microsoft ecosystem.»
«The collaboration with EY Foundation was created to strengthen the ITS system and its connections with businesses — he declares Guido TorrielliPresident of the ITS ITALIA Network Association —. The experimentation started in Rome with Lazio Digital is the first concrete fruit of this agreement and a model that can be replicated on a national scale.»
«Investing in the development of skills related to artificial intelligence is essential to support the growth of our businesses», he declares Carlo ChiattelliPeople Consulting Leader of EY Italy. «A recent EY study shows that the tertiary training offer, academic and otherwise, in the main European countries manages to cover less than 40% of the demand for skills related to AI in strategic sectors, with a particularly significant gap in technical areas. In this scenario, initiatives like the one we are launching today, created in collaboration with the ITS Academy Foundation, are important steps to strengthen higher technical education and experiment with innovative models, oriented towards market needs, accompanying the new generations towards the professions of the future.»
«We are proud to contribute to this training path – he declares Annamaria BotteroGlobal Partner Lead of Microsoft Italy – making available the experience of our professionals, the Microsoft technological ecosystem and the strength of our partner network, which every day helps businesses and organizations scale AI success with innovative, secure and reliable solutions. It is also through this ecosystem that we want to accompany young people towards the digital professions most requested by the market and create a concrete bridge with businesses.»