The Municipality of Pisa
The Municipality of Pisa is a local authority deemed to administrate Pisa town, which has a strategic role in Tuscany (Italy), thanks to the three universities (Università di Pisa, Scuola Normale Superiore and Scuola Superiore S. Anna), one of the largest research centre in Italy (CNR), a largest international airport (4 millio passengers/years) and one of the most important Italian hospital.
Pisa has a population of about 90,000 inhabitants. With immediate surrounding it reaches 200,000 inhabitants, representing the second largest conurbation in Tuscany. Partly as a legacy of its past, Pisa performs functions that have a regional, national and even global reach. It shows global excellence in science and technology. The University of Pisa (founded 1343) is the 11th largest University in Italy.
Research in physics, mathematics, nanotechnology as well as in information technology (the first department in computer science in Italy) shine at global level.
Pisa Smart City project provides the development horizon for the years to come. It develops along four axes:
- city of quality of life (quality of buildings, security, sport, city branding);
- city of knowledge (research and innovation, creativity, school system);
- accessible city (participation, e-services);
- sustainable city (environment, energy, mobility, development).
Operationally, the axes integrates with the following four Operational Plans:
-Urbanistic plan for the Pisa conurbation
-Urban mobility plan
-Plan for digital city
-Sustainable Energy Action Plan (under the Covenant of Mayors)
The Sustainable Energy Action Plan was adopted in June 2012. It is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 22% by 2020 over 2008.
The SEAP takes a transversal perspectives and integrates a coherent framework all relevant projects, plans and regulatory
instruments concerning the urban structure, mobility and transport as well as energy efficiency, renewable energy and technological
developments. The city intends to extend the plan to 2050 during the next years or several years, the goal of the Municipality of Pisa is to foster and promote the use of digital technologies in schools.
It has implemented the following projects:
a) 1 PC for each classroom: wiring in all lower secondary schools in Municipality of Pisa
b) Internet – Internet connection in all lower secondary schools in Municipality of Pisa
c) Websites for all of Pisa’s Comprenhensive Institutes and a number of lower secondary schools
d) Smart School: Multi-media IT devices, described below, enabling access to a complete series of innovative teaching methods provided. Over 70 interactive whiteboards have been installed (Municipality of Pisa, CNR and the Tuscany region.)
e) Smart Inclusion: Provides a virtual “bridge” by exploiting the most advanced technologies available to reduce social, human and cultural distance, inevitably created between long-term hospital patients – especially children and adolescents – and their school and family. At the same time, the project improves the safety of the 2.0 clinical process and schools in hospital connection.
f) Activation of Wi-Fi connection in 6 upper secondary schools and 5 lower secondary schools
g) Clohe: Fibre-optic broadband Internet connections: fibre-optic connections are planned in Pisa’s main upper / lower secondary schools, including broadband Internet access via the GARR network (Municipality of Pisa, University of Pisa, IIT-CNR.
h) An integrated plan for innovation in analogic and digital learning processes is planned, involving all Pisa School Institutions with3-18 years students.
i) The research activity “Teaching as educational relationship” for analogical innovation in learning/teaching processes has been conducted in the course of two years with Pisa Municipality funding, involving a multidisciplinary research group composed of three teachers for each School Institution including 0-6 yo. schools, one for each school degree ensuring vertical continuity, and expertsresearchers from Pisa Academies in neurosciences, pedagogy, psychology and information technologies. The group has elaborated guidelines for innovation in learning processes, subsequently applied to the solution of specific problems.
l) Developed the action “Innovate for growing up” and “Socrate”, devoted to students with Specific Learning Disorders, funded by Pisa Municipality, Vodafone Foundation and Pisa Foundation. The action, conducted by Paideia in collaboration with the Biorobotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, has trained teachers to use new analogical methods and digital tools, which had
been engineered and validated by students themlseves and bio-engineers in afternoon laboratories.
About the digital School of Europe
Inspired by an Irish Concept – Digital Schools of Distinction – where schools in Ireland have the possibility to carry out self-assessment and evaluation of progress in integration of digital technologies in teaching and learning to achieve an award of “Digital School of Distinction”. Erasmus+ project “Digital Schools of Europe” will examine wheter it is possible to implement a similar program at a European level.
The project is coordinated by the Dublin West Education Centre in Ireland. Other partners are:
Ireland: Irish National Teachers Organisation
- Finland: Oulu Municipality
- Sweden: Malmo Municipality
- Denmark: University College Lillebælt, Center for Educational, Odense
- Universite de Limoges, Limoges
- Spain: CPR Region of Murcia
- Portugal: Nucleo Interactivo de Astronomia, Lisbon
- Italy: Pisa Municipality
The project is a so-called strategic partnership “school education”. The main partners are connected to several schools in their area, which will have a limited amount for mobilities. In Denmark Vissenbjerg school and Hjallese School in Odense partners and Holluf Pile School has just signed up for the project and will participate in meetings at their own expense.
A number of “intellectual outputs” will be produced during the project, and CFU in Odense is responsible for “Social Media” – including getting as many schools as possible in the process of eTwinning projects.
The Digital Schools of Europe project is being set up with a two-fold approach:
To seek out best practice in the use of ICT in Schools throughout the partnership regions, to assess and share this best practice with each other and to disseminate this best practice to other countries.
To analyse accreditation systems in the partnership countries, to assess the feasibility of introducing a nationally accredited award system in each country, similar to the Irish Digital Schools of Distinction Award, leading to the feasibility or possibility of an international EU accredited system.
With 8 partner countries, plus the involvement of a minimum of a number of schools in each, and through our transnational project meetings and outputs, we are perfectly placed to achieve our objectives.
Our project also meets many of the elements recommended for strategic partnerships:
Develop, test, adapt and adopt/implement innovative practices relating to:
o learning and teaching methodologies and pedagogical approaches, especially those delivering key competences and basic skills, language skills, and focusing on the use of ICT;
o new forms of learning and providing education and training, notably strategic use of open and flexible learning, virtual mobility, open educational resources and better exploitation of the ICT potential;
Carry out joint research, surveys, studies and analyses;
- Facilitate recognition/certification of skills and competences at national level by referencing them to European and national Qualification Frameworks and using EU validation instruments.
Key personnel:
Marialuisa Chiofalo: Councillor for Socio-Educational and School Policies, promotion of digital technologies for training and education in science and initiatives for spreading scientific awareness, Municipality of Pisa Education.
Degree in Physics, University of Pisa. PhD degree in Physics
Positions held: PhD in Condensed Matter Physics (CMP), SNS, 1993-1996. Post-doctorate course (INFM, 1996-1998) and temporary research position (SNS, 1998-2002) in CMP. Research grant on space tests for general relativity (University of Pisa, 2002-2004).
Temporary research position (SNS, 2004-2008). Associate professor (University of Pisa, 2007-present). National teaching qualified Full Professor.
Administration activities. Since May 2008, as councillor with expertise in educational policies, promotion of digital technologies for
education, gender policies, citizenship values and the culture of legality, has advised the Mayor of Pisa, Marco Filippeschi. This appointment renewed in 2013, adding the competences on scientific education and initiatives to contrast corruption in the Public Administration.
Franco Chesi
Responsible P.O. E-Government and Civic Network of Pisa Municipality of Pisa
Responsible for:
- Pisa city Wi-Fi network
- Civic Network of Pisa www.comune.pisa.it and services to citizens www.e.pisa.it schools of Pisa www.scuole.pisa.it Tourism www.turismo.pisa.it
- Local network, Municipality of Pisa
- Internet and intranet services
- City fibre-optic networks and Internet access for Pisa’s local authorities
- Project for re-utilisation of the CiTel “online services for citizens” portal
Education and training
- Degree in Computer Science, University of Pisa
- Postgraduate Diploma, University of Information Technology of Pisa, “Security of IT networks”, niche course within the “Credits” project, funded by the Tuscany Region and Department of Employment and Training (2000).
Laura Nassi
Director, Educational Services - Social Affairs Department , Municipality of Pisa
Education. Degree in Law
Activities: coordinated services constituting the sector
03/04/2000 - 31/03/2004: Director, Educational Services and Social Affairs sector under the Social Services Department
01/04/2004 - present: Director, Educational Services - Social Affairs, Municipality of Pisa
Schools involved:
IC Toniolo, Pisa - Contact people: Mrs. Laura Giorgi (Deputy of the Principal), Mrs. Cristina Morelli (teacher)
IC Gamerra, Pisa - Contact people: Mrs. Oriana Carella (Deputy of the Principal)