IISS Alessandro Volta

OUR SCHOOL

IISS “Alessandro Volta” is located in Palermo (Italy) and is a technical institute with a curricula in electronics and electrotechnics, graphics and communication, IT and telecommunications, mechanics, electromechanics and energy, transports and logistics; an experimental Scientific High School with applied sciences option; an industry and craft vocational school with a curriculum in maintenance and technical assistance. 

The school, which dates back to the 70s, is located in the area called Settecannoli, a suburb in the Southeastern coast of the city, in difficult social, cultural and economic situation. It is attended by less than 1400 students coming from wide urban and extraurban areas, with a high number of commuting students (around 33%).

OUR SCHOOL IN ACTION

The school poses itself as a symbol of legality and democracy, as a mean for personal growth and for the social realization of active and conscious citizens, beyond any kind of physical, social and economic disadvantages. A school “of everybody and for everybody”, which bases its work on the developing subject, guaranteeing students full success opportunities through the complete enhancement of the “personal potential”. The institute commits to favor the harmonious development of the student’s personality through ethical, social, cultural and organizational choices, which would help him/her to consciously participate in significant life and work experiences in the contexts he/she is inserted.

By creating synergies between schools and companies, institutions and local organizations, the scholastic community offers to guarantee unity in the education for young people, in order to guide them in the development of their personality.

Educational choices also include apprenticeship program initiatives, with a didactic methodology that offers the possibility to learn in a working situation and to “learn by doing”, alternating periods of study and practice in companies and high-qualified professional studios, also for growing in legality. The apprenticeship program presumes a “new educational vision”, which was born to the overcoming of the division between educational and application moments and it is based on the idea that formal and informal education, together with work experience, blend in a unique educational project. 

The institute has been committed for years to the promotion and diffusion of the awareness and safeguard of the environment, as well as of environmental sustainability and of the use of energy coming from renewable resources, aiming to stimulate and attract interest towards a collective spin-off of the value of environmental safeguard and of territory recovery, to identify new sectorial and niche professions in the job market and to promote the “eco-self-entrepreneurship”.  

'Entrepreneurial education can represent an important element for the cultural, social and professional growth of young people - especially in difficult areas, such as Southern Italy. It turns out that the “methodological” transformation of the Italian school system is decisive to overcome the job crisis and open up solutions for young people leaving compulsary education" - said Pietro Crimi, coordinating teacher of the Science Department of the institute and spokesman of the institute for the ICEE project.

SCHOOL WEBSITE: http://www.itivolta.pa.gov.it