DigIN

DigIN- Digital Inclusion Network:
Digital INclusion and skills development for the metaverse in contexts of restricted personal freedom

Objectives and Actions
DigIN is a project for the digital inclusion of people whose personal freedom is restricted, through professional development programs in digital technologies and the metaverse for the reintegration of users into the workforce.

The project involves:

1) the I3S Faculty, with the production of courses in the disciplinary fields of ICT, virtual reality, and computer science;
2) the Digilab interdisciplinary research center on "Digital Humanities," which will host hands-on internships on the digitization of artifacts and virtual reality reconstructions;
3) the Sapienza Design Research multidisciplinary center, with experiences in social innovation and user-centered design;
4) the Sapienza Museum Center, through the artistic project "Canti per il Carcere" by EtnoMusa; and 5) various Departments.
Participants from eight departments (DIET, DIAG, SARAS, CORIS, DiAP, DSG, PDTA, DIMA) demonstrate DigIN's cross-disciplinary nature. DigIN will be funded in kind by the Chamber of Deputies (laboratory terminals) and the European Digital Skills Academy ViWAS-Virtual Worlds Skills Academy (course and platform sharing).

Also participating in DigIN are:
a) the Sapienza University Penitentiary Center, which will tailor courses to the real needs of participants, aiming for synergy with other Sapienza Prison initiatives;
b) the Third Sector Association Seconda Chance, which has already created hundreds of job opportunities nationwide for inmates, foster parents, and former inmates. Seconda Chance, through a co-design, will contribute to monitoring the programs, identifying both beneficiaries and companies for reintegration into the workforce, and disseminating information.

EtnoMusa, with an artistic project based on prison songs, will extend the cultural impact of DigIN's digital inclusion activities through musical performance.

Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries of the DigIN project are mainly prisoners who meet the educational requirements to access technical and university education courses. In particular, the project addresses the share of the prison population in possession of a high school diploma (19%), a professional diploma (3%) or a degree (2%), for a potential pool of over 10,000 people.

While addressing this target, the project takes into account the specific conditions of detention, which often limit the possibility of following traditional training courses. For this reason, the contents will be designed in a multi-channel format (text, audio, paper materials and exercises), so as to be accessible even in contexts without connectivity or advanced technological devices.

Alongside the direct beneficiaries, DigIN also identifies indirect beneficiaries: Sapienza University and its academic community, who will be able to expand the involvement of teachers and technical-scientific disciplines in activities aimed at the penitentiary system, encouraging greater awareness and participation in the issues of inclusion and training in prison.

Contributions

Project participants include:

• Roberto Beraldi

• Alberto Maria Bersani

• Pasquale Bronzo

• Paola Buzi

• Tiziana Cattai

• Ioannis Chatzigiannakis

• Fabiola Colone

• Francesca Comunello

• Francesca Cuomo

• Luca De Nardis

• Loredana Di Lucchio

• Vincenzo Eramo

• Fabrizio Frezza

• Daniele Gorla

• Riccardo Lazzeretti

• Paola Panarese

• Debora Pastina

• Erika Pittella

• Marco Polverini

• Pisana Posocco

• Gaetano Scarano

• Pietro Spadaccino

And anyone wishing to participate in the continuation of the project can send an email to stefania.colonnese@uniroma1.it

In addition to the direct contributions of participating professors and doctoral students, the DigIN project benefits from significant infrastructure resources and specialized expertise, thanks to the contribution of institutional and industrial partners.

The Chamber of Deputies is contributing in-kind co-financing, providing computer terminals for the creation of laboratories in prison facilities. This equipment will form the technological infrastructure for course delivery and will remain available beyond the project's duration, ensuring its sustainability and supporting future training initiatives.

The ViWAS Digital Academy provides specialized expertise for defining the skills and certification framework (CQF), ensuring that training programs are aligned with labor market needs and geared toward achieving certifications. It also contributes to the development of a centralized catalog of training resources, content integration between DigIN and the ViWAS platform, the sharing of teaching materials and recorded training hours, and the promotion of the project in international contexts dedicated to immersive technologies, expanding its visibility, accessibility, and impact.

Impact

In terms of impact, DigIN:

• identifies needs for inclusion and career opportunities;

• creates a stable connection between the I3S Faculty and the Penitentiary Center;

• offers training programs aimed at job reintegration;

• tests activities useful to the University, such as digitalization.

In terms of dissemination, DigIN plans:

• dissemination through the press, social media, and institutional channels;

• participation in institutional and international events (Laval Virtual, EuroXR) with the support of the Digital Academy;

• a networking event with companies and a final workshop with Etnomusa and external guests.

In terms of future use, DigIN:

• adopts flexible content, adaptable to the needs of different facilities;

• consolidates paid internship and placement practices, extendable to other Sapienza archives.

In terms of co-design, DigIN collaborates with Seconda Chance, which:

• promotes job opportunities in penitentiaries and for people in alternative measures;

• It has already facilitated numerous job placements;

• it enjoys high visibility in major national newspapers.

In terms of its multidisciplinary approach, DigIN relies on:

• a multidisciplinary working group;

• experts in designing internships in prison settings;

• a consolidated network with penitentiary institutions;

• experience in setting up computer labs in prisons.

In terms of feasibility, DigIN leverages:

• co-creation of courses with ViWAS;

• support from Seconda Chance in its relationships with beneficiaries;

• the experience of teachers working at Sapienza Carcere and the Terza Missione;

• PCs made available by the Chamber of Deputies.

Indicators
The set of monitoring indicators is organized into two macro-areas: project production and beneficiaries/impact.

OP – Educational Production, Evaluation, and Feedback

• The indicators primarily measure the project's outputs, including:

• number of completed and available educational modules;

• definition of professional development paths;

• production of multimedia content (video, audio, and text);

• availability of open access materials;

• design of micro-credentials according to the European framework (Europass);

• setup of computer labs in prisons;

• publication of scientific and technical documentation (reports, papers);

• conducting focus groups with beneficiaries;

• activation of web and social media communication activities;

• enhancement of in-kind co-financing of the ViWAS Digital Academy, measured in dedicated staff hours.

OC – Beneficiaries, Impact, and Institutional Impact

The indicators evaluate the project's results and effects by monitoring:

• number of prisons where the courses are accessible;

• Number of beneficiaries reached;

• Number of courses completed by participants;

• Completion rate of micro-credential courses;

• Access to open access materials;

• Participation in interim events and the final workshop;

• Activation of new partnerships;

• Number of Sapienza courses adopting multi-format materials developed by the project;

• Number of subsequent projects reusing DigIN methodologies and results for digital inclusion initiatives.

Overall, the monitoring system combines implementation indicators (outputs), participation and use indicators (outcomes), and institutional impact and sustainability indicators, with surveys conducted quarterly (T), half-yearly (S), and at the end of the project/follow-up (F).