Conference Program

Higher Technological Institutes (ITS Academy) represent the Italian pathway of non-university vocational tertiary education, introducing a dual training model within a traditionally academic-centred system. ITS programmes combine classroom teaching, laboratory-based learning and mandatory work-based training, with a strong involvement of firms in governance, curriculum design and teaching activities. Despite their growing relevance in public debate and policy agendas, the Italian ITS system remains largely underexplored in the sociological and educational literature, particularly with regard to the role played by firms and territorial networks in shaping its functioning.

This paper contributes to the literature on vocational tertiary education and dual training systems by analysing the organisational and relational dynamics underpinning ITS Foundations, focusing on the Tuscan ITS network as a case study. Tuscany represents a particularly suitable context for analysis, as its ITS system has expanded significantly over time and currently covers all national technological areas, operating across heterogeneous productive sectors ranging from manufacturing and advanced technologies to services and tourism.

The study adopts a qualitative research design based on ten focus groups conducted between May and October 2025, involving all ITS Foundations operating in the region. Participants included Foundation directors, scientific and teaching coordinators, teachers, company tutors, representatives of business associations and other stakeholders. This methodological approach allows the analysis to capture relational processes, informal practices and organisational tensions that are not easily observable through quantitative indicators alone.

The findings highlight that the effectiveness of the ITS model largely derives from the dense territorial networks in which Foundations are embedded. Firms play a central role not only as providers of internships and employment opportunities, but also as co-designers of curricula, sources of vocational teaching and partners in continuous curricular updating. Territorial networks act as the core infrastructure of the system, enabling ITS to translate heterogeneous productive needs into coherent training pathways and to support incremental innovation, particularly within small and medium-sized enterprises.

At the same time, the analysis reveals a set of structural weaknesses that constrain the consolidation and scaling-up of the model. These include the hybrid institutional positioning of ITS within the education system, discontinuous and project-based funding arrangements, high organisational intensity and uneven integration with schools and universities. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for policy, arguing that strengthening ITS as a stable pillar of vocational tertiary education requires coordinated interventions at both regional and national levels.