The money comes from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility, said Vodafone, and the project is backed by national and local government.
Massimo Midiri (pictured), rector of the University of Palermo, said the university will “give new impetus to the innovation of teaching tools and methodologies, with the precise aim of being able to anticipate the times by experimenting with solutions, approaches and strategies that can make the university and the local area more and more competitive and attractive also for public and private investments”.
Aldo Bisio, CEO of Vodafone Italy, said: “With the creation of the first private 5G hybrid network on a university campus, we are writing a new chapter in university education. Digital and innovation make it possible to create new learning models in which the concrete experience of the individual is central, enabled by connectivity and technology.”
The 5G network will serve the University of Palermo, including its School of Medicine and Surgery and its branch in Trapani.
The initiative involves the creation of an extended reality (XR) learning platform, said Vodafone – technology that includes real and virtual environments and human-machine interactions generated by information technology and wearable devices.
This “will enable new immersive, collaborative and fluid learning experiences both in presence and remotely, thanks to the broadband and low latency of 5G technology”, the company added.
Midiri said: “This project is part of the many activities aimed not only at innovating our university, equipping it with the most advanced technologies with which to carry out teaching and research activities, but also at establishing solid relationships with the territory and with companies of the calibre of Vodafone.”
