The central governing body is the Steering Committee, established by the Department Council.

The Steering Committee is responsible for planning and coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating periodic processes. It comprises representatives from various departmental bodies and areas involved in the project (Department Director and Deputy Director, Departmental Research Center President, Research Committee President, Departmental QA, Delegates of master's and single-cycle degree programs, Delegate of the three departmental PhD programs, Technological Hub Coordinator, administrative technical coordinator of the entire project with the role of Research Manager, invited members: representatives of bachelor's degree programs.

The Steering Committee reports periodically to the Department Council and proposes interventions and actions, evaluated by the Department Board and the Department Council.

In a historical moment where the pervasiveness of new digital technologies is transforming the daily experience of individuals and communities, it is necessary to investigate the variable combinations of limits and opportunities generated within educational and socio-cultural contexts.

We live in a world where it is no longer possible to provide a singular and unilateral response to the multiple challenges connected to the digital transition: the exacerbation of inequalities at all levels, along with the ongoing changes in the daily lives of individuals and communities, highlight the need for sustainable and lasting solutions to social and educational fragility. This includes combining attention to human complexity with cutting-edge technological devices (apps, virtual and augmented reality, video games, robotics, etc.) that encourage participation, dialogue, and inclusion.

The aim is to promote the creation of democratic, equitable, and inclusive educational environments, where the educational implications of technologies, interpretive models related to Artificial Intelligence systems, and the redefinition/negotiation of individual and collective identities between offline and online facilitate the building of social ties and supportive networks.

The goal that our Department has set with the Excellence Project Educational and Socio-cultural Changes and Potentials Related to the Digital Transition is to bring academic research increasingly into the lives of communities and individuals.

We intend to make our expertise available not only to deepen the understanding of phenomena such as educational and social inequality, the transformation of individual and collective identities, and the generation and regeneration of solidarity ties but also to promote experiences involving educators, teachers, social cooperators, associations, citizens, children, adolescents, young adults, and parents.

We seek to build with them technological environments, operational tools, and conceptual tools that help them more consciously navigate the multifaceted complexity of their daily lives.

This is a challenging endeavor not only for the territory but also for our Department.

Through this long journey, our Department aspires to become a true International Center of Excellence, promoting innovation in educational, didactic, active citizenship, cultural regeneration, and inclusion practices. This will be achieved by developing intervention models and strategies that combine humanistic research contributions with cutting-edge technological solutions.

The project is structured into three particularly promising and urgent research strands, informed by scientific debate, relevant literature, and key investment areas in European policies for developing inclusive and resilient societies:

• digital transition and the contrast to educational and socio-cultural inequalities;
• digital transition and the formation of individual and collective identities;
• digital transition and the strengthening of social ties.