Smarter gives trainees the right tools to learn and grow.
Milan’s Istituto Tecnico Superiore (ITS) Angelo Rizzoli wanted to shape better learning experiences for trainees while giving them valuable hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology.
With help from Lenovo and partner HSC System SRL, the institute found an ideal solution. It’s deployed 300+ Lenovo ThinkPad laptops to help students learn, collaborate, and develop their technical skills, all while keeping costs and management effort low.
ITS Angelo Rizzoli is one of Italy’s leading Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers, offering European Qualifications Framework (EQF) Level 4 and Level 5 courses. It aims to develop highly qualified and specialized technicians, helping them find success in technologically advanced careers. More than 400 students currently attend the institute, following courses in artificial intelligence, application and web development, cybersecurity, digital communication, and more.
Learning and technology go hand-in-hand
For students at ITS Angelo Rizzoli, technology isn’t just a tool that supports learning, it’s the primary focus of their training and an indispensable part of their professional development. It’s essential for students to gain hands-on experience by working with an array of technology infrastructures and digital tools, from cloud platforms to remote collaboration solutions.
Therefore, ITS Angelo Rizzoli continually invests in the latest technologies and learning tools to build students’ practical skills and enable a flexible learning environment. As part of this ongoing investment, the institute provides every learner with a personal laptop for the duration of their studies.
Lenovo is an excellent fit for us as a technical institute. Not only do Lenovo ThinkPad devices support additional learning and effective collaboration, they allow our trainees to exercise valuable technical skills that are vital for their professional development.””
Roberto Sella, General Manager, ITS Angelo Rizzoli
Roberto Sella, General Manager at ITS Angelo Rizzoli, emphasizes this point: “Laptops are an essential tool for our students. Not only do they support learning with a strong technological context, they enable students to work on projects, collaborate with others, and build their skills anywhere, even outside of class and lab hours.”
When it came to finding a hardware provider and partner, ITS Angelo Rizzoli needed to satisfy multiple priorities. The devices had to be both high-performing and resilient as they would be used day in and day out by students for a huge variety of applications. It was also important for the institute to keep up with hardware release cycles, to ensure students had access to the latest technology, all while keeping a tight control over costs.
Additionally, ITS Angelo Rizzoli aimed to simplify and automate the supply and management of its laptop inventory as much as possible. This would make life easier for IT asset management teams and allow the institute to efficiently expand its device landscape as student numbers grew.
Giving students more with less
To help guide its decision, ITS Angelo Rizzoli turned to a trusted technology partner: HSC System. After evaluating offerings from several vendors, Lenovo emerged as the clear front runner, offering high-quality hardware with a winning price-performance ratio.
“Lenovo was able to guarantee us a supply of enterprise-grade devices with high performance, suitable for our varied learning needs, and solid design, making them ideal for use by students,” explains Sella. “With support from HSC System, we were also able to negotiate a competitive leasing model that allows us to regularly renew our fleet of devices, so we can give users access to up-to-date technology without breaking the bank.”
Together with HSC System and Lenovo, ITS Angelo Rizzoli designed a custom solution that includes Lenovo ThinkPad laptops and Microsoft 365, used for device set up and configuration, domain registration, and monitoring.
The institute has been steadily expanding its device landscape and currently operates a fleet of over 400 Lenovo ThinkPad E Series and P Series laptops. Almost half of these are latest-generation Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Gen 3 devices. Tested against military-grade requirements and equipped with the latest AMD Ryzen processors, these Lenovo laptops combine durable design with proven performance.
Students at ITS Angelo Rizzoli use the Lenovo laptops daily, both for on-campus training in classrooms and labs, as well as extra-curricular work, such as group projects and independent study. Ongoing support from Lenovo helps the institute resolve issues and repair or replace damaged devices rapidly, minimizing disruption to students’ education.
Sella confirms: “Lenovo provides an excellent support service. We’ve always found the team to be very responsive and helpful. When it comes to repairing devices, there’s a lot of choice in terms of replacement parts. We also highly rate the speed and quality of the Lenovo Onsite Warranty Service: we simply book a device collection on site and the team handles the pickup and repairs, keeping us informed throughout the process. It gives us great peace of mind to know that Lenovo is there to help when we run into any issues.”
Setting trainees up for success
Through its partnership with Lenovo and HSC System, ITS Angelo Rizzoli has been able to equip a growing community of trainees with the tools they need to learn and collaborate effectively, while building valuable technical skills at the same time.
“Lenovo is an excellent fit for us as a technical institute,” says Sella. “Not only do Lenovo ThinkPad devices support traditional learning and effective collaboration, they allow our trainees to exercise valuable technical skills that are vital for their professional development.”
Crucially, as the institute continues to expand its range of courses and welcomes more students, it will be able to satisfy new requirements and manage a growing device landscape in an efficient way.
Sella notes: “With Lenovo and HSC System, we’ve succeeded in establishing a solution that’s highly efficient and sustainable, both from a financial and management perspective. We’ve worked hard to refine our procurement model, so we can keep students on the cutting edge of new hardware developments while staying within a tight budget.
“We’ve also been able to streamline device configuration and maintenance with help from Lenovo. This enables us to provide essentially an ‘out-of-the-box’ solution that gets students up and running with their new laptops almost instantly. Meanwhile, it’s very straightforward for our teams to manage the laptops, which allows us to support an ever-growing fleet of devices easily and cost-effectively.”
Based on its positive experience with Lenovo ThinkPad solutions, ITS Angelo Rizzoli is planning to bring more Lenovo technology on campus in the future. One potential use case involves introducing advanced videoconferencing capabilities for classes to support hybrid learning—giving students a rich, engaging experience regardless of whether they are in the room or taking part from home.
