What if students could explore artificial intelligence by developing their own business ideas?
Imagine walking through Rome’s shopping districts, observing local businesses, and discovering how AI could improve customer experiences, marketing strategies, or everyday operations.
This is where AI in digital entrepreneurship moves beyond theory and becomes a practical learning experience.
Artificial intelligence is transforming how businesses operate, but successful entrepreneurship still requires creativity, critical thinking, and informed decision-making.
At Alfa Edu, our Artificial Intelligence Applications in Digital Entrepreneurship programme combines these skills through a five-day educational trip in Rome, featuring outdoor activities, business simulations, and collaborative challenges.
Why AI Matters for Future Entrepreneurs
Artificial intelligence offers new opportunities for businesses of all sizes.
From analysing customer preferences to improving digital marketing and supporting financial decisions, AI tools can help entrepreneurs identify opportunities and develop innovative solutions.
However, using technology effectively requires more than technical knowledge.
Future entrepreneurs must understand customer needs, evaluate risks, consider financial sustainability, and recognise the ethical implications of AI.
This makes AI literacy an increasingly important part of entrepreneurship education.
The European Commission’s AI Literacy Framework highlights the importance of helping young people understand, evaluate, and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence.
By connecting AI with practical business challenges, students can develop both digital awareness and entrepreneurial thinking.
Why Learn Digital Entrepreneurship in Rome?
Rome offers more than historical landmarks and cultural experiences.
Its tourism, retail, hospitality, and creative sectors provide real-world examples of how businesses operate in an increasingly digital economy.
Through guided observation, students can explore how local businesses attract customers, communicate online, and respond to market challenges.
These experiences encourage participants to identify business opportunities and consider how AI-powered solutions might address them.
Instead of learning about entrepreneurship exclusively in a classroom, students use the city itself as a source of inspiration.
Five Days of AI and Entrepreneurship in Action
Alfa Edu’s programme takes participants through five days of interactive learning, with approximately four hours of structured activities each day.
Day 1: Discovering AI Business Opportunities
Piazza Barberini · Quirinale · Monti District
Participants explore the fundamentals of digital entrepreneurship and AI applications.
During a Startup City Hunt, they observe local businesses, identify challenges, and consider how artificial intelligence could support innovative solutions.
Day 2: AI in Marketing and Customer Experience
Pantheon Area · Via del Corso · Via dei Condotti
The second day focuses on digital marketing, customer journeys, and online visibility.
Through observation, role-playing, and a Human Algorithm simulation, students examine how recommendation systems and AI-supported services influence customer experiences.
They then develop ideas for improving business interactions through technology.
Day 3: Business Models and Financial Decisions
EUR District · Palazzo dei Congressi Area
An innovative idea needs a realistic business model.
Participants explore revenue, costs, funding, and financial risks through startup simulations.
An investment negotiation exercise also introduces the relationship between entrepreneurs, investors, and strategic decision-making.
Day 4: AI and Sustainable Entrepreneurship
Trastevere · Terrazza del Gianicolo
Can artificial intelligence support more sustainable businesses?
Through the AI for Planet challenge and a circular economy simulation, students explore environmental problems and develop ideas for green digital startups.
The activities connect technological innovation with responsible entrepreneurship.
Day 5: Creating and Pitching an AI Startup
Piazza di Spagna · Piazza del Popolo · Villa Borghese
The final day brings the experience together through the Startup in 120 Minutes challenge.
Working in teams, participants develop an AI-powered business concept, identify its potential value, and present their ideas in an open-air startup pitch.
Feedback and reflection help them evaluate their proposals and consider possible improvements.
What Skills Will Participants Develop?
Throughout the programme, students have opportunities to strengthen competencies relevant to both education and future careers:
- AI and digital literacy: understanding practical AI applications and their limitations.
- Entrepreneurial thinking: identifying opportunities and developing business ideas.
- Financial awareness: exploring costs, revenue, funding, and business risks.
- Critical thinking: evaluating information and comparing possible solutions.
- Communication and teamwork: collaborating, negotiating, and presenting ideas.
- Sustainability awareness: considering the environmental and social impact of innovation.
The programme also encourages responsible AI use, highlighting the importance of human judgement, transparency, and ethical decision-making.
These considerations are increasingly relevant as Europe develops its approach to AI governance through the EU AI Act.
Who Can Join the Programme?
The educational experience is designed for schools, VET institutions, and adult learning organisations interested in artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
Programme details:
- Destination: Rome, Italy
- Duration: 5 days
- Daily activities: Approximately 4 hours
- Language: English
- Group size: 10–20 participants, plus accompanying persons
- Previous experience: No prior knowledge of AI or entrepreneurship required
Activities combine guided exploration, group discussions, practical exercises, and startup simulations.
For more information, visit the Artificial Intelligence Applications in Digital Entrepreneurship programme page.
From Learning About AI to Creating With It
Entrepreneurship education becomes more meaningful when students can apply ideas to realistic challenges.
A lesson can explain how AI supports marketing, but observing customer behaviour in a real shopping district provides additional context.
Similarly, studying business models is valuable, while creating and pitching a startup concept encourages students to connect creativity with financial planning.
This is the value of experiential learning: transforming knowledge into practical understanding.
Through Alfa Edu’s educational trips, Rome becomes an environment where students can observe, experiment, collaborate, and develop new perspectives.
Explore AI in Digital Entrepreneurship With Alfa Edu
Artificial intelligence is changing the possibilities available to future entrepreneurs.
However, innovation still depends on the ability to recognise problems, evaluate opportunities, and turn ideas into meaningful solutions.
Alfa Edu’s five-day programme connects AI literacy, business development, and sustainability through practical learning experiences across Rome.
For schools and educational organisations, it offers an opportunity to introduce students to digital entrepreneurship beyond the traditional classroom.
Ready to turn Rome into your startup learning lab?
Explore the Artificial Intelligence Applications in Digital Entrepreneurship educational trip and discover how Alfa Edu can help you plan your group’s experience.
Rome is the classroom. Innovation is the challenge. Your next big idea starts here.
