The educational project is developed by Junior Achievement Romania with the support of Metropolitan Life and the MetLife Foundation. It is an initiative dedicated to developing digital skills and promoting the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) among young people.

Objective

Developing students’ digital, analytical, and creative skills through access to educational content on the basic concepts of AI and machine learning, while fostering innovation by applying these technologies to explore real-world challenges in the insurance industry through interactive activities tailored to middle and high school students.

Project components

The project is structured in three progressive stages (Inspire, Prepare, Succeed), designed to ensure the transition from theory to practice:

• INSPIRE (Classroom activities): Approximately 5,000 students (grades 7-12) from at least 40 schools explore the fundamentals of AI, the differences between machine learning and deep learning, and the ethical use of these tools;
• PREPARE (Hands-On workshops): 60 students from Bucharest take part in workshops featuring activities designed to help them understand the insurance industry and discover how AI can be used to improve and optimize processes in this sector;
• SUCCEED (Innovation Camp): An innovation marathon event featuring 40 selected students. Organized into teams and mentored by volunteers from Metropolitan Life, the students develop AI-based prototypes to explore challenges in the insurance industry.

Resources and benefits

Participants have free access to educational resources on the JA Learn™ platform, and upon completion of the activities, they receive certificates issued by JA Romania. The project encourages critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration, preparing young people for the demands of a global digital economy. It also promotes awareness of risks, vulnerabilities, and concrete measures they can take to protect themselves in this context.

Metropolitan Life is part of MetLife, Inc., one of the world’s largest life insurance companies and a subsidiary of the Irish company MetLife Europe d.a.c. Founded in 1868, MetLife provides life insurance, retirement plans, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. With approximately 100 million customers, MetLife operates in more than 40 countries and holds leading positions in markets across Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In Romania, Metropolitan Life has been active in the life insurance market for over 26 years. More than 4.3 million customers benefit from protection and savings programs, as well as mandatory private pensions (Pillar II) offered by Metropolitan Life locally.
Web: www.metlife.com, www.metropolitanlife.ro.