TRIAD

Across Europe, adolescents are growing up in a digital environment shaped by generative AI, smartphones, and social media—technologies that transform how they learn, communicate, and prepare for future careers. While these tools enable creativity, personalisation, and collaboration, evidence on their impact on learning and well-being is fragmented and often lags behind practice. TRIAD addresses this gap by co-creating and testing an integrated framework that balances foundational competences (literacy, numeracy, science), transversal competences (critical thinking, collaboration, metacognition), and AI/digital literacies, while embedding safeguards for cognitive, emotional, and social well-being. The project tackles four systemic challenges: (1) AI-driven skill degradation and shallow learning, risking over-reliance and reduced originality; (2) fragmented competence frameworks lacking operationalised pathways; (3) uneven readiness and equity gaps that amplify socio-economic and digital divides; and (4) ambivalent evidence on adolescents’ well-being in digitally enriched education. By focusing on learners aged 12–18 in secondary schools and VET—where competences must be consolidated and inequality risks peak—TRIAD intervenes at a decisive stage for education and labour market readiness. Through large-scale classroom pilots across Europe, combined with neuroscientific methods (EEG/fNIRS), TRIAD will identify when AI genuinely enhances learning rather than replacing it. Classroom scenarios will be validated across diverse contexts and enriched by input from SMEs and labour market actors. The outputs—classroom-ready designs, developmental pathways for students and teachers, and actionable policy recommendations—will enable schools to adopt AI responsibly, reduce inequalities, and strengthen Europe’s human capital and resilience in line with the European Education Area 2030 and the Digital Education Action Plan.