The teaching of technical and scientific subjects in schools often remains confined to the application of theoretical knowledge to didactic case studies, which do not always reflect the complexity of the real world or the challenges associated with the development of complex software systems.

To overcome these limitations, the Upper Secondary School Institute "Amedeo D’Aosta" of L’Aquila implemented a project to monitor the water of the Aterno River, in collaboration with the University of L’Aquila and the Italian Alpine Club (CAI). This initiative aimed to strengthen theoretical knowledge alongside technical-scientific and transversal skills (teamwork, problem-solving, communication in Italian and English), in line with the learning objectives outlined in the “Proposal for a National Informatics Curriculum in Italian Schools” put forward by the Italian university informatics community. At the same time, it sought to promote active citizenship and environmental awareness. By linking scientific disciplines with civic education, the project aligns with the goals of the 2030 Agenda (Goal 6) and the European Commission’s Digital Education Action Plan (2020).

The experience involved three classes: 4°A and 5°C from the Technical High School - Computer Science and Telecommunications track (ITT), and 4°A from the Scientific High School – Applied Sciences option (LSA). LSA students conducted water sampling in collaboration with the CAI and subsequently performed microbiological analyses on the samples to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities on river ecosystems. To support the analysis and communication activities, an interdisciplinary synergy emerged with ITT students, who designed and developed a C++ application for managing and visualizing microbiological analysis results, as well as a dynamic website based on real data. The website enables consultation of an interactive map for water monitoring and integrates functionalities such as authentication, data entry, visualization, and statistical analysis of detected bacteria.

Beyond functional aspects, the students created the official logo and designed the website’s graphics, producing a comprehensive digital tool for environmental awareness and territorial enhancement. By integrating scientific and informatics competencies, they actively participated in the project, promoting a practice of "citizen science", and finally presented the results, also in English, to the involved institutions and Erasmus visitors, thus enhancing the educational value of the experience.
An integral part of the project was the participation of students in specialized seminars, held by university researchers, that represented important opportunities for deepening and contextualizing curricular knowledge on fundamental topics such as software life cycle, UML modelling, algorithms, data structures, and computational complexity.

The integrated teaching approach, grounded in Project-Based Learning and supported by just-in-time theoretical scaffolding through these specialized seminars, the engagement with a real-world problem such as monitoring the water quality of an urban river, and the interdisciplinary nature of the project, have characterized the initiative, fostering meaningful learning and making the experience more engaging.

Keywords: Project based learning, just-in-time seminars, interdisciplinary teaching, informatics education, STEM education.