Grenzenlos Digital e.V. opens in a new tab is a German nonprofit that promotes digital skills as the key to social participation for various target groups, such as immigrants and refugees, and conducts research to tackle digital challenges such as disinformation and structural barriers to access.
It runs Digitally Fit with AI, a free online course that teaches refugee and immigrant women practical digital skills, safe use of artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity. The program helps participants use digital tools for job searches, applications, communication, and daily life in Germany.
The importance of digital skills and tools
For many refugee and immigrant women in Germany, digital skills can affect access to work, public services, education, and everyday tasks.
Grenzenlos Digital identified what stops participants from building those skills:
- Language barriers
- Limited knowledge of the German labor market
- Uncertainty about the German job application process
- Limited experience with computers
- Lack of independent access to digital devices
- Care duties and limited childcare support
- Isolation after displacement
- Exposure to fraud and scam messages
Many of these women know how to use a smartphone, but the German labor market expects complex, computer-based skills. Applicants may need to write formal emails, format their CV, add their digital signature, use job search platforms, or track applications with spreadsheets and calendars. A smartphone alone is unsuitable for many of these tasks.
Digital tools and AI are changing education, job applications, and workplace expectations. Without the right tools and skills, these women risk missing opportunities that now depend on being online.
How Digitally Fit with AI started
Grenzenlos Digital first piloted an online course for refugees and immigrants in 2022. The course focused on digital skills and practical knowledge of the German labor market. It helped participants manage job searches more independently.
Demand quickly outgrew the pilot projects’ capacity. Since 2022, more than 160 refugees and immigrants have participated in the program and its subsequent iterations. Grenzenlos Digital has continuously evolved and refined the program based on participant feedback and, in 2025, created a course tailored to refugee and immigrant women. That format has already reached more than 40 women. It was also shortlisted among the top six projects for the 2025 Preis für Digitales Miteinander (Digital Togetherness Award).
Digitally Fit with AI builds on that project by teaching participants how to use AI tools safely and independently. Grenzenlos Digital saw that AI could help participants complete practical tasks, including translating complex documents, simplifying German bureaucratic language, and drafting job application materials. AI tools can also help participants prepare for interviews and understand employment-related texts.
The organization also recognized the risks of AI. AI tools can provide wrong or misleading answers. They may collect, store, or analyze sensitive data, such as personal documents or application details. Participants also need to fact-check AI outputs, especially when they deal with residency status, official letters, or legal questions. The course therefore teaches participants to use AI tools in practical ways and to judge their outputs critically.
How the course works
Grenzenlos Digital offers a free online course over several weeks. Before the course begins, participants receive onboarding support to help them set up the tools they need for the first lesson.
The course includes:
- 90-minute live lessons two to three times per week.
- Weekly Q&A sessions.
- A digital learning platform with self-study modules.
- Individual support through WhatsApp, phone, and email.
Many women take the course alongside family duties, language learning, work, or uncertain living conditions. Participants can complete the online-format, self-study modules in their own time, and direct support helps more participants stay involved.
What participants learned in the first round of the course
The first Digitally Fit with AI cohort ran in June and July 2026. Nineteen women joined. Participants completed two modules: “Online communication and AI for job hunting” and “Job search and market orientation.” Together, the modules included ten 90-minute sessions covering digital skills, job market knowledge, AI use, and cybersecurity.
Participants learned practical skills in four areas:
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION AND DOCUMENT HANDLING
- Using Zoom and Google Classroom
- Writing formal and informal emails
- Using the Cc (carbon copy) and Bcc (blind carbon copy) fields
- Forwarding emails and attaching files
- Creating CVs and exporting documents as PDF files
- Using a digital signature
JOB SEARCH AND APPLICATION MANAGEMENT
- Searching for jobs on job platforms
- Creating a LinkedIn profile
- Organizing job applications with spreadsheets and digital calendars
AI SUPPORT FOR WORK AND OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
- Drafting cover letters and tailoring job applications with AI
- Using AI to simplify bureaucratic German and understand official documents
- Practicing interview answers with AI tools
- Removing sensitive personal data before entering AI prompts
- Verifying facts before acting on information
ONLINE SAFETY AND CRITICAL JUDGMENT
- Checking whether sources are credible
- Choosing between a search engine, an AI chatbot, or personal counseling
- Protecting personal data
- Avoiding phishing attacks
- Managing passwords and login details more safely
These skills can help participants spend less time and money on tasks such as translating documents, preparing applications, and understanding complex official language. For women who already manage care work, language courses, part-time jobs, or family paperwork, AI support can make these tasks easier to handle.
The course also introduces ethical AI use by showing participants what AI tools can and cannot do, how AI systems can influence decisions, and why personal data needs careful handling. The course covers risks such as discrimination and data misuse.
Why cybersecurity belongs in the same course
Cybersecurity is integral to digital independence. Participants need to know how to protect their data and accounts as well as how the decisions they make online affect their overall digital safety.
For people new to Germany, language barriers and a lack of familiarity with how German institutions communicate can make scams harder to spot. Scammers may impersonate officials, employers, or service providers. They may send deceptive emails, fake job offers, or requests for personal data. These scams can lead to financial or legal problems.
The course helps participants to be more cautious before they:
- Open links.
- Download files.
- Share personal details.
- Trust messages that appear to come from officials or employers.
- Enter data into AI tools.
- Use or store passwords and login details.
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Early signs of impact
Early success stories already show how practical digital skills can support independence, confidence, and better access to jobs, services, and education.
One participant had spent years struggling to submit paperwork to local government offices because she could only send photos of official documents. After the course, she learned how to scan documents and convert them into properly formatted PDF files with an app. She then submitted her paperwork digitally in the required format.
Another participant was a single mother in a rural area with limited access to local language courses and support. The course helped her research job listings, use AI to draft tailored cover letters, and refine her CV. With a clearer view of available jobs, she later decided to move to a larger city with better opportunities.
A third participant used the course’s online research methods to find and apply for local educator roles. She also began researching doctoral study options and started her thesis.
What other nonprofits can learn from the project
Digitally Fit with AI offers five lessons for nonprofits working in digital inclusion, immigrant support, education, or employment services.
- Digital training works best when it focuses on practical tasks. Participants need skills they can use for job searches, official communication, and daily digital tasks.
- AI training should include both use cases and limitations. Participants need to know how AI tools can help them draft texts, understand documents, and prepare applications. They also need to verify AI outputs and protect sensitive data.
- Cybersecurity should be part of community support. People who face language barriers, financial pressure, or unfamiliar systems may face higher risks from fraud and data misuse. Cybersecurity training should help them recognize deceptive messages, protect accounts, and make safer decisions online.
- Course design affects access. Flexible schedules, accessible language, direct support, and women-only spaces can help participants join the course and stay engaged.
- Corporate partnerships work best when they strengthen the nonprofit’s existing work. Funding, product access, expert knowledge, and visibility can all help when they respond to a real need.
How NordVPN supports nonprofits and people at risk
NordVPN supported Digitally Fit with AI with funding, free product access for course participants, and cybersecurity workshops. The support helped Grenzenlos Digital reach more women and strengthened the project’s credibility when applying for further grants.
The partnership also reflects NordVPN’s broader work with nonprofits and people who need safer internet access. Through the NordVPN Nonprofits program, the company offers free and discounted subscriptions to eligible organizations.
NordVPN also provides emergency VPN access for people whose online safety is at risk. The Emergency VPN program offers urgent, free access to NordVPN in high-risk situations.
Organizations can learn more about NordVPN’s social impact initiatives at nordvpn.org.
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