The association will continue to collaborate with the departments of Industrial Engineering, Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering and Computer Engineering and Information Science for another four years. The goal is to encourage continuing education for professional engineers and for students
Fruitful collaborations should go on and explore new directions. This is what the Association of Engineers of Trentino had in mind when, today, through its president, renewed the collaboration agreement with the University of Trento. The agreement with the Departments of Industrial Engineering, Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, and Information Engineering and Computer Science was first signed in 2019.
The purpose of the collaboration is to strengthen the organizational and technological innovation capacity of the region, thus facilitating its development and competitiveness at the national and international level. This calls for investments to develop and update skills and knowledge in science and technology, with training that can be designed in the academic environment side by side with professional engineers, who have direct knowledge of the needs of the sector and will be able, thanks to the agreement, to offer training to those who already have a career in engineering and to engineering students. The collaboration will also help develop more effective programmes of study.
The collaboration agreement was signed in the morning at the Fabio Ferrari Science and Technology Campus in Povo by the president of the Association of Engineers of the Province of Trento, Silvia Di Rosa, and by the directors of the three departments: Alessandro Pegoretti for Industrial Engineering, Oreste Salvatore Bursi for Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering and Paolo Giorgini for Information Engineering and Computer Science.
The strength of the agreement is that it combines the needs and skills of those who have already gained some on-the-job experience with academic education and research, in a mutual exchange that benefits all the participants. On the part of the university, this engagement is among the activities that are put in place to establish a relationship with society and the productive world at the local level by making available its skills and infrastructures. This relationship, which goes beyond education and research, falls within the "third mission" of the university. Engineers, however, are required by charter to participate in continuous training "to maintain their professional skills up to date with the latest developments in technology, legislation, and the state of the art of the profession".
"With the renewal of this agreement, we continue this important collaboration with the three engineering departments of the University of Trento – explained the president of the Association of Engineers of the Province of Trento Silvia Di Rosa. By extending the duration of the agreement from 2 to 4 years, we will be able to define more coherent and better structured programmes, to further promote lifelong learning and increase the technical skills of our members. Special emphasis will be placed on the new branches of engineering, which require an innovative and multidisciplinary approach. Finally, by presenting the expertise of our members, we want to inform students about the importance of joining the association that, we hope, will become an even more welcoming and stimulating place where people from different backgrounds of study can share and exchange ideas.
"One of the strengths of this collaboration is undoubtedly our commitment to support the continuing education activities that the Association of Engineers of the Province of Trento offers to its members", commented Alessandro Pegoretti, director of the Department of Industrial Engineering. "These times are crucial for the green and digital transition, and industrial engineering can contribute to the process in many ways. For example, to promote safety in the workplace, improve the durability of materials and structures and promote the development of the technologies of the fifth industrial revolution, what is called Industry 5.0.
On the subject of the digital transition, Paolo Giorgini, Director of the Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science, added: "Artificial intelligence and new information technologies offer an extraordinary opportunity to enhance the innovative capabilities of all engineering sectors. Our department will make available its knowledge and laboratories to help the members of the Association in their continuous learning process in technological areas, which continue to evolve, such as those related to ICT".
"This agreement gives us the opportunity to enhance civil and environmental engineering skills with a view to sustainable development, a theme that is at the centre of attention in teaching and research", confirmed Oreste Salvatore Bursi, director of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering. "The collaboration also represents an invitation to explore the new concept of holistic engineering, which aims to combine science and technology with well-being in the design of spaces and in the relationship with the environment around us. This approach makes our University even more attractive, for example to engineering students from foreign countries".