Would you like to take a look at the future of engineering? Then look at the study plan of the new Master's degree in Management Engineering, which will debut starting from the Academic Year 2021/22 at the University of Trento. The ingredients are already there: engineering foundations, mixed with multidisciplinary skills; courses to develop economic-organizational skills and innovation management, bearing in mind sustainability and the digitization of production processes; English-taught classes and a young under-40 faculty members for fundamental subjects. The new master's degree is dynamic and international, a piece that was missing in the offer of courses of the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Trento, designed in agreement with partners from the economic and production sectors.
Open to Italian or foreign students, the Master's Degree in Management and Industrial Systems Engineering (that is its full name) adopts a holistic approach to digital technologies. The right approach to manage industrial systems that are extremely complex and that require expertise well beyond classical engineering disciplines. Students will also take laboratory classes and will be trained in business culture through seminars, workshops and internships. The course has not yet been accredited by the Ministry, but that should happen by the beginning of summer. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering or in another field but, in this case, admission is subject to the evaluation of a committee. More information will be provided in June on the University's 2021/22 admissions page (infostudenti.unitn.it). At the moment and until 31 March applications are welcome from non-European students and students residing outside of Italy, in line with the international provisions.
The master's programme has two tracks: Design and Sustainability and Management and Digitalization. Both tracks prepare students to work in sectors that are not far from those
of management engineering and industrial systems, such as mathematical optimization, quality management, process digitization, environmental sustainability, product life cycle management, circular economy.
"Those who work in these contexts are now required to welcome technological innovation and make it become daily practice in highly complex systems" explained Francesco Pilati, director of the master's degree. "For this reason, in the design of this master's degree we have focused on the development of economic-organizational skills and multidisciplinary skills, alongside scientific and technical ones". The programme provides students with well-structured knowledge in technical disciplines and in subjects related to the management of the systemic complexity of modern industry. Some of the courses focus on the economic and organizational aspects and on the challenges of environmental sustainability and digital technologies in industrial development.
This is a one-of-a-kind programme in Italy: "The courses aim to teach students to design and manage production systems that exploit digital technologies and take into account the extreme personalization demanded today by customers", continued Pilati. "Our graduates will be able to supervise and direct inter and multi-disciplinary work groups in an effective, across different locations and collaborating with IT tools. They will learn to use the key tools of additive manufacturing and 3D printing and will be able to manage the impact on design and rapid prototyping of products. Finally, they will be able to deal with uncertainty, risk and rapidly changing situations, thanks to the skills acquired, the quantitative approach they will have trained in their studies, and their knowledge in the field of innovative technologies and artificial intelligence".
"When we designed this new degree programme, we questioned ourselves about the skills that engineers must possess today. We met with the representatives of many local, national and even international industrial partners that have been working with our Department for years", added Dario Petri, director of the Department of Industrial Engineering. "We believe that companies and businesses today need people who are capable of understanding how innovation works, who can manage digital technologies enabling production systems and control the efficiency of automation and industrial processes. Industrial companies today are complex, dynamic systems, in which product, process and mentality innovation must become a practice, a constant orientation. Those who work in this sector must master not only the machinery, which is constantly evolving, but also the rapid organizational changes, and must be able to feel and predict the directions of the market. Because the new industrial revolution is already here, in our companies. And it is made up of people who know how to manage delicate processes, technologies and skills that must integrate and operate in the best possible way to make products in an efficient and innovative way".
The new programme was well received by the local industrial sector too. Roberto Busato, general director of Confindustria Trento: "In this historical moment, managing a company requires skills and expertise that go beyond traditional specializations. Digitization is now entering all areas of daily life and provides an opportunity to transform and renew industrial processes, but we need professional profiles capable of governing it. We are happy for the launch of this new degree programme, and proud for the useful advice we gave the University for its design".