100 hours of training to help students develop the necessary STEM skills to join the Engineering family
The third and final year of this three-year experimental training project in STEM disciplines is beginning for 20 students of Frascati's "Enrico Fermi" Technical Institute. The course was developed by Engineering on the spur of its partner Assoknowledge, and implemented through "Enrico Della Valle" IT & Management Academy.
Ferdinando Lo Re, IT & Management Academy Enrico Della Valle Director stated “Our Group's involvement with schools is a solid and strategic bond that grows ever stronger and more committed to the research and development of pioneering innovations. In its 20-year history, our Academy has trained thousands of employees in digital technologies, solutions and models, with a long-life training perspective. As such, it was our great pleasure to agree to share our long-standing experience with students. The goal is to provide them with authentically-useful tools to build their professional career, helping them bridge the gap in skills and resources that has notoriously characterized the IT and digital market in recent years. Hence the idea of trialling a long-term training project over a three-year period in a noteworthy Technical Institute such as "Enrico Fermi", with the aim of presenting students with the necessary languages, issues and skills to create solutions in the world of work."
Launched in the 2019/2020 academic year, the project continued to run despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic and is now in its final stage. It was designed by Engineering as a single, highly professionalising, three-year course aimed at the school's top students, capable of handling all the latest computer languages.
Of the 60 students put forward by "Enrico Fermi" Technical Institute, Engineering's team selected 20. Starting from their third year at "Enrico Fermi", the teaching staff of Engineering's Academy have provided them with 100 hours of training, during which they tackled increasingly complex software languages, working up to developing professional apps for smartphones this year.
As faculty member at "Enrico Fermi" Technical Institute and Project Coordinator, Maria Caporale, explains, "This project, carried out by our Institute in collaboration with Engineering's Academy within PCTO (Pathways for Transversal Skills and Orientation) activities, was designed to include the highest level of interactivity and practical experimentation, giving our students the opportunity to learn highly-professionalizing software languages and development methodologies. The three-year duration, uncommon for training projects such as this, was a great chance to take a prolonged, in-depth step into the development scene with the guidance and support of IT professionals, and helped the students develop the awareness of having started down a path that could propel them to a leading role in the workplace immediately after their state exam".
“Being selected among the 20 students given the opportunity to participate in this training course," says 19-year-old Justin Gondos, a pupil of "Enrico Fermi" Technical Institute "was an emotional, unexpected moment for me.
At the start of the project, Engineering immediately made it clear that the course would be challenging, but would give us a first-hand experience of the concrete applications of technology. It did, and now that we're entering the last phase, I can safely say that this experience has shaped and fulfilled me far beyond my expectations".
"Compared to other training courses," says Domenico Pasqua, a 19-year-old pupil of "Enrico Fermi" Technical Institute "not only was this one was extremely practical and hands-on, it also helped me understand which IT sectors I'd like to work in, namely Cybersecurity and IoT.
To achieve this, I'll have to simultaneously work and continue my training: Engineering's faculty say it'll be difficult, but not impossible. And to me, something that isn't impossible is something that can be done."
The project has a long-term perspective: training does not stop at graduation. At the end of the three-year period, the 20 students involved in the programme will be evaluated by Engineering's professionals. Those who have acquired the necessary skills will secure an internship in the largest internationally-operating Italian technology group. It will be an opportunity to not only further strengthen their STEM training, but also to get to know the dynamics of a multinational business operating in the extremely fast-paced digital market and to start out on their recruitment journey.
Indeed, with Engineering hiring between 700 and 1,000 new professionals every year, internships constitute a solid career opportunity.
The experience with Frascati's "Enrico Fermi" Technical Institute is the pilot project of a pioneering solution to find and train new talents, which has already seen Engineering collaborate with other Italian schools.
A commitment reflecting the importance of training as a key pillar of the Group's expansion. Back in 2000, Engineering's trail-blazing vision led to the creation of "Enrico Della Valle" Residential Academy, which oversees the continuous development of its people and clients over more than 15,000 yearly hours of training and through significant upskilling and reskilling programmes, as well as the training of young talents new to the company.