Paolo Pedrazzoli
P. Pedrazzoli - Education and companies
SUPSI Image Focus
Prof. Paolo Pedrazzoli is the head of the Bachelor in Engineering and Management. The course trains professionals to fill technical-organisational roles in contexts requiring skills in the basic sciences of engineering, combined with knowledge of organisation and economics.
Why is it important to integrate business in education?
Students on the SUPSI Engineering and Management degree course must have direct knowledge of the business environments in which they will move once they graduate. This is a crucial step both to contextualise and substantiate the theoretical knowledge received and to accumulate valuable experience.
What does the Department of Innovative Technologies (DTI) do in this respect?
The degree course organises various activities in cooperation with companies, from semester projects to theses. The students experience the reality of local companies and develop activities that benefit the company where they work, thus gaining unparalleled experience. Starting from a solid theoretical framework, the theses and projects are practical and well-contextualised activities that produce benefits for both companies and students.
What are the practical advantages?
The company has the opportunity to exploit the knowledge of a quasi-engineer to tackle real problems (often innovation projects, for which companies usually do not have fully dedicated resources), in addition to which there is the opportunity to assess a student's skills over a period of four months with a view to possible employment. At the same time, it is possible to establish strong contacts with academic institutes and the people who work there (continuing education courses, research activities, personnel recruitment).
The student has the opportunity to enter the world of work in 'protected' mode, where the work activity is defined in agreement between the company and the school, to gain real work experience in a company environment, where they can implement what they have learnt, and to develop personal contacts with a potential employer.
Since 2012, more than 200 theses have been completed in the company.