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 Giovanni DE MARCHI
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The idea of a Master in Industrial Plant Engineering was born in 2006 from the collaboration of the company Paul Wurth Italy with other Industries and the Faculty of Engineering, University of Genoa, with the aim of enhancing the knowledge in the holdings of Genoa Area related to the construction of large industrial and not to waste the experience gained in this field since the 60s. Genoa was in fact the center of important companies, both in the context of "state holdings" and private, that have achieved excellence at international level and have made in Italy and in the world advanced production complex, especially in the steel industry, mechanical, energy and infrastructure.
The slogan "Design in Genoa and manufactures in the World" has meant for many years the ability of Genoa companies (Italimpianti and Ansaldo , for mention only the most famous) to export to all countries its engineering capabilities and management.
The realization of complex systems ("large plants"), consisting of several units and multiple components, involves different problems and more engineering than those needed to be addressed for the implementation of individual operating units.
The industrial plant, in fact, needs not only classical knowledge that an engineer acquires during the degree courses, but it needs a "know how" comprehensive, integrated, ranging from the study of technical and economic feasibility to start-up of 'plant, through the analysis of opportunities "project financing", regulations and standards among very diverse areas, selection and verification of suppliers from around the world, organization of the yard, conduct of local installation and construction companies and a thousand other activities that need to be integrated, coordinated and controlled , in terms of time and cost, to achieve the ultimate goal. MIPET, as Master in industrial plant, has been designed with this goal: to provide the engineer, graduated from University and beyond, a whole series of tools that enable them to perform his role in "team" project, but also give the flexibility to assess and successfully manage situations unusual and unexpected . The large plants are never copying each other, but they have to be adapted every time to the customer as a dress high fashion: the engineer, even in operational roles, must always be creative to identify, among the many possible, the options maximizing benefits and minimizing risks, willing to try something new, but always by using "common sense" and having available alternative solutions for contingencies.
Even today the plant must operate in a different situation from that of a few decades ago: the most important customers are in the new developed countries (BRIC and South East Asia), but often in the same countries are also the most aggressive competitors, especially from the point of view of economic competitiveness. There is only one way to succeed: prove to be cutting-edge technical and management, to ensure the highest quality and the certainty of the result. The technical coordinator and the "project manager" of a complex and articulated project, such as the construction of a large industrial plant, will need to consider all the implications of a problem and evaluate the solutions that satisfy the customer and safeguard the Company's interests. For this reason, the Master includes, in addition to a number of basic modules, also operative and specialist modules, referring to situations and actual needs, as well as a final period of "project work" within a working group, which allows students to participate directly in the life of a real project . The teachers, who are balanced among University and Sponsor companies, bring their experiences on specific cases, therefore making it clear where are the real difficulties and where unnecessary complications need to be solved. The testimonies from different companies allow also to extend the scenario and to compare different ways of approaching problems.
Genoa, March 2013