Engineering and professional degree programmes: answers to all your questions
What will happen to those who have already graduated, those who are currently studying and those who are already registered on the professional register following the forthcoming reform?
The qualifying degree will apply only to new students enrolling in engineering faculties. This is the principle around which the rules currently being finalised revolve, with a view to introducing the new assessment that will replace the state examination and which, in effect, will grant access to the profession of engineer.
This principle must be applied differently depending on the circumstances: it is already possible to provide some initial guidance, although on several aspects the work carried out by the technical working group at the Ministry of Universities and Research will be decisive. This will conclude in mid-October and will then be followed by the decrees implementing the reform. The aim is to begin with the new degree programmes from the next academic year. We have summarised the various situations, thanks to clarifications provided by the President of the National Council of Engineers, Angelo Domenico Perrini.
What happens to those who are already enrolled on an engineering degree course?
In principle, this change will not affect them. On certain points, however, it will be the new technical committee that provides definitive answers. Those who are already enrolled should therefore complete their course as it currently stands, with the option of sitting the state examination without a qualifying degree. There is a possibility, supported by the National Council of Engineers, that those who begin the final two years once the new system is already in force may have the option of pursuing a qualifying degree instead of the state examination, thereby undertaking their work placement between the fourth and fifth years.
What happens to those who have a degree but are not registered with the professional body?
For these graduates, the state examination will remain in its old form. These are isolated cases which, as time goes on, will become increasingly rare. This scenario also applies to those who graduate immediately following the reform; for example, those who will be leaving university this year.
What happens to junior graduates?
The reform will be accompanied by a reorganisation of the register of engineers, which will be brought into line with the new degree system. The register will be expanded from the current three sectors to five, accessible only to holders of a master’s degree, with a reorganisation designed to ensure greater consistency. The sectors will be: civil and environmental engineering, industrial engineering, information engineering, biomedical and clinical engineering, and management engineering. In this context, Section B, dedicated to junior engineers, will gradually be phased out. In practice, this will not entail any significant changes for those already registered. The section will remain open until the last registered member has left. Simply put, once the reform has been approved, it will no longer be possible to join Section B.
