Engineering: the future of the qualifying degree hangs in the balance due to the impact of online learning

Final hurdles to obtaining the qualifying degree in engineering. The proposal to replace the current state examination with a work placement accompanied by an examination, both of which form part of the degree programme, will have to address an issue that has been the subject of debate for months and was also analysed during the last National Congress of Engineers: the future of online degree programmes.

This will be discussed by the technical working group at the Ministry of Universities and Research, which includes representatives from academia and the profession; its next meeting is scheduled for mid-October. However, this issue currently appears to be the main point requiring clarification in order to complete the process leading to the publication of the implementing decrees for Law 163/2021.

The issue concerns online degree courses. Professionals are calling for professional degree courses to be delivered entirely in person. This, however, would effectively rule out all the online degree programmes currently available in Italia: with the introduction of the qualifying degree, they would disappear. To avoid such a severe outcome for a sector with such huge numbers, discussions are therefore focusing on possible compromises. Such as, for example, conducting only the work placements in person. At present, however, there does not appear to be a solution in sight amongst those at the negotiating table. And this could even lead to the reform being put on hold, meaning it would not come into effect in 2027.

It should be noted, in this regard, that the new framework (based on elements that have already been established) provides for a practical and assessed placement culminating in an examination on professional and regulatory matters: this stage will, in effect, replace the state examination. In this context, there will be twenty-one master’s degree programmes designed to lead to professional qualification: these include civil engineering, safety engineering, environmental and territorial engineering, aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, naval engineering, automation engineering, computer engineering, telecommunications engineering, biomedical engineering and management engineering.

At the same time, a reorganisation of the Engineers’ Register will begin, bringing it into line with the new degree system. Section B, dedicated to junior engineers, will be phased out. Furthermore, 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. Under this system, previously acquired rights will be upheld: the reform will apply exclusively to new entrants. For others, the old state examination will remain in place.