The offer of degree programmes at the University of Trieste is about to be enriched. Starting from the 2024-2025 academic year, two new master's degrees will be opened, characterised by a markedly international and professionalising perspective, entirely in English: Engineering for the energy transition and European Policies for digital, ecological and social transitions, both aimed at training tomorrow's professionals in the field of digital, ecological, social and energy transition.

‘Both master's degrees deal with transition processes for which new models and professions need to be developed,’ explains Rector Roberto Di Lenarda. ‘They are also multidisciplinary, because the ecological, energy and digital transition also requires legal and political preparation. They train professional figures with innovative specialisations in demand in the world of work and are complementary, focusing respectively on the energy transition and its integrated governance at EU level.’

Engineering for energy

An international novelty in the form of an interclass course with two curriculums: Sustainable: building design and technology and Sustainable industrial systems, it intends to offer advanced preparation in the field of energy transition in both the building and industrial fields.

Students will acquire design skills that are economically, environmentally and socially sustainable and will know how to choose the most suitable technologies, materials, sources and energy vectors. They will be able to integrate building and energy systems with electricity grids, storage systems and sustainable mobility.

The fields in which the new figure will be able to move are diverse: freelance professionals and design offices operating in the fields of construction, thermal engineering, energy efficiency, production systems and use of energy carriers and renewable energy sources, companies and private public bodies in the process of adapting building systems and plants, industries for the production and management of energy components, plants and systems, industries operating in the production of building envelopes, companies that design, install and manage systems using energy carriers in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors, companies that provide services in the energy field, companies and public or private bodies that are obliged to appoint an energy manager and research bodies that develop projects related to energy transition.

Energy storage devices represent one of the enabling technologies for the transition to renewable energy sources. ELISA, an ad-hoc laboratory serving a multidisciplinary group of engineers, chemists, computer scientists, economists and social scientists, also enriches the Engineering for the energy transition degree course. ELISA complements two existing laboratories at the University of Trieste, dedicated to ‘Photovoltaics’ and ‘Smart Grid and Electric Mobility’, strategically increasing the university's ability to position itself among the most active research institutions in the field of renewable energy sources and sustainable mobility. ELISA has innovative instrumentation and offers platforms for rapid prototyping and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations. 

To access the Engineering for the energy transition course at the Department of Engineering and Architecture, students must hold one of the following qualifications: a three-year degree in the industrial or civil and environmental engineering classes; alternatively, they must have gained at least 18 credits (CFU) in the mathematics area, 9 credits in the physics area, 6 credits in the chemistry area, 6 credits in the electrical area, 6 credits in the energy area, 6 credits in the civil area or in architecture - 15 if the student intends to enrol in the Sustainable building design and technology curriculum. The student must also show a graduation mark of 95/110 or higher, otherwise they will have to undergo a cognitive interview. The course also requires knowledge of the English language at a level of at least B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference.

European Policies for digital, ecological and social transitions

Running from next September, the course aims to provide future generations with a multidisciplinary background in the governance of digital, ecological and social transitions.

Students, future civil servants in public administrations, project managers and consultants, will acquire advanced knowledge and skills in analysis, management and evaluation of European policies, programmes and projects, together with in-depth thematic knowledge on political, social and legal tools and mechanisms to govern, in an integrated way, aspects related to environmental sustainability, digital impacts, social cohesion (e.g. comparative law of the environment and digital technologies, analysis of open data and big data, participatory design techniques for sustainable and inclusive innovation). This combination of skills will make graduates of the course capable of using the tools and resources of the European Union in the most effective way to govern digital, ecological and social transitions.

There are also specific entry requirements for the course in European Policies for digital, ecological and social transitions at the Department of Political and Social Sciences. Students must hold one of the following degrees: a bachelor's degree in the classes of Political Science and International Relations, Administrative and Organisational Sciences, Economics, Social Sciences for Cooperation, Development and Peace; alternatively, they must have completed a total of 24 credits in Law, Economics and Statistics (at least 6 credits of the total 24), Political Science and Sociology. The course also requires knowledge of the English language at a level of at least B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference.