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Engineering impacts our daily lives in almost every aspect – from serving different industries to driving innovation, locally and globally. Engineering can also influence social issues such as inequality, disaster recovery and climate change, as well as health sectors, education and agriculture.

As we become more and more reliant on technology, engineering continues to be key in solving the problems of the future and innovating new ways of moving forward.

At the University of Pavia (Italy), one of the oldest universities in the world, students are given the opportunity to work on real-life projects. Student Claudio Carrara executed an engineering project for his final year thesis with solutions from Hexagon’s PPM division. He developed his practical skills by using Hexagon solutions as part of his project that focused on a thermoelectric plant design. Claudio incorporated CADWorx & Analysis Solutions into his learning as part of his industrial energy engineering course.

Working with these solutions helped him realize that he wants to pursue a career in technical engineering design. During the three-month thesis project, Claudio learned about various engineering disciplines for piping, equipment and metal structures, in addition to P&ID piping line definitions. The result was an accurate 3D model of a combined cycle thermoelectric power plant – and Claudio received the highest increase in grade for his thesis that can be earned at the Faculty of Engineering in Pavia.

Solutions used in the creation of the 3D model of a combined cycle thermoelectric power plant were:
· CADworx P&ID Professional for the process diagrams
· CADWorx Plant Professional and CADWorx Equipment for the various pipes and steel structures and positioning of the 3D components of the thermoelectric plant
· CADWorx Design Review for reviewing the design files in a compressed file format, which allowed the model to be viewed using a variety of display settings
· CAESAR II for the analysis of a sample pipeline

Using key industry solutions enabled Claudio to gain new knowledge about plant design, supporting his employability post-university.

“The ability to combine my theoretical studies with using leading industry solutions has enabled me not only to define the direction of my career but has also equipped me with skills that are needed during my career. This has also increased employability because I already have real-life work experience and knowledge of industry design tools such as CADWorx,” he said.

According to Claudio, having access to real-life design solutions provides an interesting and stimulating journey, enabling students to grow, gain professional skills and gain a strong understanding of the basic design skills used in plant design and engineering. Based on his experience with Hexagon solutions, Claudio recommends that engineering students everywhere should have the opportunity to learn about industry solutions throughout their university education.

“After graduating, I hope to continue to combine my theoretical knowledge with real-life work in a technical engineering design role,” he said.

For the Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Pavia, this pilot project paved the way for more collaboration with technology providers. The new engineering students will be using Hexagon’s industry-leading solutions as part of their education to equip the students with knowledge of the key industry solutions while improving their employability. The collaboration has one goal: nurturing and shaping future engineering talent.

“It is essential that the engineers and designers of the future gain experience of industrial solutions at the beginning of their studies. Only this way they can combine the theory and the practical skills together, equipping them with real-life experience for the career they are about to embark on,” said Lucia Frosini, assistant professor at the Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia.