Honorary degree in Civil Engineering to Pietro Salini, ad Webuild

“My life was the achievement of the dream of an engineer who was lucky enough to carry out complex and very challenging infrastructure projects”. This was declared by Pietro Salini, CEO of Webuild, who with these words greeted the delivery of the honorary master’s degree in Civil Engineering conferred by the University of Genoa on the proposal of the Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering. “With the honorary degree to Pietro Salini – declared Federico Delfino, Rector of the University of Genoa – the University of Genoa recognizes the talent of Italian ingenuity, creativity and technique, the ambitious courage to always look ahead and enthusiasm for innovation. I also admire and share the attention he always shows to young people, the commitment to their training and to encouraging their talent. In this regard, I am pleased to mention UniWeLab, the joint project launched in 2021 between UniGe and WeBuild precisely to bring students and recent graduates from academia to the world of work, allowing them to continue their training by combining study and research “. During an official ceremony held at Villa Cambiaso, seat of the Polytechnic School of the University of Genoa, the president of the Liguria Region, Giovanni Toti, the mayor of Genoa, Marco Bucci, the Prefect of Genoa, Renato Franceschelli, the body professor of the Department, and numerous students. «For this goal I want to thank my father – continued Salini – who gave me all the tools I need on this trip. My professional history is intertwined with that of many families and entrepreneurs who with us gave birth to this Group, and who today are symbolically here with us, together with all the people of the Group ». The academic recognition is all the more significant because it takes place in Genoa, where the Webuild Group built the new Genoa San Giorgio Bridge and where today it is working to complete the works of the Terzo Valico dei Giovi, which will bring high-speed rail to the heart of the Ligurian capital. Not surprisingly, among the reasons for the honorary degree, the active role played by Pietro Salini in the Ligurian territory, and Genoa in particular, is recognized, as well as the technical competence with which Salini has been able to translate the management guidelines of the Webuild Group into employment and development opportunities for the area, through the construction of complex, innovative and sustainable infrastructures. Once the degree was conferred, Pietro Salini gave his lecture on the theme “Infrastructures for the challenges of the future. New models of sustainable development “and in front of the audience he explained:” Today we must start planning new works that meet the needs of the next 20 years, but above all we must design and execute those already identified and selected as priorities. The PNRR is obviously very important, part of a larger organic plan in the country. It is certainly one of the development levers and in fact thanks to the PNRR Webuild estimates to reach 53,000 total employees in Italy in 2024 engaged in the construction of major works. An opportunity for growth that can be exploited by integrating the skills of the private sector with those of the public sector, which must be activated together in a public-private partnership that right here with the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge has shown that it can bear great results for citizens. and for the city ». Pietro Salini addressed the final message to the young people of the University of Genoa present in the room. «For us – he concluded – growth is not only economic but also the growth of people, and the ability to attract and retain talents and young people, in which we are investing with professional and training courses and with collaboration initiatives with 18 universities around the world. We finance scholarships aimed at rewarding the best talents, such as the Giovannini Award, which, with a focus on innovation, funds doctoral scholarships and rewards the best thesis with an international internship at our company. We have targeted recruitment programs for young people, such as the one on 100 young engineers graduated from the University of the South and we do a lot of training internally: in 2021 alone we provided 11,150 hours of training for young people under 35 ».