The degree program in ‘Paper and Cardboard Engineering,’ run by the Fahre Foundation, takes place in the classrooms of the Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca Foundation within the San Micheletto complex.
The training offer stands out for its close collaboration with companies in the Lucca district, which actively participate by defining the curricula and supporting the University of Pisa professors with their own managers as lecturers. There have already been 600 applications for the next academic year from all over the world. After a rigorous selection process, only 30 are admitted each year to ensure immediate and high-quality entry into the workforce. It’s no coincidence that Sofidel, Fosber, DS Smith, Toscotec, Lucart, Lucense, Celtex, Andritz, Oradoc, Wepa, Paper Board Alliance, BW Converting, and Cartiere Carrara actively support the program.
The quality of the training offered has already received wide recognition. Three students from the program — Samuel Worku Demise, Yonas Girma Tekele, and Abij Kinfle Assefa — placed second in the Worldwide Switch Competition, organized by the U.S.-based Switch Energy Alliance. Mirco Lunardi won the first edition of the scholarship in memory of Giuseppe Lazzareschi, and another recent graduate, Matteo Nardi, received the Paolo Culicchi scholarship from Aticelca.
“Our program was created to meet a real need of businesses: to develop professional profiles ready for the challenges of sustainability and Industry 4.0,” says Prof. Marco Frosolini, president of the degree program. “The success of our students and the upcoming international roundtable confirm Lucca as a key hub for research and advanced paper industry education in Europe.”
“The significant results achieved in a relatively short time,” confirms Fcrl President Massimo Marsili, “demonstrate the effectiveness of a method: understanding the educational needs of a key productive sector of the territory and collaboration between business, universities, and institutions. These are the foundations of work already mature enough to gain strong international recognition.
