Eight young winners for innovation, digitalisation in infrastructure. 

One prize for three years of research at the Turin Polytechnic

• 2021-2022 edition awards eight university theses and a research project at Turin Polytechnic di Torino in innovative, sustainable solutions for infrastructure 

• Award recipients earn internship at Webuild Group 

• Second edition of Premio Alberto Giovannini for 2022-2023 to award eight internships, and finance PhD research for three years 

• Webuild Group’s direct employees under 35 years of age represent 43% of total staff 

    



MILAN, June 13, 2022 – The first edition of the “Premio Giovannini. Innovazione e digitalizzazione nelle infrastrutture”, created by Webuild in honour of the Italian economist Alberto Giovannini who served as chairman to the Group before his death in 2019 results in eight internships within the Webuild Group and an award to finance three years of doctoral research at the Turin Polytechnic into the use of a digital twin – a virtual model in the infrastructure sector. The eight young winners and the Polytechnic received their awards today at an official ceremony hosted by Webuild and the Corriere della Sera newspaper at the Buzzati auditorium in Milan. The young winners come from a number of different Italian regions including Sicily, Marche, Molise, Lazio, Lombardy and Veneto, as well as abroad. They are part of Webuild’s programme to invest in the future of the infrastructure sector by making the most of talent and supporting the professional growth of young people and workers. It will be renewed for a second edition next year as the Group strives to meet its growth targets as of 2022 and faces the challenges posed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

“The true value of this award is understanding how to overcome fear of change when it comes to innovation,” said Pietro Salini, Chief Executive of Webuild. “Those who are not afraid of change embrace that challenge to innovate and change the future.”

Salini continued: “We must not lose this opportunity offered by the PNRR - not only to build a future for our young people but also to breach the gap that Italy has with other countries in terms of infrastructure investment, work safety, innovation and digital competencies. In 2021, Webuild had more than 16,000 people working in Italy, and we will increase this number significantly in the coming years. The next edition of the Premio for 2022-2023 that we are launching today will be dedicated to innovative projects that have predictive applications for the repair and maintenance of public works. These instruments can help prolong the useful life of infrastructure and increase safety across the country. Italy is a country with old infrastructure. Hence the need to  invest in the maintenance of public works and technology in the fields of predictive applications and artificial intelligence to create jobs and foresee problems. In this way we can continue to have infrastructure assets worthy of the name,  make cost management more efficient for public works and increase the sustainability of infrastructure.”  

In addition to Salini, Patrizia Cavazzini, Alberto Giovannini’s wife also spoke, as did economist Francesco Giavazzi and Enrico Giovannini, Italian Minister for Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility.“ A lot of the innovation in infrastructure points in the direction of sustainability,” said Minister Giovannini. “Compared with our generation, the new generation has adopted this attitude, that everything that is done is oriented towards sustainability, not only economic, but also social and environmental.”

“Going to the heart of a matter - that is what we see in this award, if we are to remember the lesson given to us by Alberto Giovannini,” said economist Francesco Giavazzi, economic adviser to Italy’s Draghi government. “The ability not to simply scratch the surface. There is a strong link between the award and what the country is doing with the PNRR, a lot of which is focused on young people, equality between the sexes, and regional balance with investments in southern Italy. The PNRR is the main instrument to increase demand and start a virtuous process that will allow us to reduce the spread and pay down our debt.”

For more information on the Premio Alberto Giovannini, please click here. 

The Premio Alberto Giovannini belongs to the Group’s Next-Gen initiative dedicated to young people in Italy and abroad to help provide training and encourage young people to enter the sector, increasing the number of direct employees who are under the age of 35 years and currently represent 43% of the total staff. The initiative also  includes the Premio Ingenio al Femminile to encourage more women to enter the sector; Challenge4Sud to involve young people in southern Italy; and projects for workers and those who want an apprenticeship at one of the Group’s 100 construction sites located in 50 countries in five different continents. 

For more information about Webuild’s Next-Gen, please click here.