YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW: A JOURNEY THROUGH ENGINEERING IN THE NAME OF MADE IN ITALY
April 15 is the designated date for the celebration of National Made in Italy Day, promoted by the Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy, which aims to support and promote, both nationally and internationally, our country’s manufacturing excellence and cultural heritage.
Any organization wishing to participate is invited to promote its own initiative or project within a theme designated for each edition. While in its early years the celebration sought to highlight our country’s identity and innovation, the theme of this third edition has emphasized the critical importance of human capital, with skills development serving as the unifying theme. This has resulted in an extraordinary outcome, with over 800 initiatives on the calendar.
The Fondazione MAIRE – ETS has chosen to take part for the first time this year, promoting a programme entirely dedicated to the excellence found within the MAIRE ‘family’: from materials in the historical archives of the Group’s companies to the decarbonisation technologies developed by NextChem. The initiative is entitled “Yesterday, today, tomorrow: a journey through engineering in the name of Made in Italy”, and has been designed and structured around two events: two days of training dedicated to students of the “MAIREmpower” summer school, as part of the wider mentoring programme planned for them under phase II of the project of the same name.
A concrete example of how the dialogue between technical expertise and innovation can serve as a driving force for building the skills of future generations and contributing to the country’s development.
NATIONAL MADE IN ITALY DAY 2026
April 15 is the designated date for celebrating National Made in Italy Day, in honor of the anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s birth on April 15, 1452.
Now in its third year, the initiative aims to support and promote, both nationally and internationally, our country’s manufacturing excellence and cultural heritage. A commitment to promoting Made in Italy, a brand that embodies the quality, innovation, and tradition of our entrepreneurial and cultural fabric.
State, regional, and local entities are working together to strengthen the key sectors that represent its core; a shared effort based on a common vision of a sustainable and inclusive future, where artisanal practices are preserved and the work of young people and women is valued and encouraged.
With the aim of creating an environment where Italian excellence can continue to grow and be appreciated around the world, making sustainability, social inclusion, and the promotion of artisanal skills the pillars upon which to build the future of Made in Italy, all organizations wishing to participate are invited each year to promote their own initiative or project within a theme designated on a case-by-case basis.
This year, the focus is on highlighting the value of human capital and the critical importance of skills training.
HISTORY OF ENGINEERING DESIGN
The first day of training took place on 23 March 2026 at the Foundation’s headquarters in Rome; the participants were students from the MAIREmpower project’s summer school.
The course, entitled ‘History of engineering design’, aimed to guide the young people through the history of the evolution of engineering design from the 20th century to the present day, to understand how engineering—past, present and future—represents an ongoing dialogue between innovation and expertise. From the materials in the MAIRE Historical Archive to the digital vault, from project models to a site visit via a 3D headset, the students got hands-on, even writing newspaper articles about what they had learnt during the day.
To find out more about the course content and relive the day, you can read the dedicated news article.
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS: CIRCULARITY AND AI
The second day of training took place on May 7, 2026, at the Foundation's headquarters in Rome; once again, the protagonists were the students of the MAIREmpower summer school.
The training day, named “Sustainable Solutions: Circularity And AI”, mainly focused on two thematic areas: technologies for the energy transition, developed by NextChem (a company of the MAIRE Group, a leader in green chemistry and low-emission industrial solutions), and Artificial Intelligence.
In the first part, the students were able to explore the business line related to circular solutions and sustainable materials at Nextchem, and how engineering can concretely contribute to the transition towards more circular production models. Through examples and case studies, it was shown how the technologies developed by NextChem allow giving a second life to different types of waste, transforming them into useful resources to be reintroduced into industrial cycles.
In the second one, the horizon embraced the major global transformations – geopolitics, fragmentation of supply chains, energy transition, technological acceleration – to investigate the role of AI and its impacts, including in the world of work.
A concrete dialogue designed to guide young students, also in view of their next appointment: the high school final exams!
To find out more about the course content and relive the day, you can read the dedicated news article.
