Learning from SECOVE: Experimental Higher Education Curriculum Update – Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)
Translating the SECOVE Vision into Higher education reality
While the core of the SECOVE project focuses on Vocational Education and Training (VET), Sapienza University of Rome, as a Higher Education Institution (HEI), has uniquely contributed by spearheading the strategic transfer and experimental adaptation of these principles intothe university domain. Sapienza primarily delivers higher academic education (EQF levels 6 and 7). Nonetheless, the university possesses a strong, congenital vocation for structuring its academic programmes in response to the most innovative trends in the professional and industrialsectors. It is within this framework of experimental, forward-looking adaptation that the curriculum of the Master of Science (MSc) in Environmental and Sustainable Building Engineering was restructured.
This restructuring was specifically piloted at the Rieti campus (Lazio region). The Rieti campus was selected due to its native orientation towards innovation and its deep integration with the local territory, professional bodies, and productive fabric. By updating this curriculum, Sapienza has successfully operationalised the strategic goals of SECOVE, contributing directly to the key performance indicator (KPI): “Increasing the relevance and quality of VET curricula, according toSmart Specialisation Strategies – Number of updated curricula”. This was achieved by showcasing how university-level education can serve as aregional catalyst, bridging the gap between advanced research, smart regional specialisation, and professional training.
Addressing regional gaps and smart specialisation strategies (RIS3)
The restructuring of the curriculum, implemented in 2024, represents a direct response to the “Fitness Analysis” and recommendations compiledin SECOVE Deliverable 3.2 for Italy, specifically focusing on the Lazio region. Lazio’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3) identifies two prominent thematic platforms, with the “Energy in Sustainable Building partnership” being highly correlated with the skills gaps addressed by SECOVE.
The core objective of this regional strategy is to boost eco-construction, integrate renewable energy, and promote energy efficiency in buildings and cities. Furthermore, Deliverable 3.2 identified a critical deficit in advanced digital literacy and performance-based digital design within the local building and construction industry. The report specifically highlighted that while the industry is undergoing rapid technologicaltransformation, there remains a prominent shortage of professionals skilled in enabling technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM/H-BIM), simulation, and circular building processes.
To bridge these gaps, Sapienza updated its MSc curriculum to establish a much tighter, explicit alignment with the regional RIS3 priorities. Instead of maintaining a fragmented array of elective courses, the 2024 restructuring focused on streamlining the syllabus and establishing two clear, specialised professional tracks designed to meet the precise demands of the Lazio green economy:
- The Construction and Sustainable Building Track: Mapped directly to the “Energy in Sustainable Building” priority, focusing on eco-construction, energy efficiency, and advanced digital design.
- The Environmental and Water Engineering Track: Mapped to the region’s priorities in “environmental services” and “environmental sustainability”.
Curricular restructuring and streamlining of elective options
The 2024 restructuring achieved a significant qualitative leap by rationalising the 12-ECTS/CFU elective group. Previously, students were presented with a broad, unstructured list of elective courses, which risked dispersing their competencies. The updated curriculum, by contrast, guides students into two highly focused pathways, reflecting the dual green-and-digital transition promoted by SECOVE.
In the previous manifestos (academic years 2021/2022 and 2022/2023), the 12-CFU elective pool was highly fragmented and lacked clearstrategic direction. The updated curriculum (2024/2025 onwards) rationalises these options to focus purely on the core competencies demanded by Lazio’s RIS3. Outdated or tangential subjects (such as Construction Site Organization, Sustainable Techniques for Road Construction, Project Evaluation, Engineering Geophysics, and Sustainable Materials Technologies) have been removed or absorbed into major mandatory modules.
The remaining core electives have been reorganised to form the two distinct tracks:
Construction and Sustainable Building:
- Advanced Design for Sustainable Building Components (6 ECTS) – now positioned in the 2nd Year, 1st
- Architectural Design for Sustainable Building (6 ECTS) – strategically anticipated to the 1st Year, 1st Semester. This shift provides students with foundational concepts of sustainable constructability and materials at the very beginning of their academic path.
- Project Financing (6 ECTS) – strategically anticipated to the 1st Year, 1st Semester. This early introduction enables students to masterthe financial feasibility and innovative sustainability models of public-private partnerships alongside their technical design modules, as recommended by SECOVE’s holistic approach to project implementation.
Environmental and Water Engineering:
- Advanced Processes and Technologies for Water Sustainability (6 ECTS) – scheduled in the 2nd Year, 2nd Semester. This module addresses the critical “water sustainability” and circular-economy biorefinery concepts highlighted in Deliverable 3.2.
- Environmental Hydraulics (6 ECTS) – scheduled in the 2nd Year, 2nd
- Environmental and Urban Planning in Inner Areas (6 ECTS) – scheduled in the 1st Year, 2nd
Moreover, as a simple but relevant annotation, the restructured curriculum saw the introduction of the new course: Environmental and Urban Planning in Inner Areas. This addition is highly innovative as it directly addresses a major territorial challenge of the Lazio region, which is characterised by highly natural but depopulated inland areas. By equipping future engineers with the methods of participatory planning and sustainable local development in non-urban contexts, this module directly translates the SECOVE focus on regional equity, climate resilience, and territorial safety into a concrete syllabus.
Alignment with Deliverable 3.2 S3 Priorities, Implementation Blueprint and KPI Impact
The following mapping matrix details the precise alignment of Sapienza’s curricular actions with the regional smart specialisation strategies (RIS3), guidelines, and skills gaps outlined in Deliverable 3.2 (D3.2) for the Lazio Region (Italy):
Curriculum Update / Action | Lazio Region S3 Priority (D3.2) | Skills & Competencies Addressed | Impact & KPI Alignment |
BIM & Digital Modelling Integration • Digital Modelling for Architecture • Building Design and H-BIM for Architectural Renovation | Digitalisation & Citizen Safety / Eco-Construction: targeting Lazio’s thematic platform: “Industrial Modernisation in Digitalisation” and “Energy in Sustainable Building”. | Bridges the critical regional digital literacy gap in the construction sector by teaching advanced BIM and Historic Building Information Modelling (H-BIM) for the restoration and management of heritage. | Fulfills the target of incorporating “enablingtechnologies” (BIM, digital tools) to modernize the building and construction workforce. |
New Course Introduction: Territorial Balance • Environmental and Urban Planning in Inner Areas | Safeguard of the Territory & Non-Urban: developmentTargeting regional needs for disaster resilience, environmental sustainability, and integrated non-urban spatial policies. | Provides methods for participatory and sustainable planning in low-density, depopulating “inner areas” characterized by high natural value but declining services. | Directly addresses the D3.2 objective of promoting integrated socio-environmental development in non-urban areas (Policy Objective 5). |
Dual-Track Streamlining (Specialisation Paths): restructuring the 12 CFU optional group into two specialized educational paths (Construction vs. Environmental Engineering) | Creation of Clear Vocational Pathways: targeting the need for highly specialized and recognizable professional profiles in the green economy. | Streamlines student choices into cohesive, industry-aligned thematic tracks, reducing curriculum fragmentation and enhancing direct labor market legibility. | Supports the regional goal of “increasing the relevance and quality of curricula” by matching training output directly to industrial specialisations. |
Environmental & Water Sustainability Focus • Advanced Processes and Technologies for Water Sustainability • Environmental Hydraulics • Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics | Environmental Sustainability & Waste/Water Management:aligning with Lazio S3 priorities on green companies, circular economy, and ecological transition. | Equips students with competencies in hydraulic risk characterization, wastewater treatment plants designed as “biorefineries,” and resource recovery (matter and energy). | Directly responds to the demand for environmentalengineers skilled in sustainable resource management and climate-neutral infrastructure. |
Financial Feasibility of Green Investments • Rescheduling Project Financing (ING-IND/35) to the 2nd Year (2nd Semester) | SME Support, Public-Private Partnerships, & Investment EvaluationTargeting the financial feasibility and bankability of sustainable construction projects. | Delivers critical capabilities in project financing models, economic feasibility studies, and the valuation of green investments during their lifecycles. | Aligns with Lazio Innova’s and regional strategies’ focus on building the financial and entrepreneurial capacity of regional green SMEs and projects. |
This curriculum update successfully bridges the “fitness gap” between institutional education and S3 targets. First, fulfillment of Lazio’s S3 “Energy in Sustainable Building” Priorities: By focusing on H-BIM (Building design and H-BIM for architectural renovation), energy efficiency in existing structures, and advanced bioclimatic design, the MSc ensures that its graduates are fully literate in the digital design tools required to achieve a climate-neutral built environment.
Second, integration of Green and Digital Skills: The curriculum effectively merges”green” environmental engineering with “digital” competencies (e.g., Digital modelling for architecture and Remote sensing and GIS), echoing the SECOVE call for dual-transition skills.
Third, KPI contribution: through these targeted modifications, Sapienza has formally achieved the update of the Environmental and Sustainable Building Engineering curriculum to match RIS3 trajectories. This directly fulfills the SECOVE project’s target of updating academic and professional curricula to maximize local employability, industrial relevance, and environmental impact.
