MILAN, September 18, 2020 – The Webuild Group is collaborating with the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne School of Engineering to support innovation, inclusion and the professional training of young students as part of its investment in Australia, a strategic market for the Group. In an agreement signed with the university, the Group is offering, as of September 2020, two scholarships for the next five years: Webuild Women into Engineering Pathway Scholarship and Webuild Master of Civil Engineering Scholarship.

Webuild aims to increase its presence in the state of Victoria and the country at large by developing a strong rapport with local communities and collaborating with academic partners.

“In recent years, Webuild has focused on attracting young, talented people and cooperating with universities to prepare the next generation of engineers through tutoring, training and orientation initiatives,” says Gian Luca Grondona, Chief HR, Organization & Systems Officer at Webuild. “Innovation is the key we use to face global challenges in a sustainable way, and we’re glad to explore this path with students and representatives of the University of Melbourne.”

The University of Melbourne is the top Australian university for academic reputation, according to QS World University Rankings 2020, putting it in 15th place worldwide.

“We’ve got about 11,000 students, a half in Engineering and the other half in IT and Computer Sciences, and the synergy between the two is really important from an innovation standpoint,” says Professor Mark Cassidy, Dean of Melbourne School of Engineering. “About 34% of our students are female, which is actually the highest proportion in Australia, so we're very proud of that and we hope that these scholarships can attract more candidates to engineering and support their growth.”

“Today - continues Marco Assorati, Executive Operations Director Far East & Oceania - we set off on a new path after having come so far since the 1970s when the Group helped build the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop (MURL). We want to increase our presence in the state of Victoria. We are investing a lot there with our participation in tenders to build big infrastructure. In light of our strong interest in the state, we want to strengthen our relations with local stakeholders by supporting students who share our values in their growth path,”

The Webuild Group has belonged to the “Programma Partner per lo Sviluppo” (Partner for Development Programme) at Bocconi University in Milan since 2015, and it collaborates with a network of universities of excellence such as University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in Australia. Among the main training projects tied to key activities of its business is the “International Construction Management” Master’s programme, which has already had third editions in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano university.

In Australia, Webuild is developing Snowy 2.0, the biggest hydropower project in the country. It is nearing the completion of the Forrestfield-Airport Link, a light rail transit system that will connect the eastern suburbs of Perth with the business district. In Sydney, it built the award-winning skytrain bridge for Sydney Metro Northwest.