This project, conducted in cooperation between the Politecnico di Milano, Assolombarda and the Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, set up a permanent observatory to provide information on the demand and supply of engineers in Italy and in Europe. Many studies have been conducted, including: a quantitative analysis of the flow of engineers in the Italian and international labour market, a quantitative analysis of the skills and expertise and profiles required in Europe - by companies and by public administration - for various different sectors, a project to benchmark the positioning of the various different engineering degrees in relation to demand and supply at European level, two analyses of the skills and expertise that electrical and mechanical engineers use in the first seven years of their working careers, and an analysis of the ICT skills required by some industrial companies and services operating in Lombardy.

In 2008 a conference was held, titled: "Companies are searching: Are there any engineers? Demand and supply compared on the European scene", organised in cooperation between the Faculty of Management Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano, Assolombarda and the Fondazione Politecnico di Milano. This conference made public the results of a study on requirements for engineers in Italy, France and Germany. The study highlighted the fact that Italy trains up a smaller number of engineers than its neighbours France and Germany, and that Italian companies, controlled for sector and company size, hire on average half as many engineers than French and German companies.

Subsequently, in 2009, a conference was held, titled: "From degree to employment - second session with a survey of the skills of engineers" at the Department of Mechanics at the Milano-Bovisa campus. The Osservatorio degli Ingegneri, as the Observatory is called in Italian, presented the results of a survey of the skills and expertise of graduates in mechanical engineering. The conference was an opportunity for discussion and debate between lecturers, business owners and students, to identify how, and with which instruments, it is possible to qualify and increase the level of collaboration between third-level institutions and enterprise in order to transfer the skills, expertise and tools needed for individual and collective growth to the next generation.

Now, we are conducing, in cooperation with the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano, a survey on the skills and expertise of graduates in energy engineering. A conference with the presentation of our results will be held in spring 2011.