Informations for exchange students

THE PREVENTION TECHNICIAN

The Prevention Technician is a professional who deals with risks to human health and their prevention in the living and working places, in the environment, in food production.

Graduates gain technical preventive skills and are involved in all aspects related to risk assessment, management and communication.

Prevention technicians operate in the services of the Public Administration dedicated to the control of different risk profiles (Health Authorities, Regional Agencies for the Protection of the Environment) or in companies and consulting offices with risk assessment and management functions (environment, health and safety services).

The issue of occupational and environmental safety is one of the most sensitive in our historical-cultural moment.

The need to provide preventive responses to occupational and environmental risks requires the training of professionals who are increasingly capable of assessing, on a scientific basis, the different risk profiles (chemical, physical, biological, ergonomic, etc. ) and who are able to manage and mitigate the risk factors in different life and occupational contexts by decreasing their impact on exposed populations.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course of study has a three-year duration, enables the exercise of the profession of Prevention Technician in the Environment and in the Workplace and allows enrollment in the professional register.

The academic path aims to train professionals who possess solid basic knowledge in the field of prevention sciences and techniques and who have developed, through the many internship activities in public and private sectors, an adequate knowledge of the contexts of intervention and operational tools for managing risk reduction strategies in the various areas.

In order to achieve these objectives, the study program includes, in addition to the educational activities, a highly articulated offer of professional activities (internships organized in public and private companies, professional laboratories, implementation of hard and soft-skills) necessary to start building a professional career in continuous and dynamic evolution.

The specific objectives include the ability to evaluate and understand the dynamics of risk in complex environments, apply and contextualize the rules governing the various areas, the ability to correctly use inspection and instrumental measurement techniques, to consciously use the various risk assessment methodologies, research and investigation of problems and, finally, the willingness to interact constructively in working environments where a multidisciplinary and multiprofessional approach is required.

TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

The teaching activity is divided into three academic years, each of which is divided into semesters.
Traditional teaching activities are accompanied by a series of professionalizing activities (curricular internships, seminars, tutorials, etc.) which aim to reinforce and complete the notions learned during the teaching activities.

The teaching activity is divided into three academic years, each of which is made up of two semesters.

1) FIRST YEAR

The first year includes courses aimed at developing basic theoretical skills in the fields of chemistry, physics, biology, biomedicine, statistics-epidemiology and information technology. There are also specific teaching modules relating to legal sciences (criminal, administrative and labor law) with in-depth courses concerning the specific skills attributed to the professional figure.

Already from the first year, specific courses are envisaged relating to the sciences and techniques of prevention in the workplace with particular reference to the prevention of accidents and occupational diseases, industrial hygiene and the safety of the environment and work equipment. There are courses dedicated to the aspects that have become priorities for the safety of workers: the organization of safety in the workplace and risk assessment methodologies.

2) SECOND YEAR

In the second year of the course, the teachings focus mainly on three areas:

protection of the health and safety of workers: the courses are oriented towards the in-depth study of issues related to environmental and occupational chemical risk;
environmental protection: it is a particularly interesting area for the figure of the prevention technician taking into account the significant effects that the environmental impact (air pollution, water and soil pollution, incorrect waste management, etc.) can determine in terms of public health. The now inseparable relationship between the environment and health requires the ability to operate in complex frameworks. The teachings are aimed at providing scientific, technological and operational skills for carrying out the professional activity which are mainly focused on the activities of assessing the environmental impacts of human activities (environmental assessments and authorizations) and on those of supervision and control.
food safety and veterinary assistance: the prevention technician works within the official control structures of the Health Trusts and is engaged in supervision and control activities related to food hygiene and safety. The educational path provides the theoretical foundations (e.g. food chemistry, risk analysis in food production, food science and technology) and the operational tools necessary to correctly define and evaluate the risk conditions associated with the production and transformation of food products.
The work of the Prevention Technician requires relationship and interaction skills, for this reason in-depth studies on the psychology of work and organizations, business organization and professional responsibility are offered.

THIRD YEAR

The educational path concludes with an in-depth teaching on occupational diseases (e.g. musculoskeletal diseases) and on the topic, of growing interest, which pertains to prevention in the living environment.

In the third year, students are offered the commitment of an extended period of professional apprenticeship aimed at consolidating the skills learned.

INTERNSHIPS

One third of the credits envisaged in the study plan (60 ECTS) are assigned to internship and professional training activities. The internship areas are generally identified to concretely develop and deepen the concepts learned in the context of the corresponding teaching semester.
 
In particular, during the first year the first professional training and internship activities at the Healthcare Companies are foreseen. The internship locations, in this phase, are identified in the Prevention and Safety Services in the Workplaces of the Healthcare Companies and in the Prevention and Protection Services of the Companies of the Regional Health Service.

During the second year, the internship activities continue in the field of occupational health and safety protection (control services and/or company prevention and protection services, trade associations, etc.).
A significant part of the second year internship is dedicated to the topic of food safety, at the Control Services of the Health Authorities, and to the in-depth study of issues related to environmental safety at the regional ARPA and at the Hygiene and Public Health Services, with particular reference to the preliminary activities connected with the authorizations and environmental assessments.
As far as food safety is concerned, the internships are carried out within the context of the Food Hygiene and Nutrition Services or in the Veterinary Assistance Services at the Health Trusts.

The third year includes an extended internship period, with an approximate duration of 750 hours, actually identified by the teaching tutors, in agreement with the student, in order to allow for in-depth study of the topics of greatest interest and to deal concretely with real situations where you can learn more about risk assessment and risk management techniques. The internship path is structured following the experiential learning approach which puts the student, now close to completing his path, in the condition to develop transversal skills (soft skills, problem setting and problem solving, autonomous research and in-depth study activities on specific topics, development of communicative and relational skills appropriate to the corporate context, autonomous learning skills, development of technological, linguistic and relational skills).

 
The internship activities can be carried out in the context of public and private companies (e.g. consultancy firms, prevention and protection services of private companies, trade associations, etc.) affiliated with the two universities.

Parallel to the curricular internship activities in the company, the following are carried out:

- internship preparation activities, aimed at preparing students for in-company internships according to the specific objectives shared with company tutors;
- laboratory activities (e.g. use of instruments to measure the various risk determinants, sampling procedures, etc.) necessary to acquire specific methodological skills and practical skills;
- guided tours;
- exercises aimed at consolidating theoretical skills and developing soft skills (organization of activities and optimization of the study method, time management, public speaking, etc.).

AFTER GRADUATION

At the end of the three-year course, by virtue of the qualification to carry out the profession obtained with the specific exam, it is possible to enroll in the professional register and practice the profession in the public or private sphere. Alternatively, it is possible to complete the university course by enrolling in the two-year Master's Degree Course in Prevention Health Professions Sciences.

UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

The Degree Course is activated in the Gorizia branch (Via Alviano 18) of the University of Trieste. 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Tutor Marco Rizzo email: marco.rizzo@units.it

Tutor Michele Bordignon email: michele.bordignon@uniud.it

RAFP email: giovanni.missana@uniud.it

Bachelor's coordinator Prof. Corrado Negro: email: negro@units.it