The program that today reaches thousands of young people in 17 countries began in 1976 on a far more modest scale and with a very specific purpose. “That DNA gave rise to the scholarship, which was called the study scholarship, the merit scholarship, precisely because it was meant to support employees so they could continue studying alongside their work,” explains Erika Bienek, Chief Community Relations Officer of the Techint Group. At its origin lay the conviction of Roberto Rocca, one of the Group’s founders and an MIT professor, in education as a driver of progress. In 2022, the program officially adopted his name in tribute to that legacy.
What has the program achieved in fifty years?
Over these five decades, the program has awarded more than 45,000 scholarships — 36,000 at the high school level and over 9,200 at the university level — reaching 23 countries at one point or another, well beyond the 17 where it operates today. In 2025 alone, 3,793 scholarships were granted, and its technical imprint remains unmistakable: 65% of high school scholarships went to students in technical schools.
“The Roberto Rocca Scholarship reflects the commitment of the Techint Organization to the development of the communities that host its industrial activity. Its implementation emphasizes values such as academic responsibility, individual efficiency, transparency and collaboration, all of which a job well done requires,” remarks Guillermo Hang, Vice President of the Techint Group and Vice President of the Fundación Hermanos Agustín y Enrique Rocca.
Pedro Napoletano, now Senior Advisor at Techint E&C, was one of the first recipients: he received the university scholarship in 1984, at 19, while already working at the company. “First it was a matter of prestige, because that already showed that a person was above average,” he recalls. Asked to sum up what it meant in a single word, he does not hesitate: “Pride, because you felt you had moved up a step.”
From recognizing merit to leveling opportunities
The deepest shift came with the pandemic. From 2020, a second objective was added: reaching students from disadvantaged households who nonetheless demonstrated academic excellence. The lack of in-person contact also led to digitizing the entire process — a milestone in homes where often “seven people shared a single cell phone.”
A third shift is more cultural: overcoming the fear of being evaluated. The math and logic tests that are part of the selection produced something unexpected — guides and games that students practice all year round. “The scholarship ultimately becomes the prize, but the whole vehicle behind it, of strengthening math, is the most important part,” Bienek explains. The regional context is stark: 70% of 15-year-olds in Latin America do not reach the math levels needed to move into an industrial job or university.
Women opening the way in technical fields
Over fifty years, nearly half of the high school scholarships (47%) were awarded to women, in a field where female participation remains low worldwide. “Among applicants we have more boys than girls, but then, among those awarded, you end up at fifty-fifty. Women have grit, a drive and a commitment to their future that shows very clearly in adolescence,” Bienek notes.
Daniela Pereson puts a face to that statement. A graduate of Technical School No. 1 in Villa Ramallo, Argentina, she took part in Roberto Rocca Technical Gene, earned a FESTO certification, completed her professional practice at Ternium, and today, with a Roberto Rocca Scholarship, is the first in her family to reach university, where she studies Mechanical Engineering. “It’s an opportunity to prove that, when you do something with effort and real passion, it has its reward, its recognition and its merit. You can go very far, regardless of where you come from,” she says. “Even though we’re a minority in Engineering, every woman who chooses to study engineering opens the door for others.”
The skills of the future
Looking ahead, the program looks beyond technical knowledge. “It’s been proven that 40% of the skills that will be required in jobs by 2030 are going to change,” Bienek argues. Growing weight falls on what she calls human capabilities: creativity and innovation, emotional intelligence, collaboration and communication, and continuous learning. “No one builds knowledge alone, no one achieves an impact alone.”
Part of a broader commitment
The Roberto Rocca Scholarship Program is one of the four Roberto Rocca Education Programs, alongside the Technical Schools Network, Technical Gene and After School. Together they form part of the Techint Group’s community relations strategy, which in 2025 reached more than 1,215,000 people across 19 countries with a total investment of USD 79.1 million.
Brazil.
