Technical University of Milan

The university was founded on November 29, 1863 and is the oldest in Milan. Originally called Istituto Tecnico Superiore ( Russian Higher Technical Institute ), it was managed by Francesco Brioschi and was located in the heart of the city on Via Senato ( via Senato ).

In 1865, the second main area of ​​study was opened - architectural. In 1927, the Polytechnic moved to Piazza Leonardo da Vinci , in the 3rd zone of Milan, in the quarter now called Citta studi (City of Study), where the main university buildings are located to this day. At the same time, it was called Regio Politecnico (Royal Polytechnic), but the word Regio was removed when Italy was declared a republic at the end of World War II . Nevertheless, traces from the letters REGIO, knocked down from the facade of the main building, can be seen now.

In 1954, the first in Europe electronic computer center was opened on the basis of the university with the efforts of Gino Casinis and Ercole Bottani. In 1963, Giulio Natta received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the study of polymers , in particular polypropylene . In 1977, the Sirio satellite was launched into space, developed jointly by the university and several companies.

In the 1990s, the university began a process of territorial expansion, as a result of which its campuses were opened in Lombardy and Emilie-Romagna . In 1993, training in industrial design was opened. In 2000, a faculty of design was created with new training courses for students and graduate students , including, along with existing disciplines, training in graphics and visual effects, fashion and interior design .

The university is located in 7 main campuses in the regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna:

• The Leonardo Campus, located on Leonardo da Vinci Square in Milan, has been operating since 1927 , the initial campus has expanded and today consists of various smaller campuses located nearby (Leonardo Campus, Bonardi Campus, Clerichetti Campus, Mancinelli Campus, Gran Sasso Campus and Colombo Campus )
• The Bovis campus, located in the Bovis district of Milan, has been operating since 1989 . The Bovis campus now includes the Durando campus, opened in 1994 , and the La Masa campus, opened in 1997 .
• The Como Campus, located in Como , has been operating since 1987 .
• The campus of Cremona, located in Cremona , has been operating since 1987 .
• The Lecco Campus, located in Lecco , has been operating since the early 1990s.
• The Mantua campus, located in Mantua , has been operating since 1999 , is located in the building of the former orphanage , built at the end of the 18th century by architect Paolo Pozzo .
• The Piacenza campus, located in Piacenza , has been operating since 1997 and is located in the building of the former barracks built in the 16th century.

University Admission

To enter the university on the basis of secondary education, it is necessary to pass entrance tests designed to check the level of preparation of each applicant. The main purpose of these tests is to identify a lack of knowledge among those who wish to enroll and, if any, to assign them additional courses. Only for some specialties the number of places is strictly limited, the approximate maximum of places for each specialty is established by the academic council.

The entrance test for the department of architecture, design and construction is divided into 5 parts, each on one of the following general topics: Logic and general knowledge; Story; Drawing and graphic representation; Mathematics and physics; English. The entrance test for any engineering department, except the construction one, is divided into 4 parts, each into one of the following general topics: English; Logic, mathematics and statistics; Oral perception; Physics.

Admission to graduate school requires completed higher education (national or international) and compliance with the requirements specific to each department, for example, the time spent on higher education or the average mark in a diploma of higher education.

The Polytechnic University also offers Ph.D. training programs ( Italian: Dottore di Ricerca , English Ph.D. ), MBA courses and other continuing education courses.

Organization

The Polytechnic University of Milan consists of 17 faculties: ^[5]

• Architecture and Design ( Italian: Architettura e Pianificazione , abbreviated DIAP)
• Bioengineering ( Italian: Bioingegneria )
• Chemistry, Materials and Engineering Chemistry named after Giulio Natta ( Italian: Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica "Giulio Natta" )
• Electronics and Computer Science ( Italian: Elettronica e Informazione , abbr. DEI)
• Electrical Engineering ( Italian: Elettrotecnica )
• Energy ( Italian Energetica )
• Physics ( Italian: Fisica )
• Industrial Design, Arts, Communications, and Fashion ( Italian: Industrial Design, Arti, Comunicazione e Moda , abbreviated INDACO)
• Aerospace Engineering ( Italian: Ingegneria Aerospaziale )
• Organization and management of industrial production ( Italian. Ingegneria Gestionale , abbr. DIG)
• Ingegneria Idraulica, Ambientale, Infrastrutture Viarie, Rilevamento, abbr. Diiar
• Nuclear Technology ( Italian: Ingegneria Nucleare )
• Design of buildings and structures ( Italian: Ingegneria Strutturale , abbr. DIS)
• Mathematics named after Francesco Brioschi ( Italian: Matematica "Francesco Brioschi" )
• Mechanics ( Italian: Meccanica )
• Architectural Design ( Italian: Progettazione dell'Architettura )
• Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Ambiente Costruito, abbr. Best

Educational Activities

The Polytechnic offers undergraduate studies in 32 specialties. Among them there is an online course in computer engineering , the first academic course in this format in Italy. It is fully equivalent to a traditional computer science training program. Virtually all assignments are explained on the website by university professors, and final exams take place on the Como campus.

A wide range of training courses meets the needs of the territory (Lombard region), which is one of the most industrialized in Europe. The number of students reaches approximately 38,000, making Milan Technical University the largest in Italy in the field of engineering, architecture and industrial design.

University curricula are often distinguished by additional practical homework. This is intended to enhance students' knowledge, experience, and abilities.

The university participates in several international student exchange projects ^[6] and facilitates the admission of foreign students by offering many courses in English ^[7] . Included in the educational network ENTREE on student exchange among the electrotechnical faculties of Europe. He is also a member of the Top Industrial Managers for Europe (TIME) network. Collaborates with IMCC .

A joint institution of the Milan and Turin Technical Universities, Alta Scuola Politecnica , is designed for young talents who wish to develop their interdisciplinary skills for advanced and advanced innovations, and study in parallel through two-year master's programs.

Library System

The university’s library system ^[8] has more than 470,000 storage units in all libraries of all campuses. The system consists of Central Libraries (among which the most important are the Central Technical Library and the Central Architectural Library) and Study Libraries designed to help students prepare for exams. Bibliographic information registered in the library system can be found through the search web server under the name OPAC ^[9] ( abbr from the English Online Public Access Catalog ). In the fall of 2004, the university registered its own publishing brand, “Polipress” ^[10] , which was created mainly for the publication of research by the scientific communities of the Polytechnic. Polipress also publishes the free periodical newspaper Politecnico ^[11] .

Scientific activity

The university takes part in the activities of European and international research networks. For example, in 2004 alone, the university initiated the beginning or joined the participation in more than 60 large multi-year international research projects within the European Research framework ^[12] .

Many scientists working at the Polytechnic are award-winning and recognized by the scientific community. Among others, the most famous is undoubtedly Giulio Natta, the only Italian to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1963), who heads the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Engineering Chemistry. By 2005, many university professors were members of ACM and IEEE .

The Polytechnic of Milan participates in associations and consortia for applied research, has services to facilitate the transfer of technology and continuing education for professionals. The university supports the creation of commercial research projects and high-tech companies at the start - up stage, for which a business incubator called “Acceleratore d'Impresa” has been created ^[13] .

University tuition fees depend on the student’s family income. It amounts to 3900 euros per year. Students with good grades are given a partial or full reimbursement of expenses, in addition to a variety of scholarships. There are many scholarships for international students in international programs.

Most Italian universities do not provide students with housing on campus. Technical University of Milan has a limited number of places (at most 1,000), there are also agreements with private organizations, and it directly manages a hostel with 140 places for exchange students under the ERASMUS program (CIS students study under the TEMPUS program ). Most nonresident students either make daily trips to the city or rent housing in the city. Usually 3-4 students jointly rent an apartment, as the rent in the city is very high.

The Leonardo and Bovis campuses are covered by a Wi-Fi network. The university’s Wi-Fi network consists of two networks: open ( SSID : polimi ) and closed (SSID: internet ). Students can freely access the polimi network, the only function of which is to provide access to the university website, where you can request a certificate for access to the internet . The latter is accessed using the WPA protocol using EAP authentication and cryptography based on TKIP . The internet network provides access to all internal networks of the university (all networks of all campuses) and in a limited form to the Internet (only HTTP , HTTPS and FTP ). Work on the deployment of Wi-Fi networks is still ongoing, but most of Leonardo's campus is already in the coverage area ^[14] .

Organizations

An interesting part of student life are copy centers. In the 1970s, two copy centers appeared: CLUP and CUSL (formed from left-wing student groups, later based on Catholic conservative students), as an attempt by students to solve their own problems (such as the cost of textbooks and the sharing of lecture notes). They were the only copy centers in the university until CLUP moved in 2001 . They are an important part of student life for historical and political reasons, while today there are many alternative means in the university district of Citta Studi .

The well-known structure of ISU ^[15] (the general term used by Italian universities for such additional opportunities for students as public libraries, rental of mobile PCs , cafeterias and study spaces) is dedicated to Luigi Divieti . There is a legend telling about the “pianist from ISU”, a man who supposedly lived here from birth 50 years ago and who became a hopeless old university student.

On Leonardo’s campus, students can sit at Educafe ^[16] , which is conceived as a new place on campus where students can meet and socialize, or freely surf the Internet. Educafe, despite its very limited space, is also a center for cultural events that take place here every month.

Some student organizations:

• BEST Milano ^[17] ( abbr. From Board of European Students of Technology ), a European nonprofit politically neutral organization focused on legal issues, created by students for students and represented in more than 30 countries
• ESN ^[18] (European Student Network), a non-profit inter-university student exchange organization that supports exchange projects.
• Euroavia ^[19] , an organization created to attract university students interested in aerospace technology and to facilitate contacts with similar organizations throughout Europe.
• Associazione Ingegneri Ambiente e Territorio ^[20] , an association of students interested in environmental issues.
• Teatro delle Biglie ^[21] ( rus. Ball Theater ), an independent non-profit organization that emerged as a theater association.
• Poul (Politecnico Open Unix Labs) ^[22] , a student association made up of students interested in UNIX-like operating systems.
• IEEE Student Branch ^[23] at the Technical University of Milan.

Employment Opportunity

Technical University of Milan is well known throughout Europe. A recent survey of graduates ^[24] showed that 60% of them found work within 3 months after graduation, and more than 75% within six months. The same is true for bachelors and masters. The specialized service “Career Service” ^[25] interacts with graduates and production, invites companies to conduct presentations and prepares statistics on graduates. She sends out nearly 200 job offers per month and holds 90 job-related activities per year (most of which consist of company presentations with interviews).

Political life

Now the university has 3 main political groups:

• Lista aperta per il diritto allo studio (Open List for the Right to Education), whose members are often also members of the Comunione e Liberazione movement. The movement is right-wing , although it itself defines itself as having no political orientation;
• La Terna Sinistrorsa — Liberi Studenti Democratici ^[26] (“Left Coordinate System Free Democratic Students”), left - handed organization; the name is a pun with the Cartesian coordinate system and LSD ;
• The Student Union of the Technical University of Milan (La Students' Union del Politecnico di Milano), inspired by Anglo-Saxon student groups, is not politically oriented and its main goal is to provide services to students ^[27] .
• Terzopolo — Centro Destra Universitario ^[28] (“The Third Pole - University Center-Right”), collaborates with the right-wing political coalition Casa delle Libertà ;
• Movimento Universitario Padano ("University of Padana"), associated with the Lega Nord party.

Participation in student elections, however, is generally low, usually below 15%, which is the result of a general low interest in politics and the low influence of selected students on academic decisions. The results of recent elections can be viewed on the university’s website ^[29] .

Criticism

Technical University of Milan is widely known as selective and very demanding, which is why many students need 1 or more extra years to complete their studies. Approximately 55% of students complete their studies in the initial period, and approximately 80% of them graduate a year later. The same is true for graduate students.

• Official website (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Archived December 21, 2016. in English
• University Student Community (Italian)