The Polytechnic University of Milan (, abbreviated as PoliMi) is a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy. It is the largest

technical university An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

in the country, with about 40,000 enrolled students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and higher education courses in

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

. Established in 1863 by Francesco Brioschi, the Polytechnic University of Milan is the oldest university in Milan; inspired by German and Swiss polytechnic institutes, Brioschi founded the school in the hope of bettering Italy's scientific and technological progress. By the 20th century, the school had gained international recognition thanks to its influential faculty and a strong emphasis on largely modernist principles. The university is made up of two central campuses in Milan, the ''Bovisa'' and ''Leonardo'', where the majority of the research and teaching activities are located, as well as other satellite campuses in five other cities across

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

and

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

. The university’s central offices and headquarters are located in Città Studi’s ''Leonardo'' Campus, active since 1927. Since its foundation, the Polytechnic University of Milan provides a diverse selection of graduate programs. Of its 40,000 students, about 8,000 are international from more than 100 countries. The university also has established partnerships with several other institutions around the world, including

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

, TU Delft, and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. As of 2024, the Polytechnic University of Milan had an acceptance rate of 28%. The Polytechnic University of Milan is considered one of the leading technical universities in Italy and in Europe, and is consistently ranked as one of the best schools for architecture, design and engineering in the world. According to the

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

for the subject area 'Engineering & Technology', it ranked in 2022 as the 23rd best in the world; It also ranked 7th worldwide for design, 12th for civil and structural engineering, 9th for mechanical and aerospace engineering and 7th for architecture. In 2024,

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

Giulio Natta, engineer, inventor, and aeronautical pioneer Enrico Forlanini, astrophysicist Amalia Ercoli Finzi, novelist Carlo Emilio Gadda, musician Demetrio Stratos, and architects Renzo Piano and Aldo Rossi.

History

The Polytechnic University of Milan was founded on 29 November 1863 by Francesco Brioschi, secretary of the Ministry of Education and rector of the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia (, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; ) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest un ...

. Its establishment was part of a broader movement in Italy to advance technical and scientific education, which in result would support industrial and technological development during the country's early years of unification. Its original name was ''Istituto Tecnico Superiore'' (which translates to "Higher Technical Institute") and only Civil and Industrial Engineering were taught.

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, the second main line of study at the university, was introduced in 1865 in cooperation with the

Brera Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan's main public mu ...

. There were only 30 students admitted in the first year. Over the decades, most of the students were men: the first female graduate from the university was in 1913. In 1927 the university moved to piazza

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

, in the district now known as ''Città studi'' (City of Studies), where the university's main facilities are still today. At the time, it was named ''Regio Politecnico'' ("Royal Polytechnic"). The word ''Regio'' was removed as Italy was proclaimed a republic at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The historical building still in use today was designed and built by engineers and architects all graduated from the university itself. The present logo, based on a detail of the preparatory sketch of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

School of Athens A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of f ...

, was adopted in 1942. Until then, there was no official logo for the institution. In 1954, the first

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an centre of electronic computation was opened at the university by Gino Cassinis and Ercole Bottani. In 1963 Giulio Natta received the

Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

for his research on crystalline polymers,

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer Propene, propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefin ...

in particular. In 1977, the

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

Sirio, jointly developed by the university and other companies, was launched. Since the end of the 1980s, the university has begun a process of territorial expansion that would have resulted in the opening of its satellite campuses in

and Emilia Romagna. A university program in

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

was started in 1993. In 2000, the university's faculty of design was created with new courses in undergraduate and postgraduate programs of graphic & visual, fashion and interior design along with the already existent industrial design. In April 2012, the university announced that, beginning in 2014, all graduate courses would be taught only in English.Michael Day, "Italian university switches to English" ''The Independent'' 14 April 201

/ref> This decision was then partially revised, after the decision of the Italian Supreme Court, that stated the Italian language could not be totally abolished nor downgraded to a marginal role.Politecnico, la Consulta: "Sì ai corsi solo in inglese, ma l'italiano non deve sparire" ''Il Giorno'' 24 February 2017

/ref>

Campuses

The University is spread over seven campuses: two main campuses in Milan and another five satellite campuses across

(

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants in Lombardy, Northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). The Bergamasqu ...

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

) and Emilia Romagna (

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

Milan Leonardo

Milan Leonardo is the oldest of the university's campuses still in use. The first buildings on ''Piazza Leonardo da Vinci'' were inaugurated in 1927. Over the years, the complex has been expanded and is now generally referred to as "Città Studi", ''City of Studies'', which also refers to some faculties of the

University of Milan The University of Milan (; ), officially abbreviated as UNIMI, or colloquially referred to as La Statale ("the State niversity), is a public university, public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Eu ...

in the same area. The campus extends over several streets: ''Leonardo'', ''Bonardi'', ''Clericetti'', ''Mancinelli'', ''Gran Sasso'' and ''Colombo''. PoliMi main building

The Leonardo Campus is the main campus of the university and comprises the central administration offices, the rectorate, and most of the research departments.

Milan Bovisa

The Milan Bovisa campus is located in the Bovisa district of Milan and became active in 1989; campus Bovisa is today composed of ''campus Durando'', opened in 1994, and ''campus La Masa'', inaugurated in 1997. The first is the seat of the School of Design, while the second is dedicated to Industrial, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Energy Engineering faculties. Bovisa also houses the related research facilities, including the wind tunnel.

Other campuses

The first satellite campuses opened in 1987 in

and in 1989 in

. During the 1990s other three branches opened in

(1991),

(1994), and

(1997).

Academics

The Polytechnic University of Milan offers several three-year undergraduate courses, two-year graduate courses, one-year master courses and PhD programs in the fields of engineering, architecture and design. The university offers 32 first level (Bachelor) degree programs. Renzo Piano e Giorgio Napolitano

The

academic year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and university, universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classe ...

is divided into two terms, or semesters, the first from mid-September to late January and the second from March to late June. There are 3 exam sessions: those at the end of each semester (in February and July) and one more in September. Students need to achieve 60 "university credits" (''CFU'' or ''Crediti Formativi Universitari'') per year during their Bachelor's and master's degrees. Therefore, the 3-years Bachelor requires 180 credits while the 2-years Master 120. The university, like most universities in Italy, is organized to comply with the framework of the

Bologna Process file:Bologna-Prozess-Logo.svg, 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo file:Bologna zone.svg, alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 256px, Bologna zone The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements b ...

. The university maintains several relations with foreign universities and offers a wide range of international projects for student exchange, The university encourages the enrollment of foreign students by providing several courses in English, German and Spanish. It participates in the ENTREE network for student exchange among Electrical Engineering colleges in Europe and it is a member of Top Industrial Managers for Europe (TIME) network. The ''Alta Scuola Politecnica'' is a joint institution of the Polytechnic University of Milan and

Polytechnic University of Turin The Polytechnic University of Turin (, abbreviated as PoliTO) is the oldest Italian Public university, public Institute of technology, technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban ...

addressed to young talents who want to develop their interdisciplinary capabilities for leading and promoting innovation, and runs in parallel to the two-year programs of ''laurea magistrale'' (graduate courses).

International opportunities

The university offers several opportunities for students that want to integrate their studies with an experience outside

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Some of them are: * ATHENS Programme * ERASMUS Programme * Erasmus Mundus Programme * Master of European Design * Partnership of a European Group of Aeronautics and Space Universities *

UNITECH International UNITECH International is a leadership development program for talented STEM students ran by a society of distinguished technical universities and multinational companies across Europe. History UNITECH was founded in 1999 by ETH Zürich's forme ...

* Double degree with

Tongji University Tongji University is a public university located in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Tongji is one of the ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China * Global Engineering Education Exchange PhD students may also take advantage of ''"Progetto Rocca MIT-PoliMi Program"'', an international program that allows them to spend a visit period working at

Rankings

According to the

, the university is ranked as 111th overall in the world, the first Italian university in this ranking. By field of study, it is ranked 5th for Design, 11th for Architecture, and 16th for Engineering and Technology. More specifically, it was also ranked as the 7th best university in the world regarding civil and structural engineering topics. The

SCImago Institutions Rankings The SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) since 2009 has published its international ranking of worldwide research institutions, the SIR World Report. The SIR World Report is the work of the SCImago Research Group, As for Italian national rankings, the university was ranked the best university for Engineering and among the top big universities in Italy in the ''CENSIS- Repubblica'' Italian University rankings for the academic year 2011–2012. In 2009 an Italian research ranked it as the best in Italy over indicators such as scientific production, the attraction of foreign students, and others.

Admission

Engineering

The admission in the undergraduate program in engineering at the university is bound to an admission test, aimed to verify the starting preparation of every student. The main goal of this test is to point out the lacks of aspiring students and, in case, to assign them an extra course. Only some programs have a strictly limited number of places, even if the Academic Senate fixes an approximate maximum number of students for every program. The admission test for any Engineering school, except Construction Engineering, is divided in four parts, each about one of the following general subject: ''English Language''; ''Logic, Mathematics and Statistics''; ''Verbal Comprehension''; ''Physics''.

Architecture, Design and Construction Engineering

Architecture, Design and Construction Engineering schools have a limited number of students admitted every year and the selection is based on a national test administered by the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. The test is divided into five parts, each about one of the following general subject: ''Logic and General Knowledge''; ''History''; ''Drawing and Representation''; ''Mathematics and Physics''.

Graduate programs

Admission to the graduate programs in the university requires an undergraduate degree and a set of requirements specific for each school, such as the time spent in obtaining the undergraduate degree or the grade point average scored during the undergraduate program. The university also offers courses of study for the title of ''Dottore di Ricerca'' (PhD), MBA courses, and other postgraduate courses. The university's Graduate School of Management is one of the most prominent management schools in Italy and was ranked as the 96th best business school in the world by ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' in 2011.

Departments

The Polytechnic University of Milan is organized in 12 departments: * Architecture and Urban Studies (DASTU) * Architecture and Civil Engineering of the Built Environment (DABC) * Chemistry, Chemical, and Material Engineering "GIULIO NATTA" (DCMC) * Design (DESIGN) * Electronics, Information Technology, and Bioengineering (DEIB) * Energy (DENG) * Physics (DFIS) * Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA) * Management, Economics, and Industrial Engineering (DIG) * Mathematics (DMAT) * Mechanical Engineering (DMEC) * Aerospace Engineering and Technology (DAER)

Library System and publishing

The library system of the university counts more than 470,000 records distributed over the libraries in the campuses. The system comprises four central libraries along with teaching libraries (department libraries). The titles registered in the library system can be searched through an

online public access catalogue The online public access catalog (OPAC), now frequently synonymous with ''library catalog'', is an online database of materials held by a library or group of libraries. Online catalogs have largely replaced the analog card catalogs previously ...

(OPAC). Since autumn 2004, the Polytechnic University of Milan has owned a publishing trademark, ''Polipress'', created mainly to publish researches by the university community. The trademark publishes also the free ''Politecnico'' periodical.

Scientific research

The Polytechnic University of Milan participates in European and international networks of

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and medieval world. The ...

. In the year 2004 alone, about 60 large scale, multi-year international research projects have been initiated or participated by the university, just in the context of the European Research framework. As of 2012, the university takes part in over 132 current FP7 research projects. The University raised almost 80% of its research funds from external sources in 2008, from participation in national and international calls for proposals by its researchers and from research contracts stipulated with companies. The Polytechnic University of Milan was the first university in Italy for total number of European research funding awarded under the

Horizon 2020 The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 to FP9, are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the Europe ...

program, with 296 projects and a total of 125.7 million. The university has a long history of research. Many scientists working in the university have received awards and recognition by the scientific community: among them, the most famous is Giulio Natta, the only Italian

for Chemistry, in 1963, who was the head of the Department of Industrial Chemistry. The University also operated the first research

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

in Italy, the 50kW ''LM54'', from 1959 to 1979 in the "Enrico Fermi Nuclear Research Institute" and now operates several important laboratories such as one of the biggest

wind tunnel A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments". The experiment is conducted in the test section of the wind tunnel and a complete tunnel configuration includes air ducting to and f ...

s in Europe. As of 2005, a number of professors at the Polytechnic University of Milan are ACM or

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE ...

fellows. The university participates in associations and consortia for applied research, has offices to assist technological transfers and continuing education for professionals. The university supports the establishment of research spin-offs (20 spin-offs from 2000 to today), and also of high-tech companies during their

start-up A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses that do not intend ...

phase, with a structure named ''Acceleratore d'Impresa'' (Start-up Incubator). According to the SIR 2013 World Report about the quality of scientific research produced, the university has a normalized impact factor of 1.42, and 16.62% of the articles produced fall within the 10% most cited in the international bibliography.

Governance

The Rector, the Academic Senate and the Board of Directors (''Consiglio di Amministrazione'') are the governing bodies of the university. Internal Financial Auditors (''Collegio dei revisori dei conti'') controls the management and finance of the University. There are several other consulting bodies, among them the Students' Council, which is directly elected by students and serves in an advisory role. The Rector represents the University and coordinates the Academic and Research activity. The tenure of the Rector is six years and can serve only one term.

Student life

Tuition fees at the Polytechnic University of Milan depend on each student's family income. They range between about 150

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

/year and 3726 €/year. Students with an outstanding GPA (usually ≥ 27/30 or 29/30) are granted partial or full rebates, in addition to various kinds of scholarships. There are many scholarships for international students as part of the recent university internationalization strategy. Most Italian universities do not offer accommodation for their students on campus. The university manages a limited number of approximately 2000 beds available for students. Most students from outside the city are either commuters or renters. It is common for both Italian and international students to share flats due to the expensive real-estate market of the city. All the university campuses are covered by a Wi-Fi network, connected and interoperable with the Eduroam service.

Organizations

The ''Istituto per il Diritto allo Studio Universitario'' (ISU) manages additional student facilities such as scholarships, student housing, open libraries, lending of computers, cafeterias and study spaces. ''Educafe'' is a cultural center in the Leonardo campus, where students can meet and events are held regularly. Among the student organizations: * ''BEST Milano'' (Board of European Students of Technology) a European non-profit and politically neutral organization, focus on Empowered diversity, done by students for the students and present in more than 30 countries. * ''ESN'' (Erasmus Student Network) a non-profit organization, gathering exchange students and encouraging exchange projects. * ''Euroavia'', an organization founded to gather aerospace students of the Polytechnic University of Milan and make easy to contact other aerospace students in Europe. * ''Associazione Ingegneri Ambiente e Territorio'' (Environment and Territory Engineers Association), a student association composed by students in Environmental Engineering. * ''Teatro delle Biglie'' (Theatre of the Marbles), an independent non-profit organization, born as a theatre association. * ''POuL'' (Politecnico Open unix Labs), a student association for students interested in promoting

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

and

free software Free software, libre software, libreware sometimes known as freedom-respecting software is computer software distributed open-source license, under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, distribut ...

. * ''POLI.RADIO'' is the student web radio. * ''IEEE Student Branch'' of the Polytechnic University of Milan. * ''BEA – Biomedical Engineering Association'', an independent bioengineering students organization to create a network between students and professors, to promote activities and projects * ''Skyward Experimental Rocketry'', an association with the goal of design and developing small

sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are often ...

s and

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...

s. * ''Physis PEB''

Professional opportunities and statistics

The 2007 graduate survey shows that 80% of graduates of the Polytechnic University of Milan find a job within three months from graduation, and almost 95% within six months. The figures are similar for the bachelor and the masters level graduates. A specialized "Career Service" facilitates contacts between graduates and the industry, it invites companies for presentations and prepares statistics about graduated students. It posts several stage and job offers every day both for students and graduates. Approximately 55% of undergraduate students complete their studies on time, and approximately 80% of them graduate within an additional year. Similar figures apply to graduate students.

Student politics

Students at the university elect representatives in the Academic Senate, the Board of Directors and in the Boards of Schools. Currently, there are four main political groups in student elections: *''La Terna Sinistrorsa'' (The left-hand coordinate system), the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

organization. The name is a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

on the Cartesian three-dimensional coordinate system. *''Lista aperta per il diritto allo studio'' (Open list for the right to study), a movement based on the value of student's quality, generally considered as

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

because of its affinity to the Catholicism and

Communion and Liberation Communion and Liberation (, often shortened to CL), since 1980 officially Fraternity of Communion and Liberation (), it is an international Catholic movement founded in 1954 by Fr. Luigi Giussani as Student Youth (), with the aim of presentin ...

, even if it defines itself as not politically oriented. *''Svoltastudenti – La Students' Union del Politecnico di Milano'' (The

Students' Union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizat ...

of the Polytechnic University of Milan), which takes inspiration from the Anglo-Saxon student-groups, is not politically oriented or religiously sided and its main purpose is to provide services to students. *''Studenti Indipendenti'' (Independent Students) There are also other smaller groups. However, participation in student elections is generally low, as a result of low participation in extra academical activities. In the last elections, it figured out a new wave of interest, with 20% of participation (after the 16% of the previous ones).

Notable alumni

File:Luigi Comencini 1971.jpg,

Luigi Comencini Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) was an Italian film director. Together with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, and Mario Monicelli, he was considered among the masters of the "commedia all'italiana" genre. His daughters Cristina Comencin ...

File:Giulio Natta Nobel.jpg, Giulio Natta File:Renzo Piano, portrait.jpg, Renzo Piano File:AldoRossi.jpg, Aldo Rossi File:Ettore Sottsass 1969.jpg, Ettore Sottsass * Franco Albini (architect, designer, and academic, 1905–1977) * Maria Artini (first female university graduate in electrical engineering in Italy and the second female engineering graduate of the Milan Polytechnic, 1894–1951) * Sergio Asti (architect and designer, 1926–2021) * Gae Aulenti (architect and designer 1927–2012) * Mario Bellini (architect and designer, b. 1935) * Chiara Bisagni (aerospace engineer) * Andrea Branzi (architect and designer, b. 1938) * Cini Boeri (architect and designer, 1924–2020) * Achille Castiglioni (architect and designer, 1918–2002) * Enrico Castiglioni (engineer and architect, 1914–2000) *

Livio Castiglioni Livio Castiglioni (16 January 1911 – 30 April 1979) was an Italian architect and designer. He made a significant contribution to twentieth-century Italian lighting design and was an early proponent of the practice of industrial design in Ital ...

(architect and designer, 1911–1979) * Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (architect and designer, 1913–1968) * Claudio Ciborra (organizational theorist, 1951–2005) * Antonio Citterio (architect and designer, b. 1950) * Giampaolo Dallara (engineer and entrepreneur, b. 1936) * Carla De Benedetti (photographer and photojournalist, 1932–2013) * Elio (musician, b. 1961) * Amedeo Felisa (businessman, b. 1946) * Gianfranco Ferré (fashion designer, 1944–2007) * Enrico Forlanini (engineer and inventor, 1848–1930) *

Stelio Frati Stelio Frati (born in Milan Italy in 1919, died 14 May 2010) was an Italian mechanical engineer and aeroplane designer. He graduated from the Politecnico di Milano as a mechanical engineer in 1943, participating in the design of the Aeronautica Lom ...

(aeronautical engineer, 1919–2010) * Emanuela Frattini Magnusson (architect and designer, b. 1959) * Gianfranco Frattini (architect and designer 1926–2004) * Chiara Fumai (performance artist 1978–2017) * Carlo Emilio Gadda (engineer and writer, 1893–1973) * Francesco Giavazzi (economist, b. 1949) * Vittorio Gregotti (architect, 1927–2020) * Franca Helg (architect and designer, 1920–1989) * Piero Lissoni (architect and designer, b. 1956) * Italo Lupi (graphic designer and writer 1934–2023) * Vico Magistretti (industrial designer and architect, 1920–2006) * Angelo Mangiarotti (architect and industrial designer, 1921–2012) * Alberto Meda (engineer and designer, b. 1935) * Giulio Natta (

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and

Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

, 1903–1979) * Gilbert Daniel Nessim (chemist, b. 1966) *

Adriano Olivetti Adriano Olivetti (11 April 1901 – 27 February 1960) was an Italian engineer, entrepreneur, politician, and industrialist. He was known worldwide during his lifetime as the Italian manufacturer of Olivetti brand typewriters, calculators, and com ...

(chemical engineer and entrepreneur, 1901–1960) * Antonio Pedotti (bioengineer) * Giovanni Pellegrini (architect, 1908–1995) * Stefano Pessina (billionaire businessman, b. 1941) * Nicola Pezzetta (architect and artist, b. 1963) * Renzo Piano (architect, b. 1937) * Giovanni Battista Pirelli (entrepreneur, 1848–1932) *

Gio Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (; 18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a hu ...

(architect, 1891–1979) * Adele Racheli (first woman engineering graduate, founder of patent protection office 1897–1992) * Ernesto Nathan Rogers (architect, 1909–1969) * Aldo Rossi (architect, 1931–1997) * Francesco Starace (business executive, b. 1955) * Saul Steinberg (cartoonist and illustrator, 1914–1999) * Giuseppe Terragni (architect, 1904–1943) * Angelo Torricelli (architect, b. 1946) * Patricia Urquiola (architect and designer, b.1961) * Massimo Vignelli (designer, 1931–2014) * Demetrio Stratos (singer, 1945–1979) * Tatiana Wedenison (first woman in Italy to attempt an engineering degree and the first to enroll at Politecnico in 1888) * Marco Zanuso (architect and designer, 1916–2001)

Notes and references

External links

Polytechnic University of Milan website

Brief history
of the Polytechnic University of Milan
AlumniPolimi
– Polytechnic University of Milan Alumni
Profile of the Polytechnic University of Milan on the Times Higher Education website
{{authority control Engineering universities and colleges in Italy 1863 establishments in Italy Universities and colleges established in 1863 Architecture schools in Italy