Polytechnic University of Turin

The Polytechnic University of Turin (Italian: Politecnico di Torino) is a public university based in Turin, Italy. Established in 1859, it is Italy’s oldest technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture and Industrial Design.

History

The Regio Politecnico di Torino (Royal Turin Polytechnic) was established in 1906. The present-day institution was preceded by the Scuola di Applicazione per gli Ingegneri (Technical School for Engineers, which was founded in 1859 in application of the Casati law) and the Museo Industriale Italiano (Italian Industry Museum) founded in 1862 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and Industry. The Technical School for Engineers was part of the University, which led to technical studies being accepted as part of higher education. In those times Italy was about to begin a new industrial era, which the Industry Museum was to address more directly thanks to famous scholars and researchers dealing with new subjects such as electrotechnics and building science. The new school was deeply concerned with the needs of the Italian society and its development perspectives.

Like other well known Polytechnic Schools in the first years of the 20th century the Regio Politecnico di Torino had several goals and began contacting the European academic world and the Italian industry. Aeronautics began as a subject. Students from all over Italy came to Turin and found in the new laboratories built for the study of various subjects ranging from chemistry to architecture in a positive and helpful atmosphere. Subsequently, the Faculty of Engineering was transferred to a building, now disappeared, which occupied the entire block between via Giolitti, via San Francesco da Paola, via Cavour and via Accademia Albertina (the current Valdo Fusi square). During the Second World War, the plexus was severely damaged, and largely razed to the ground by a heavy bombing by the Royal Air Force, in the night between 8 and 9 December 1942.

Instead of rebuilding the Faculty of Engineering where it was, it was decided to move it and expand it in the Crocetta district, and in November 1958 a large complex of buildings located in Corso Duca degli Abruzzi was inaugurated in the vast area where the Turin Stadium had been built in 1911. The historical headquarters of Valentino Castle (Castello del Valentino) helped expanding the volume and the facilities given in 1859 to the Technical School for Engineers.

In the 1990s, new teaching campuses were opened in Alessandria, Biella, Ivrea and Mondovì.

On 13 February 2012, the e-st@r, a small artificial satellite built to the standards of the CubeSat (nanosatellite cube) by the students of the Polytechnic of Turin, was carried into orbit by Vega, the pitcher of the European Space Agency.

Campuses

Campuses of the Politecnico di Torino draw inspiration from the structure of Anglo-Saxon ones, with multipurpose buildings for teaching, basis and applied research and services to the students in Turin, and a regional network of technological centers (Alessandria, Biella, Mondovì, Verrès), dedicated to research activities, technological transfer, specialist education and services to the region.

The historical and representative base of the Politecnico is in the town, on the River Po: the Valentino Castle, a House of Savoy of the 17th Century. It is the main teaching campus for Architecture and has an area of 23.000 sq. m. The big complex in corso Duca degli Abruzzi – with 122.000 sq. m., the main campus of Engineering – was opened in 1958 and it is completed by the Cittadella Politecnica: a modern complex of 170,000 sq. m. adjoining to the main building, including areas dedicated to students, research activities, technological transfer and services. The newest campus is the Design and Sustainable Mobility Citadel, in an area adjoining to the manufacturing establishment of Mirafiori, FIAT manufacturing facility which has been remodeled as well as the Lingotto building, which hosts the Master School. The headquarters on Oddino Morgari street is intended for the course in territorial, urban and landscape-environmental planning.

Museum

The Museo Archivio Politecnico (MAP) carries out historical documentation activities for the University and for scholars who intend to carry out research and studies on the development of Turin's polytechnic culture, as well as the events that over the years have involved technical institutions and industry in Turin, Piedmont and Italy.

The museum preserves and manages the historical materials of the University, such as: the historical archive of the students of the Polytechnic and a specialized library on the history of engineering, architecture and related institutions. It also carries out activities for the dissemination of scientific and technological culture with exhibitions, workshops and conferences.

Students and teaching

STUDENTS

32.000 students (A.Y. 2012/2013)

30% women

42% students from outside Piedmont

16.5% international students

4,900 first year students (A.Y. 2012/2013)

12% first year international students

400 Specialization Master students

633 PhD students (A.Y. 2012/2013)

PROGRAMS

28 Degree programs (first cycle level – Bachelor)

32 MS Degree programs (second cycle level – Master)

18 Courses completely in English

6 I level Specialization Masters

27 II level Specialization Masters

24 PhD programs

6 Advanced training programs

1 Specialization program

GRADUATES

5,371 graduates in 2012

2,802 first cycle (Bachelor) level graduates

(average age: 24 years old)

2,569 second cycle (Master) level graduates

(average age: 26 years old)

Employment rate of second cycle (Master) students one year after graduation (Almalaurea – def. ISTAT-Workforce): 74.5% (above the national average of 60%) 42% have permanent contracts (above the national average of 34%)

Structure

The university is structured in 11 departments that deal with both teaching and research. Departments carry out duties of coordination, promotion of research, organization and management of the teaching activity, following the recent reform of the University system. The departments are:

DAD – Department of Architecture and Design

DAUIN – Department of Control and Computer Engineering

DENERG – Department of Energy

DET – Department of Electronics and Telecommunications

DIATI – Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering

DIGEP – Department of Management and Production Engineering

DIMEAS – Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

DISAT – Department of Applied Science and Technology

DISEG – Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering

DISMA – Department of Mathematical Sciences

DIST – Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning

Internationalization

The Polytechnic University of Turin has been awarded the title "European University" by the European Commission. Together with 6 other European technical universities, the Polytechnic University of Turin has formed the alliance UNITE! (University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering). The aim of the project is to create a trans-European campus, to introduce trans-European curricula, to promote scientific cooperation between the members and to strengthen knowledge transfer between the countries. The alliance includes the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Aalto University, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the Polytechnic University of Turin, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and the University of Lisbon.

Politecnico di Torino has agreement with Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. There Politecnico di Torino prepare students in the field of Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics (only Master of Science But the course was closed in 2015), Computer science and Civil engineering.

Courses

The main courses offered are architecture, architectural engineering, industrial design, aerospace engineering, automotive engineering, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, environmental engineering, energy engineering, engineering physics, material engineering, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, mining engineering, nuclear engineering, nanotechnology, production engineering, petroleum engineering, telecommunications engineering and textile engineering.

Research

Research activities, in particular, are structured in four macro-areas: Industrial Engineering; Information Technology; Management and Mathematical Engineering; Civil, Environmental, Architecture and Design Engineering.

Research alliances

The Polytechnic has research links with local and international companies, reaching about 700 yearly research contracts with firms such as EthosEnergy, Thales Alenia Space, Intel, Motorola, Compaq, Ferrari, Fiat, Leonardo, General Motors, Telecom Italia, Freescale, Vishay, Avio, Agusta, IBM, Microsoft, Nokia, Pininfarina, Bosch, General Electric, STMicroelectronics and ESA.

Networks

The Politecnico di Torino is a member of

CLUSTER (Consortium Linking Universities of Science and Technology for Education and Research) which is a network of leading European Universities of Technology

European Network for Training and Research in Electrical Engineering

Top Industrial Managers for Europe (TIME) network

European Spatial Development Planning (ESDP) network.

University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering (UNITE!)

Ranking

According to ARWU Ranking 2013, Politecnico Di Torino is 1st in Italy and 4th in Europe for Engineering. In 2018, According to QS World University Rankings among the engineering universities it was ranked 33rd in the world. In 2013 it was 68th on the same ranking and for electrical engineering the university was ranked 1st in Italy, 8th in Europe and 30th in the world.

University's Innovative Enterprise and Business Incubator 'I3P' was ranked in 2014 as the 5th best in Europe and 15th overall in the world by UBI Index

Politecnico Di Torino is the top national recipient of research funding from the Fondo di Finanziamento Ordinario.

The Automotive Engineering program, conceived in collaboration with Fiat Group, has been consistently ranked among the top three in Europe for the past ten years.

Alumni

Guido Chiarelli

Corradino D'Ascanio

Carlo De Benedetti

John Elkann

Galileo Ferraris

Adriano Olivetti

Vilfredo Pareto

Francesco Profumo

Edoardo Molinari

Professional opportunities

Most of the graduates with a master's degree find jobs within a few days after graduation. A special section called Stage&Jobs has been created to improve contact between students and industry.

A collegiate chapter of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), the honor society for IEEE, was established in 2017.