Polytechnic University of Turin

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.[1] 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.[2]

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. During November 1958 a large complex of buildings located in Corso Duca degli Abruzzi was inaugurated in order to expand the volume and the facilities offered by the historical headquarters of Valentino Castle (Castello del Valentino), given in 1859 to the Technical School for Engineers.[2]

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

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 Castle of Valentino, 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.

School of architecture: Castello del Valentino

The campus

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%)

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

DEPARTEMENTS

The two souls characterizing Departments are research and teaching. Departments indeed carry out duties of coordination, promotion of research, organization and management of the teaching activity, following the recent reform of the University system.

General Motors Powertrain Europe: A research facility within the school involved in hybrid and diesel engine development

• 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

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.[3]

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.

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!)

According to ARWU Ranking 2013, Politecnico Di Torino is 1st in Italy and 4th in Europe for Engineering.[5] In 2018, According to QS World University Rankings among the engineering universities it was ranked 33rd in the world.[6] In 2013 it was 68th on the same ranking[7] and for electrical engineering the university was ranked 1st in Italy, 8th in Europe and 30th in the world.[8]

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[9]

Politecnico Di Torino is the top national recipient of research funding from the Fondo di Finanziamento Ordinario.[10]

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.

• Guido Chiarelli
• Corradino D'Ascanio
• Carlo De Benedetti
• John Elkann
• Galileo Ferraris
• Vilfredo Pareto
• Francesco Profumo

Most of the graduates with a master's degree find jobs within a few days after graduation.[11] 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.

• ESDP-Network
• List of Italian universities
• Top Industrial Managers for Europe

• Politecnico di Torino Website (in Italian and English)
• Politecnico di Torino in Scientific American (in English)
• CLUSTER (Consortium Linking Universities of Science and Technology for Education and Research) Website (in English)
• Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent Website (in English)