Politecnico di Milano

Established in 1863 and located in the heart of Milan, Politecnico di Milano (Polimi) provides high quality education at undergraduate, graduate and higher education levels in Engineering, Architecture and Design. With over 47,800 students, it is the largest technical university in Italy.

Politecnico di Milano offers a wide range of graduate programs taught in English and has more than 8200 international students coming from more than 100 different countries.

Over the past century and a half, Polimi has had a strong focus on science, technology, and innovation. By placing these core values at the centre of its research and academic offer, Polimi is now considered among the most outstanding universities of Europe and enjoys an excellent reputation among employers. Cutting edge technologies and state of the art laboratories are the driving force behind the tremendous success of this institution. And now, more than ever, this relentless push for development is of the utmost importance. 

Many ongoing projects have made Politecnico di Milano an extremely valuable resource to the city of Milan and indeed to the whole of Italy. Research within the context of the ongoing global pandemic has placed Polimi as a key contributor in the design of medical equipment, data analysis and the production of disinfectant used by local health and civil agencies. Milan has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals, thanks to several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, which are currently among the world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors, and growth. The future of the city is also very bright with important changes and events awaiting its citizens. The city will host the 2026 Winter Olympics, meaning big investments on infrastructures and services and a general push to put Milan on the global stage. In general, Milan offers a very lively and engaging cultural environment and it is a perfect starting point to visit Italy, a fascinating country, full of historical landmarks, arts and beauty.

The Polimi has had many notable alumni over its long history, including Giulio Natta, the 1963 Nobel prize winner for chemistry, and Renzo Piano, winner of the 1998 Pritzker Architecture Prize and architect of many iconic buildings such as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Shard in London. Further architectural improvements to the campus are ongoing with a project based on an idea of Renzo Piano, with the addition of over 8000 square metres of green areas, 4200 square metres of laboratories, classrooms, and study rooms.

With facilities in and around Milan and the Lombardy region, Polimi offers a range of innovative undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD degree programs across 4 schools: Design, Architecture and Urban Planning, Industrial and Information Engineering, and Civil, Environmental and Land Management Engineering. The educational offer includes more than 40 postgraduate and 20 PhD programmes offered in English, thus attracting many international students:

Through the use of well-defined teaching methods and a wide range of events, our students, researchers, and staff are exposed to a constant stream of opportunities that can further push their understanding of the curriculum. This has proved to be a successful and effective strategy to broaden the way our educational programmes are undertaken. These countless learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, allow students to specialise in their interests, follow their dreams and make a real impact on today’s world. Even during the challenging time of the global pandemic, Polimi quickly adapted its teaching to distance learning mode, in under 2 weeks over 45,000 students and 1,400 professors had made the switch.

The approach to education taken by Polimi must be reinforced with a strong reliance on partnerships with other universities, businesses, and institutions. These types of collaboration are crucial for the complex challenges the world faces. Exchange programmes, internships and work placements are plentiful and carefully managed by our exchange office and career service.

To further enhance the learning experience and provide quality teaching to a larger number of students, the educational offer is almost entirely available in both English and Italian. The internationalization of Politecnico di Milano has been ongoing for the past few years, with a larger number of foreign students joining every semester. The halls and classes of these historical buildings have become an ecosystem with many opportunities for you to develop a life-long global network.

Life at Polimi is more than academic success. While providing an all-round educational offer, Polimi provides its students a wide selection of extracurricular activities, clubs, and societies. From music and radio broadcasting to athletics and motorsport, the university’s long list of recreational programmes gives the students the possibility to compete in global competitions and challenges with a high degree of exposure, often resulting in important victories and success stories. Many events are specifically dedicated to welcome international students.

The world is facing unprecedented challenges. Global warming, social and economic inequalities, along with sustainability, health and food supply issues are all part of the ever-changing world around us. We believe these issues must be approached through an interdisciplinary approach. Identifying and solving pressing global issues and testing how we work together to address these critical challenges at home, and across borders, is all part of our plan of embracing the needs of the 21st century.

Emerging technologies such as AI, quantum computing, new composite materials and biotechnologies have laid the groundwork for a brighter and more socially responsible future, while the creative atmosphere of Milan, the economic, cultural, and artistic powerhouse of Italy, provides the background to some of the most innovative research currently underway worldwide.

With more than 240 laboratories, 3408 patents and 82 spin-offs, Polimi is the first university in Italy in terms of projects funded by the European Commission. The special closed-circuit wind tunnel has contributed to the optimization of architectural designs, wind farms, Olympic level sport equipment and motorsport, while the testing lab for materials, buildings and civil structures has made invaluable advances in composite design for buildings and structures, paving the way for more sustainable and safer construction materials.

The high achievements of Polimi in research and the excellent employability of graduates are key factors attracting many talented students to invest on outstanding education for a bright future career and impact on society. Take your chance!