Polytechnic University of Turin

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.

School of architecture: Castello del Valentino

The campus

Students statistics (A.Y. 2018–2019)[17]

• 35,700 Bachelor's and Master's students
• 52% Italian students from outside Piedmont
• 16% international students
• 5,300 first year students
• 565 Specializing Master's students
• 696 PhD candidates

Course catalog (A.Y. 2019–2020)[17]

• 23 Bachelor's degree programmes (3 in Architecture, Design and Spatial Planning, 19 in Engineering and 1 Professional Bachelor's degree programme)
• 30 Master's degree programmes (6 in Architecture and 24 in Engineering)
• 23 Courses completely taught in English
• 5 I level Specialization Masters
• 17 II level Specialization Masters
• 16 PhD programmes, including 5 in cooperation with other universities (3) and research centres (2)

Graduates statistics in 2018[17]

• 6,691 graduates
• 3,495 Bachelor's degree graduates (Average age: 23,7)
• 3,196 Master's degree graduates (Average age 26,2)

Employment rate of second cycle (Master) students one year after graduation (Almalaurea 2021 survey): 87.5%, above the national average of 70.7%.[17]

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:[18]

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

In the recent years, Politecnico di Torino is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Italy and in Europe, and as of 2023 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among the top 45 engineering and technology universities in the world, with many Rankings by subject in the world's top 20 and 30.[10]

In particular, according to QS Top Universities Ranking 2023, Politecnico di Torino ranked 26th in the world for Mechanical Engineering, 15th in the world for Petroleum Engineering, 28th in the world for Architecture and 33rd in the world for Civil Engineering.[10]

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[19]

Politecnico Di Torino is the top national recipient of research funding from the Fondo di Finanziamento Ordinario.[20]

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.

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.[21]

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 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.

FIAT-Lingotto

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.

Politecnico di Torino hosts many students' associations, including international students associations.[25]

As of 2022 there are 29 registered associations, some of these are:[26]

• AESA Torino (Aerospace Engineering Students' Association), a non-profit organization which organises conferences and guided tours related to the aerospace field.

• J.E.To.P. - Junior Enterprise Torino Politecnico, a non-profit organization that operates ad a web agency.
• PoliENERGY, a non-profit organization related to sustainability, innovation and energy.
• ERASMUS TORINO, a non-profit organization, gathering exchange students and encouraging exchange projects
• Mu Nu Chapter of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu, a collegiate chapter of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), the honor society for IEEE.[27]

There are more than 30 active student teams at Politecnico, where students can work together on different projects, enriching their cultural, technical and managerial knowledge.[28]

Some of these are:

• 2WheelsPoliTO, a team in which students design and build a racing motorcycle that every two years races on the MotoGP circuit of Aragon (Spain).[29]
• CubeSat Team, a student team involved in the design and development of small space platforms.
• DIANA, a student team which works on robotics and the production of model of rovers.[30]
• PoliTo Rocket Team, the rocketry student team of the university, entirely dedicated to the design and construction of high-powered rockets.[31]
• Squadra Corse, a student team devoted to designing and constructing an electric racing prototype to compete in Formula SAE and Formula Hybrid.

Students at the university elect representatives in the Academic Senate, the Board of Directors and in the Boards of Schools. Currently, there are three main political groups in student elections, which are also recognized student's associations:

• Alter.POLIS, an independent left-wing organization.[32]
• Lavori in Corso, generally considered as a Christian democratic organization.[33]
• RUN Polito, a centre-left organization, nationally confederated with Primavera degli Studenti.[34]

There are also other smaller groups which includes extremist groups, such as fascist and communist student unions. Participation in student elections is generally low.