Polytechnic University of Turin

Polytechnic University of Turin
Politecnico di Torino
Seal of Politecnico di Torino
Established	1859
Rector	Prof. Marco Gilli
Admin. staff	5308
Students	28,000
Location	Turin, Italy
Campus	Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, Torino 10129
Sports teams	CUS Torino (http://www.custorino.it/)
Affiliations	ESDP, TIME, CLUSTER, PEGASUS
Website	www.polito.it/

The Polytechnic University of Turin is an engineering university based in Turin, northern Italy. Established in 1859, Politecnico di Torino is Italy’s oldest Technical University. In 2011 it was ranked among the top 75 engineering universities in the world and 1st in Italy by the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

It is a member of

CESAER (Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research). CESAER is the association encompassing 57 leading European universities of technology committed to engineering education that is based on excellent research and close cooperation with industry and other societal actors.
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.

The main courses offered are architecture, industrial design, architectural engineering, 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, nuclear engineering, nanotechnology, production engineering, petroleum engineering, telecommunications engineering and textile engineering.

History

The Regio Politecnico di Torino (Royal Turin Polytechnic) was founded in 1906, but its origins go back further. It was preceded by the Scuola di Applicazione per gli Ingegneri (Technical School for Engineers) founded in 1859 after the Casati Act and the Museo Industriale Italiano (Italian Industry Museum) founded in 1862 under the aegis of 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. The country was about to begin a new industrial era, which the Industry Museum was to address more directly. Famous scholars and researchers, authorities in different subjects with characters to match, gave a decree to new subjects such as electrotechnics and building science. They were the first to have a vision of founding a school which dealt with the needs of people and society.

Following the model of the most famous European Polytechnic Schools, at the beginning of the 20th century the Regio Politecnico di Torino had various objectives. It began to contact both the European scientific world and local and national 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 everything from chemistry to architecture in a lively and resourceful atmosphere. The future was already at hand. In the 1990s, new teaching campuses were opened in Alessandria, Aosta, Biella, Ivrea, Mondovì and Vercelli.

DEPARTMENTS

    * 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

Courses

Architecture & Design (B.Sc)
Material Enginweering (B.Sc)
Architecture Science (B.Sc)
Mechanical Engineering (B.Sc)
Industrial Design (B.Sc)
Architecture (M.Sc)
Aerospace Engineering (B.Sc)
Aerospace Engineering (M.Sc)
Architectural Engineering (B.Sc)
Architectural Engineering (M.Sc)
Automotive Engineering (B.Sc)
Biomedical Engineering (M.Sc)
Biomedical Engineering (B.Sc)
Chemical Engineering (M.Sc)
Chemical Engineering (B.Sc)
Civil Engineering (M.Sc)
Civil Engineering (B.Sc)
Computer Engineering (M.Sc)
Computer Engineering (B.Sc)
Electrical Engineering (M.Sc)
Electrical Engineering (B.Sc)
Electronic Engineering (M.Sc)
Electronic Engineering (B.Sc)
Mechanical Engineering Informatics (M.Sc)

Campuses

Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi Main Campus Air View

The Polytechnic has two main campuses in Turin: the Valentino Castle on the River Po is still the main teaching campus for architecture, while the Corso Duca degli Abruzzi campus is dedicated mainly to engineering. A new mini-campus at Alenia Spazio holds the first teaching year of engineering while Automotive Engineering is attended at Fiat-Lingotto.

The Polytechnic is currently extending the size of the campus in Corso Duca degli Abruzzi by constructing a facility which will almost double the current size of the Corso Duca building.

As well as being the site of teaching and research activities (the First, Third and Fourth Schools of Engineering), the main campus in Corso Duca degli Abruzzi also houses the Politecnico's governing and administrative bodies, plus its secretarial headquarters.

Vercelli is the location of the Second School of Engineering, which provides course in civil engineering, mechanical engineering and electronic and computer engineering.

Politecnico also has campuses in Alessandria, Biella, Mondovì and Verrès.

Architecture

School of Architecture : Castello del Valentino

Castello del Valentino (Castle of Valentino) is the seat of the Architecture Faculty of Politecnico di Torino. It is located in Valentino Park and was one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. In 1997, it was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A site for both teaching and research, this campus hosts the First and Second Schools of Architecture.

The ancient castle was bought by Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy on the advice of Andrea Palladio. The name Valentino, first mentioned in 1275, seems to derive from a saint called Valentine whose relics were venerated in a church which stood nearby.

The current structure is due to Princess Christine Marie of France (1606–1663), wife of Victor Amadeus I, who dwelt here from 1630. It has a horseshoe shape, with four round towers at each angle, and a wide inner court with a marble pavement. The ceilings of the false upper floors are clearly in transalpino (i.e. French) style. The façade sports a huge coat of arms of the House of Savoy. Works lasted until 1660.

Minor modifications were made in the early nineteenth century; at this time, too, much of the seventeenth-century furniture was carried off by French troops. For the next half century the palace was more or less abandoned and fell into a state of disrepair. Renovations were carried out in 1860 when it was selected as the seat of the engineering faculty of Turin; it has been further restored in recent years.

Today it is the central building of the Architecture faculty of the Polytechnic University of Turin.

Automotive Engineering

Lingotto today.

FIAT-Lingotto Air View

The Automotive Engineering campus is housed in Fiat-Lingotto, FIAT's headquarters. Lingotto was an automobile factory constructed by Fiat from 1916 and opened in 1923. The design (by young architect Mattè Trucco) was one of its kind in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars built on a line that went up through the building. Finished cars emerged at rooftop level.

The most remarkable and famous feature of the building was the rooftop race/test track. It was the largest car factory in the world at that time. For its time, the Lingotto building was avante-garde, influential and impressive—Le Corbusier called it "one of the most impressive sights in industry", and "a guideline for town planning". 80 different models of cars were produced there in its lifetime, including the famous Fiat Topolino of 1936.

The factory became outmoded in the 1970s and the decision was made to finally close it in 1982. The closure of the plant led to much public debate about its future, and how to recover from industrial decline in general. An architectural competition was held, which was eventually awarded to Renzo Piano, who envisioned an exciting public space for the city. The old factory was rebuilt into a modern complex, with concert halls, theatre, a convention centre, shopping arcades and a prestigious hotel. The work was completed in 1989.

The building now famously houses the Automotive Engineering campus of Politecnico di Torino.

List of schools

Six main Schools (4 Schools of Engineering and 2 Schools of Architecture) organize and manage teaching activities at the Politecnico di Torino along with the Graduate School.

First School of Architecture
Second School of Architecture
First School of Engineering
Second School of Engineering
Third School of Engineering
Fourth School of Engineering

Research alliances

The Polytechnic has strong research links with local and international companies, reaching about 700 yearly research contracts with firms such as Thales Alenia Space, Intel, Motorola, Compaq, Ferrari, Fiat, General Motors, Avio, Agusta, IBM, Microsoft, Nokia, Pininfarina, Bosch, General Electric, STMicroelectronics and Schneider Electric.The Politecnico organizes together with the Turin School of Development the Master in World Heritage at work held at the International Training Centre of the ILO.

Ranking

Politecnico di Torino is widely considered to be among the best technical universities in the world. In the Academic Ranking of World Universities (2011) in "engineering/technology and computer science" category the university was ranked within top 51-75 universities in the world and in the same year in QS World University Rankings the university was ranked within top 100 (88th). Its Architecture program is world renowned which is especially acclaimed for its notable alumni. Many of the world's most celebrated architects and designers have graduated from this distinguished school.

Moreover, its prestigious Automotive Engineering program, conceived in collaboration with FIAT Group, has been consistently ranked among the top three in Europe for the past ten years. Turin is the seat of Fiat group, Italy's largest car manufacturer.

Professional opportunities

The Politecnico is well known worldwide for its high level of education. Most of the graduates find jobs within a year from graduation. A special section called Jobs has been created to improve contact between students and industry.

STRUCTURE

University Governing Body
- Rector
- Academic Senate
- Board of Governors
- Deputy Rector
- Vice Rectors and Rector's Delegates
- Administrative Director
- Evaluation Board
Schools
- First School of Architecture
- Second School of Architecture
- First School of Engineering
- Third School of Engineering
- Fourth School of Engineering
- Graduate School
Departments
- DAD - Architettura e Design
- DAUIN - Control and Computer Engineering
- DENERG - Energia
- DET - Electronics and Telecommunications
- DIATI - Ingegneria dell'Ambiente, del Territorio e delle Infrastrutture
- DIGEP - Ingegneria Gestionale e della Produzione
- DIMEAS - Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- DISAT - Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia
- DISEG - Ingegneria Strutturale, Edile e Geotecnica
- DISMA - Scienze Matematiche
- DIST - Interateneo di Scienze, Progetto e Politiche del Territorio
Interdepartmental centres
Administration
The Evaluation

THE WORLD OF RESEARCH

DEPARTMENTS
- DAD - Architettura e Design
- DAUIN - Control and Computer Engineering
- DENERG - Energia
- DET - Electronics and Telecommunications
- DIATI - Ingegneria dell'Ambiente, del Territorio e delle Infrastrutture
- DIGEP - Ingegneria Gestionale e della Produzione
- DIMEAS - Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- DISAT - Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia
- DISEG - Ingegneria Strutturale, Edile e Geotecnica
- DISMA - Scienze Matematiche
- DIST - Interateneo di Scienze, Progetto e Politiche del Territorio
CONSORTIUMS
- CINECA
- ISMB
- Si.T.I.
- COREP
PROJECTS
- LAQ
- Diadi 2000
- European Funds and Projects

LIBRARY

Library system

The library system, as a service centre for the Politecnico's libraries, organises all the books and documents catalogues and the electronic bibliographic resources. The documents are structured and held by the Central libraries, the area libraries and the special collections archives. The area libraries subdivision reflects the different cultural and scientific fields existing in the Politecnico. This library network includes updated books in scientific and technical fields, relevant historical collections and an extensive archive of in print serials and e-journals. Moreover, the libraries users are provided with access to the main databases in their fields of interest and to a wide e-books collection. The library system supplies its libraries with promptly available information, both in print and e-format. The different kind of users within the University are provided with adequate instruments for their didactic and research aims.
The library system whit IT area team, organises and manages, by using Aleph 500, a relevant software in the automation of libraries, the unified catalog of the Politecnico libraries, which currently stores more than 300,000 bibliographic records and is available through a web interface.

Staff System:

President Juan Carlos De Martin
Director Maria Vittoria Savio	Administrative secretary Mirella Mantini
Executive Committee Juan Carlos De Martin Maria Vittoria Savio Mirella Mantini Paolo Tealdi Paola Ferrero Sergio PaceRappr. CdA Michela Meo Rappr. Fac. e Scuola dott. Luigi Garibaldi Francesca Governa Coord. Biblioteche d'area Elena Tresso Rappr. bibliotecari Rossella Fiorentino	Scientific Committee Juan Carlos De Martin Maria Vittoria Savio Mirella Mantini Paolo Tealdi Paola Ferrero Sergio PaceRappr. bibliotecari Marino Dansero Rappr. Bibl. sedi decent. Gabriella Eula Area Architettura Francesco Di Teodoro Francesca Governa Area Ing. civile e amb. Stefano Invernizzi Valentina Socco Area Ing. inform. e telec. Fabrizio Bonani Riccardo Sisto Area Ing. industriale Carlo Cambini Daniela Tordella Scienze fis. chim. e mat. Gianfranco Casnati Alessandro Pelizzola

OPEN ACCESS

L'Open Access è un movimento che promuove l'accesso libero alla produzione scientifica accademica. Nella consapevolezza che chi crea know how scientifico (università, enti di ricerca) deve poter essere libero di comunicare e diffondere i risultati delle proprie ricerche senza eccessivi vincoli, il movimento OA ha elaborato una serie di strategie che, sfruttando le potenzialità del web, garantiscano da un lato il mantenimento dei diritti di proprietà sulla produzione editoriale accademica e dall'altro il libero accesso e la circolazione della stessa.

Nella società del network globale il movimento OA significa:

Accesso aperto e diretto all'editoria scientifica

Condivisione dei risultati della ricerca

Diffusione e circolazione della documentazione scientifica

Dichiarazioni a favore dell'Open Access