Politecnico opens a new door that leads to the United States

FPM.US, Fellows of Politecnico di Milano.US, is the Foundation of Politecnico di Milano in the United States it is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and it is recognized as a Public Charity. It will consolidate Politecnico’s US network , based on the work the Alumni Polimi North American Chapter has been leading for a the past several years.

Prof. Andrea Sianesi (Alumnus and President of Fondazione Politecnico di Milano) describes how “this initiative adds strength to our internationalization strategy”, and he explains how this new element fits with Politecnico’s strategic plans: “The goal is to strengthen Politecnico’s North-American network, to support our University’s missions (education, research, and social and cultural diversity) while leveraging one of our major assets: the Alumni”.

2,000 Alumni of Politecnico live and work in the United States. “FPM.US will enable and accelerate partnerships with institutions and corporations in the US, where the environment and dynamics are so different from Italy that they require a dedicated counterpart.”
The roadmap to consolidate Polietcnico’s network is built on three elements, as Sianesi describes. First, FPM.US is a Charity that will collect donations. Today Politecnico already runs fundraising in Italy, to finance scholarships, educational projects, and specific research projects. American donors will receive from FPM.US the same fiscal benefits other American Foundations and Publich Charities offer. The goal is to collect funds to implement local projects in the United States, as well, like scholarships for studying, participating in internships, or conducting research projects in the US.

“The second element is Research, and FPM.US will empower scientific research collaboration between Italy and the United States”: on the academic side, FPM.US will support research projects developed in partnership with top research centers, that will grant access to NSF funds for academic research. FPM.US will also connect Politecnico with corporations (for example for JRC collaborations - Joint Research Center, find out more on MAP 10), Venture Capital funds, and new opportunities for tech transfers.

“The third element is Placement and Education, and FPM.US will offer Politecnico graduates new professional opportunities and a solid network of Alumni to lean on. We are building our response to this multifaceted challenge as a beta test for a strategy we could deploy in other countries all over the world”.

The President of the Board of Directors is Mauro Porcini, notable Alumnus; the Board also includes the Rector of Politecnico di Milano Ferruccio Resta, the President of Fondazione Politecnico di Milano Andrea Sianesi, the President of Alumni Politecnico di Milano Enrico Zio, the General Director of Fondazione Politecnico di Milano Eugenio Gatti and prof. Luigi De Nardo, together with Alumni in the United States: Alessandra Carriero, Paolo Ciuccarelli, Annalisa Conti, Sebastiano Peluso, Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli, Patrizio Sbaragli, Corrado Toxiri.

More than 15,000 Alumni live and work outside of Italy, and 2,000 of them are in the United States. They are the world ambassadors of Politecnico and its culture. FPM.US provides a great opportunity for Alumni who live in the United States to participate directly and play a key role in Politecnico’s future development. FPM.US will focus on internationalization, educational innovation, tech transfer, research, all to increase Politecnico’s brand equity and fund projects and scholarships. 

Enrico Zio, President of Alumni Politecnico di Milano