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…...all tested in the Wind Tunnel of the Politecnico, Europe's biggest boundary layer laboratory!!

With 'Wind Tunnel' we identify a certain type of lab that includes in itself other kinds of labs - says Marco Belloli, scientific director of the Wind Tunnel to Corriere Innovazione, which has published an article on one of the biggest laboratories of the Politecnico di Milano, Europe's biggest boundary layer laboratory. Here is tested everything that moves through air, such as sports cars and regular cars, aircrafts and other fast-moving means of transportation as well as everything that needs to stand still in high wind situations: bridges, buildings, eolic turbines and other technologies. "We have two test rooms- says Belloli: one of boundary layer and the other of low turbolence. The first room replicates the condition of wind blowing against still objects: buildings, turbines etc. The low turbolence one is used to test objects that move through air, such as elicopters and high speed trains.». Objects but people as well: here athlets such as Viviani and Zanardi tested their skills.

Together with a lot of civil, naval and aeronautical engineering (buildings, towers, stadiums, bridges), the Wind Tunnel is a key instrument for a lot of research projects financed by the European Commission: for example the “Clean Sky” project, which aims to reduce the emission in aereonautical transportation and for eolic energy. The maximum velocity in the boundary layer chamber is 15 meters per second, while in the low turbolence one is 55 meters per second: that is more than 200 km/h.

Credits header/home: https://www.windtunnel.polimi.it/

We need physical spaces to attract talent, competences to create business acceleration, funds to be competitive in an international scenario. "We are on a good path to do so" says the Rector in an interview with La Repubblica.

What are the strategies, tailored for the italian territory, that will be able to support and push forward the innovative force of Start-ups and Small and Medium Companies, the backbone of our industrial system? The Rector of the Politecnico di Milano discuss it in an interview with La Repubblica. The key is to connect the university and companies: “We need places to attract the primary components of innovation: talents and capitals”, says Resta.

The Politecnico di Milano, always innovative for the industrial system has been studying a series of tools: for example "We have been developing in the North West side of Milan, in the gasometers park a great big scientific pole that will host spaces for startup incubation, private and public scientific labs, an industry accelerator and spaces for companies interested in product research", with an investment of 100 million euros thanks to the effort of the University and investments from public and private insititutions. Another piece of this strategy is the new competence center MADE: “a center in cooperation with 42 big companies to support small and medium companies in their digitalisation processes. The small entrepreneur can come to the center, see the available technologies and evaluate what could be added in the processes of its company". The University is working on building an accelerator and a fund of venture capital in line with the main technological universities in Europe.  

"Between Europe and the United States there is no systemic difference, nor of abilities nor of skills" concludes the Rector "But we cannot reap if we do not sow. Things are made making a fertile terrain. And to do so we need the will to make european and national platforms in which you can address universities and research centers giving them funds in exchange for specific results in 5 years, so that they can work towards that direction."

Credits home: forbes.it

“The pride of the Politecnico: in the year 2020 the Alumni donors have continued to give their concrete contribution to the effort of the University of being a real asset for research and innovation for the country. Their donations gave to many students the opportunity to continue their academic career and to many researchers the opportunity to continue their projects. "

Prof. Enrico Zio, President of the Association of the Alumni of Politecnico di Milano Rector's Delegate for Alumni and individual fundraising at Politecnico di Milano

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The donors of the Politecnico di Milano in 2020 are 9.585: among them there are a lot of Alumni, but not only. The community of the Politecnico is big and among them there are associations, companies, single individuals that share and understand the mission of the University and want to support its activities. In total,the 9.585 donors have donated 2 million and 600 thousand euros.

These donations are vital for a lot of projects of the Politecnico. To cite a few projects: in 2020 the University was able to finance 87 scholarships to deserving students that could start or continue their studies with this contribution and in the last fall the construction site for the new Campus of Architecture has been completed, which has both new spaces and laboratories and an open garden for the whole city of Milan.

Scientific research is another field that has greatly benefited from donations. The more than 600 thousand euros coming from the pre-tax 5xMille donation were entirely devolved to high social impact research projectswith the goal of transferring scientific and technologic innovation towards the development of urban areas that were not as developed, to help developing countries as well as minors and the most vulnerable population in the country. Furthermore, more than 270 thousand euros were given towards PhDs. Scholarships to bring to the Politecnico a lot of young and bright researchers.

In this dramatic year a big support for the university arrived from the Alumni community. Among others we want to highlight the donors that were key in the production of the Polichina (hygienizing gel) and the 44 alumni of the class of 1987/88 in Managing Engineer,that donated 10.220 to buy the dispenser of gelto keep the laboratories and the rooms in the university open. Lastly the international community was able to donate to the Politecnico 200 thousand masks that were distributed at the height of the crisis in March and April.

The number of enrollments of women is stable and is reflecting of dynamics that are slowly evolving over generations, of an awareness that girsl still need to make their own. Nonetheless the girls that begin a STEM career, despite being few, are more committed and perform better" says Professor Donatella Sciuto, Executive vice rector of the Politecnico di Milano, interviewed by Alley Oop – Il Sole 24 Ore, on the occasion of the publishing of the Gender Report 2020.

Sciuto comments on the data related to the female presence in the various course studies of the Politecnico di Milano which shows a good female presence in Architecture and Design, while Engineering is still predominantly male despite an increasing trend in the female enrollment (in a.y. 2018-2019 women were 24,1% e 27,5% of the total with respect the undergraduate and graduate degrees).

“It is worth to invest on two sides, to help women to begin their career and to make their career progress in the brief and medium period, inside and outside the university. That would be an incentive to increase the number of women in technological careers. I believe that we can work on this aspect collaborating with companies to get more immediate results."

In line with the strategic actions of the Politecnico di Milano to favour a better diversity and inclusion at the University the Gender report takes a snaphot each year of the gender balance in the study and work fields at the university, among teaching and administrative staff as well. The Gender Balances then indicates the politics, the actions to act upon the principles of promoting equal opportunities indicating future goals and objectives.

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