1. General Information

School	School of Industrial and Information Engineering
Code Reference Law	473
Name	Automation and Control Engineering
Reference Law	Ordinamento 270/04
Class of degree	LM-25 - Automation engineering
Degree level	Laurea Magistrale (Equivalent To Master Of Science)
First year of activation	2010/2011
Official length of the programme	2
Years of the programme already activated	1,2
Official language(s)	The Laurea Magistrale (equivalent to Master of Science) programme is offered in English but the degree programme meets the requirements of MIUR (Ministry of Education, Universities and Research) note of 11.07.2018 and the CUN opinion of 10.23.2018.
Campus	Milano
Dean of the School	Antonio Capone
Coordinator of the Study programme	Maria Prandini
Website of the School	http://www.ingindinf.polimi.it
Website of the Study programme	http://www.ccsatm.polimi.it/

Central Student Office - Milano Leonardo

Address

VIA C. GOLGI, 42 (MI)

2. General presentation of the study programme

The role of Automation Engineering is to design, develop, and manage, equipment that makes  the operation of machines, processes, plants, and networks for the distribution of goods and the deployment of services, independent, as far as possible, from the direct intervention of the human. Automation Engineering allows to both increase functionality and value of equipment and machinery, and to design systems able to perform strenuous and repetitive tasks, sometimes in hostile environments. The increasing adoption of automation in industry and society is due to the technological development in the traditional engineering areas (mechanics, electrical engineering, energy, aerospace) and to their integration with the more advanced information technologies (control and automation, electronics, computer science, and telecommunications). The MSc programme in Automation and Control Engineering aims at training specialists in the design, implementation, and operation, of automation systems characterized by a strong technological content. Graduate education is characterized by a solid background on fundamentals as well as by high interdisciplinary skills. Furthermore, in the MSc programme specific topics of growing interest are addressed, including:

 

• the automation of systems for energy production, both  traditional (power plants, hydroelectric plants, ...) and based on renewable sources (wind, solar, biomasses,...);
• automation of vehicles (cars, motorcycles, high-performance trains, ...);
• robotic systems, both employed in the industrial sector (automated production lines) and in special applications, such as autonomous agents that operate in contexts that are potentially dangerous to humans.

 

The Master of Science Programme was launched at Politecnico di Milano in the Academic Year 2004/05, with the objective of training highly skilled technicians in the field of Automation, to meet the needs of a local context characterized by an extraordinary concentration of companies operating in the process industry, manufacturing systems, and services. Since then, the programme has been successful in terms of enrollment of both students from all Italian regions, and of foreign students. Graduates have easily found job opportunities in all sectors of production and services, research centers, engineering companies, both in Italy and abroad.

Starting from the Academic Year 2014/15 the Master has taken the name "Automation and Control Engineering" and has been offered in English.

3. Learning objectives

The MSc (Master of Science) programme is characterized by a strong scientific and technological nature.  The goal is to train experts who understand and contribute to the technological evolution, using the results of the research for the design of innovative automation systems in inherently multidisciplinary contexts and in highly competitive industries.

 

The MSc graduate should then: a) have gained a good grasp of the mathematical tools necessary for the analysis and design of complex automation systems; b) have gained a thorough understanding of the technologies and processes typical of some of the major industrial sectors where automation plays an increasingly important role; c) have developed the ability to explore and evaluate the offer and market trends in the field of instrumentation and system components, in view of innovative applications; d) have gained familiarity with the most advanced techniques for the identification, analysis, simulation, optimization, and control of dynamical systems of all kinds, as well as the ability to merge them in an effective and creative manner, tailored to the specific characteristics of the problems to be solved; e) have grown aptitude for teamwork and the ability to embrace the principles and methods of organization.

 

 

4. Organization of the study programme and further studies

4.1 Structure of the study programme and Qualifications

The Automation Engineering programme is organized in three levels: (1) a three-year programme in Automation Engineering leading to a Bachelor of Science degree; (2) a two-year Master of Science programme in Automation and Control Engineering; (3) a three-year Doctorate programme.

Each of the two years of the MSc programme is divided into two semesters. To allow access to the Master of Science programme at the beginning of each semester, the first and second semester of each year are interchangeable; classes scheduled in each semester can therefore be attended without appreciable harm both in the natural order (1st semester, 2nd semester) and in the reverse order (2nd semester, 1st semester).

4.2 Further Studies

The qualification grants access to "Dottorato di Ricerca" (Research Doctorate), "Corso di Specializzazione di secondo livello" (2nd level Specialization Course) and "Master Universitario di secondo livello" (2nd level University Master)

5. Professional opportunities and work market

5.1 Professional status of the degree

The graduate in Automation and Control Engineering can take an examination to get an engineering license and join the Italian professional register of industrial or information engineers. There exist different registers for graduates holding a Bachelor of Science degree and graduates holding a Master of Science degree. However, in Italy it is not usually necessary to belong to the national register of engineers in order to practice, either in industry or in public administration.

5.2 Careers options and profiles

The Automation Engineer can find job opportunities in all the companies that produce, or incorporate in their products, tools and systems for the automation, as well as in those characterized by flexible production processes at high levels of automation. The automation market covers, increasingly, all sectors of industrial production and services: process industries (chemical, petrochemical, energy, etc.); companies and institutions working in the field of transport (land, sea and air); the manufacturing industry of consumer goods (food, appliances, games, etc.); the public utility networks (water, gas, energy, transport , etc.); manufacturers of automatic machines, robots, and more in general of mechatronic systems, deriving from the integrated design of the mechanics and of the measuring and control electronics; bodies that oversee or participate in the management of resources (material, natural and human ones) of relevant economic and social interest.

In all these areas, the automation engineer typically operates in:

• companies producing and selling automation systems (both hardware and software);
• companies that use automated production plants or that manage highly complex services;
• companies producing systems with high technological content, due to the inclusion of sophisticated automation and control elements;
• engineering and consulting firms that design and project complex, economically challenging and technologically advanced plants and systems

Surveys of University Assessment Commission
https://aunicalogin.polimi.it/aunicalogin/getservizio.xml?id_servizio=204&idApp=1&idLink=4187

5.3 Qualification profile

Automation Engineer

Profile in a work context:

 
The Automation Engineer (Laurea Magistrale in Automation and Control Engineering) is an expert able to understand the technological evolution and to make it grow, through the use of the research results for the design of innovative automation systems, in intrinsically multidisciplinary contexts and in highly competitive industry sectors. In particular, s/he is specialized in the design, creation and management of automation systems characterized by a high technological content and deriving from the integration of different components in applications of different kind.

The Laurea Magistrale Study Programme in Automation and Control Engineering is part of the Class LM-25 and allows the access - after passing several state examinations - both to the Information Sector and to the Industrial Sector of Section A of the Register of Engineers, with the qualification of Engineer.

 

Skills of this profile:

 
The Laurea Magistrale graduate student in Automation and Control Engineering has specific skills in order to:
apply the mathematical tools necessary to the analysis and design of complex automation systems;

• understand and evaluate the offer and market trends in the field of instrumentation and system components, in view of innovative applications;
• identify and use the most advanced techniques of identification, analysis, simulation, optimization and control of dynamic systems of all kinds, and merging them in an effective and creative way, and adjusting them to the specific features of the problems to be solved, even in multidisciplinary contexts;
• understand the business organization (business culture).
  

 

Job opportunities:

 

The Automation Engineer can find employment in the industries that produce, or use in their products, tools and systems for automation, as well as those with flexible production processes with a high automation level. The automation market is increasingly concerned with all sectors of industrial production and services: 

• the process industry (chemistry, petrochemistry, energy, etc.);
• industry, companies and bodies operating in the transport sector (land, maritime and aerospace);
• the industry producing consumer goods (food, appliances, games, etc.);
• public utility networks (water, gas, energy, transport, etc.);
• the industry producing automatic machines, robots and more generally mechatronic systems, derived from the integrated design of mechanics and measurement and control electronics;
• bodies that supervise or participate in the management of resources (materials, natural and human) of important economic and social interest.

 

In all these areas, the automation engineer is typically called to work on different aspects:

• companies that produce and supply automation systems (hardware and/or software);
• companies that use automated production facilities or manage highly complex services;
• companies that produce systems with high technological content due to sophisticated automation and control elements;
• the engineering and consulting companies that study and design complex systems and facilities, economically challenging and cutting-edge solutions from the technological point of view.

6. Enrolment

6.1 Access requirements

First cycle degree (level 6 EQF) or comparable qualification

 

The admission to the Master of Science degree undergoes an evaluation process aimed to determine the eligibility of the applicant. Such process, in compliance to the existing regulation (D.M. 22/10/2004 n. 270 art. 6 par. 2 and D.M. 16/3/2007, art.6 par. 1), is based upon curriculum requirements and an assessment of the preparation of the student.

 

The final decision about the admission to the Master of Science degree shall be taken by an Evaluation Commission set up by the Board of Studies, according to the academic career of the applicant. The Commission may take into account a valid documentation showing clear exceptional conditions, justifying the non-compliance of the below-mentioned criteria and showing that the student has an adequate background. Such a documentation shall be attached to the admission application.

 

If the applicant is admitted, compulsory additional subjects shall be communicated together with the admission and before enrolment, in order to provide students with the necessary information for a transparent and rational choice.

 

Requirements concerning the English language proficiency levels are presented in Paragraph 7.4.

  

Application for admission

 

A Bachelor of Science Degree (Laurea) is required for the evaluation of the career, as well as a higher degree (MSc, Laurea Magistrale). The evaluation can be carried out also for students enrolled in Politecnico di Milano BSc, if they are candidates in the next Graduation session, and for students enrolled in BSc of other Italian Universities, if they shall graduate before enrolling to the MSc.

 

Admission requirements concerning the academic career considered by the Commission are as follows:

 

1. an average graduation mark not below the admission threshold (see later for details);
2. a certification of the English language proficiency (see Paragraph 7.4);
3. a solid background in the fundamentals of engineering and the core disciplines of the MSc programme (see Paragraph 6.2).

 

If the requirement stated at point 1) of the above list is not satisfied, the Commission will not admit the applicant to the Master of Science degree course.

 

If the requirements stated at either point 2) or 3) of the above list are not satisfied, the applicant will be accepted to the Master of Science degree course and enrolled only after having satisfied these conditions, by demonstrating his/her proficiency in English and obtaining the necessary prerequisites identified and communicated by the Commission.

  

Admission threshold

 

The graduates in the BSc programme in Automation Engineering at Politecnico di Milano will be admitted if either

• at the end of the BSc programme, they have obtained a weighted average grade not less than 22/30;

or

• at the end of the Fall exam session of the second year, they have obtained at least 105 Credits (CFU) with a weighted average grade not less than 25/30, and complete the BSc programme in less than 4 academic years.

 

The graduates in other BSc programmes of the School of Industrial and Information Engineering at Politecnico di Milano will be admitted if

• at the end of the BSc programme, they have obtained a weighted average grade not less than 23/30.

 

For all candidates who do not fall into the above categories, the admission will be decided case by case by the admission committee, based on the cv of the applicant and the graduation mark. 

 

Admission to the programme does not imply the validation of all the credits that the students have earned in their former career, as excess courses or single courses. The obligations to be satisfied by the candidates in order to get the MSc Degree are determined on an individual basis by the Committee, based on the number and type of credits earned in the student’s former career.

  

English Proficiency

 

For a list of the recognised certificates and their respective minimum requirements, please see Paragraph 7.4.

6.2 Requested knowledge

A solid background in the fundamentals of engineering is requested to be admitted in the MSc programme of Automation and Control Engineering, i.e. in Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics. Adequate skills are also requested in the core disciplines of the Master programme, i.e. Automatic Control, Applied Mechanics, Electrical Machines and Drives. Finally, it is advisable to have some background in the typical subjects of the Information Technology, like computer science, electronics and telecommunications.

Possible gaps in the background have to be filled, with alignment or integration courses, as explained in Section 7.

The educational offer at the Politecnico di Milano
https://aunicalogin.polimi.it/aunicalogin/getservizio.xml?id_servizio=204&idApp=1&idLink=4963

6.3 Deadlines for admission and number of places available

Please refer to the web page:

How to become a student at Politecnico di Milano
https://aunicalogin.polimi.it/aunicalogin/getservizio.xml?id_servizio=204&idApp=1&idLink=4293

6.4 Tutoring and students support

The School of Industrial and Information Engineering offers a range of activities aimed at making university studies more efficient and productive, with the help of both faculty mentors, and student tutors, the latter selected through specific calls that University publishes annually.
For more information on activities please refer to the website of the School of Industrial and Information Engineering (http://www.ingindinf.polimi.it/).

Polinternational
https://aunicalogin.polimi.it/aunicalogin/getservizio.xml?id_servizio=204&idApp=1&idLink=4262

7. Contents of the study Program

7.1 Programme requirements

As specified by the syllabus, 120 credits are required to obtain the Master of Science degree. More specifically, out of the overall 120 credits, a minimum of 45 must be taken on qualifying subjects (systems and control; converters, electrical machines and drives; applied mechanics) and 15 credits or more on subsidiary subjects (computer science, industrial production technologies, ...). The final thesis corresponds to 20 credits.

7.2 Mode of study

The course requires full time attendance and involves classroom and laboratory activities.

7.3 Detailed learning objectives

A single curriculum is available, taught in English, with a few complementary and optional courses taught in Italian.

 

The 120 credits to be earned are divided as follows

 

• mandatory courses in English language for 60 credits;
• complementary courses, prevailingly taught in English language, for at least 40 credits;
• a final thesis, to which 20 credits are reserved.

 

The mandatory courses consist of 5 courses of 10 credits in the first year and 2 courses of 5 credits in the second year. One of these courses, named "Automation and Control Laboratory", is prevailingly oriented towards an experimental activity where knowledge acquired in various courses is integrated. Please note that although this course is marked as mandatory, the actual possibility for all the students to attend it is conditioned to the availability of enough seats in the laboratories that house the experimental activities. If this availability will not be guaranteed for all the students, selection mechanisms for students who will be allowed to attend the course will be put in place, inviting the remaining students to include another qualifying course in their study plan as a replacement.

Complementary courses can be optional, freely elective or "alignment" ones.

Optional course are organized in two groups. The first group (Tables 1, 2) refers to subject areas typical of Automation Engineering. For all courses included in this group the possibility to attend all teaching activities (i.e. without overlapping schedule) will be ensured to the maximum possible extent. The second group, related to issues of particular interest (Tables 3, 4) comprises courses of various nature, with very different targets, but in any case interesting for Automation Engineering. They are borrowed from other degree programs or offered in collaboration. Because of the predictable problems of coordination, the possibility to attend all teaching activities (i.e. without overlapping schedule) cannot always be ensured for these courses.

 

The choice of optional courses will be undertaken by the students in accordance with their abilities and inclinations, under the following constraints

 

• at least 20 credits must be taken among the courses specified in Tables 1, 2. However, in the absence of "alignment" courses, students are advised to take a larger number of credits from Tables 1, 2.
• a maximum of 10 credits can be freely chosen by the student. A committee of the Board of the MSc Program will examine the student's choice for compatibility with the educational aims of the Program. On the other hand, if all the courses are taken from Tables 1-4, the study plan is automatically approved, provided that the other constraints are fulfilled.
• further constraints are detailed in the following, after Tables 1-4

 

Among the courses in the first group (Tables 1, 2) there is a 5 credits course called "Project Work". This course, characterized by a strong innovative teaching, is held in direct collaboration with a company, that proposes an innovation topic. The course is attended by a restricted number of students who are organized in small groups. The students interact with the company staff and with a professor of Politecnico, who supervises the activities and gives the methodological and design framework. The project work entails teaching activities in the university as well as direct experiences in the company. A final evaluation of the single student will be made. The course also aims at improving the "soft skills" of the students in terms of group working and ability in the presentation of their results.

Before the beginning of the first semester, the proposals for activation of project works will be defined by the Board of the MSc Program, some of which offered in the first semester, some other in the second semester. These proposals will be communicated to the students through the institutional channels. Students will be then allowed to apply for one of the proposed project works: in case of an excess of applications for a project work, some selection procedures will be activated, according to criteria that will be made known when the list of the available project works will be defined, with the possibility for the students who have been excluded to opt for another project work, in case of availabilities. When a project work does not reach a minimum number of participants, it will not be activated.

Students admitted to a project work will insert this course in their study plan in the time allocated to its presentation.

Please notice that the activities performed during the project work are not valid for the credits to be achieved for the final MSc Thesis and are in no connection with the development of such Thesis.

 

The group of complementary courses are completed by the "alignment" courses, i.e. all the courses intended to fill any gaps in the student's background emerged at the time of admission to the Master of Science. They usually refer to specific courses (in Italian language), included in the Bachelor of Science Degree Programme.

Please be aware that alignment courses cannot be selected by the students when compiling their Study Plan, but only assigned by the admission Committee.

 

Because the constraints on the choice of the optional courses engages only 20 of the 40 credits reserved to the complementary courses, up to 20 credits of alignment courses can be inserted in a study plan without increasing the load, but just reducing, in the same measure, the amount of options available. Further training gaps need to be filled prior to enrollment in the Master through the recording and passing as "single coursse" of courses specified by the admission Committee to the Master of Science.

1 Year courses - Track: XEN - AUTOMATION AND CONTROL ENGINEERING

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title		Language	Sem	CFU	CFU Group
090912	C	ING-IND/16	COMPUTER AIDED MANUFACTURING			1	10,0	10,0
088775	B	ING-IND/13	DYNAMICS OF MECHANICAL SYSTEMS			1	10,0	10,0
052351	B	ING-INF/04	MODEL IDENTIFICATION AND DATA ANALYSIS			1	10,0	10,0
096129	B	ING-INF/04	ADVANCED AND MULTIVARIABLE CONTROL			2	10,0	10,0
088860	B	ING-IND/32	DYNAMICS OF ELECTRICAL MACHINES AND DRIVES			2	10,0	10,0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group TAB2		--	--	--	10,0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group TAB4		--	--	--

2 Year courses - Track: XEN - AUTOMATION AND CONTROL ENGINEERING

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title		Language	Sem	CFU	CFU Group
094124	C	ING-INF/05	SOFTWARE ENGINEERING (FOR AUTOMATION)			2	5,0	5,0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group TAB1		--	--	--	30,0
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group TAB2		--	--	--
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group TAB3		--	--	--
--	--	--	Courses to be chosen from Group TAB4		--	--	--
052352	B	ING-IND/13 ING-IND/32 ING-INF/04	AUTOMATION AND CONTROL LABORATORY (a)			2	5,0 [1,0]	5,0
054702	B	ING-IND/13 ING-IND/32 ING-INF/04	AUTOMATION AND CONTROL LABORATORY (b)			2	5,0 [1,0]
090921	--	--	THESIS AND FINAL EXAM		--	1	20,0	20,0
090921	--	--	THESIS AND FINAL EXAM		--	2	20,0

^(a) Held in Bovisa campus (2 classes)
^(b) Closed number subject
Held in Leonardo campus (1 class)

The course "Automation and Control Laboratory” with code 054702, held in Leonardo campus, has a limited number of seats and students can register for it if there are still seats available.

 

One credit of the course Automation and Control Laboratory will be offered in an innovative teaching mode, and will be used to improve some soft skills of the students in terms in particular of presentation of their results. Intermediate group presentations will be organized, also in the form of spotlight presentations.

Courses of the Group TAB1

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
052358	B	ING-INF/04	CONSTRAINED NUMERICAL OPTIMIZATION FOR ESTIMATION AND CONTROL		1	5,0
090914	B	ING-INF/04	CONTROL OF INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS		1	5,0
052366	B	ING-INF/04	CONTROL OF MOBILE ROBOTS		1	5,0
052354	B	ING-INF/04	DATA DRIVEN CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN		1	5,0
052369	B	ING-INF/04	NETWORKED CONTROL		1	5,0
097468	B	ING-IND/13	NOISE AND VIBRATION ENGINEERING		1	5,0
097469	B	ING-INF/04	NONLINEAR CONTROL		1	5,0
089180	C	MAT/08	NUMERICAL ANALYSIS		1	5,0
052353	B	ING-IND/13 ING-IND/32 ING-INF/04	PROJECT WORK		1	5,0 [5,0]
051197	B	ING-INF/04	ROBUST CONTROL		1	5,0
093060	B	ING-INF/04	SAFETY IN AUTOMATION SYSTEMS		1	5,0
094172	B	ING-INF/04	SYSTEMS THEORY (NONLINEAR DYNAMICS)		1	5,0
052368	B	ING-INF/04	CONTROL OF INDUSTRIAL AND MOBILE ROBOTS		1	10,0

Courses of the Group TAB2

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
097483	C	ING-IND/12 ING-INF/07	ADVANCED MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS FOR CONTROL APPLICATIONS		2	5,0
097471	B	ING-INF/04	ADVANCED PROCESS CONTROL		2	5,0
093062	B	ING-INF/04	AUTOMATION AND CONTROL IN VEHICLES		2	5,0
090916	B	ING-INF/04	AUTOMATION OF ENERGY SYSTEMS		2	5,0
090917	C	ING-IND/35	HIGH-TECH ENTREPRENEURSHIP		2	5,0
097470	B	ING-IND/32	POWER ELECTRONICS AND SUPPLIES		2	5,0
090915	B	ING-INF/04	PRODUCTION SYSTEMS CONTROL		2	5,0
097484	B	ING-INF/04	SIMULATION TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS		2	5,0

Courses of the Group TAB3

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
097313	C	ING-IND/16	ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING		1	5,0
095143	C	ING-INF/01	ANALOG CIRCUIT DESIGN		1	10,0
097319	C	ING-IND/17	ASSET LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT		1	10,0
089169	C	ING-INF/05	AUTONOMOUS AGENTS AND MULTIAGENT SYSTEMS		1	5,0
089194	B	ING-INF/04	COMPLESSITÀ NEI SISTEMI E NELLE RETI		1	5,0
054654	C	ING-INF/01	ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS		1	10,0
095901	B	ING-INF/04	ICT FOR CONTROL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING		1	5,0
099993	C	ING-INF/05	IMAGE ANALYSIS AND COMPUTER VISION		1	5,0
094179	C	ING-INF/07	OPTICAL MEASUREMENTS		1	5,0
090918	C	ING-INF/01	POWER ELECTRONICS		1	10,0
052577	B	ING-IND/32	SISTEMI PER L'AUTOMAZIONE E LA COMUNICAZIONE INDUSTRIALE		1	5,0
096221	--	ING-IND/26	DYNAMICS AND CONTROL OF CHEMICAL PROCESSES		2	5,0

Courses of the Group TAB4

Code	Educational activities	SSD	Course Title	Language	Sem	CFU
083449	C	ING-IND/35	BREVETTI E PROPRIETA INDUSTRIALE		2	5,0
051823	C	MAT/09	DISCRETE OPTIMIZATION		2	5,0
088882	C	ING-INF/05	FORMAL METHODS FOR CONCURRENT AND REAL-TIME SYSTEMS (UIC 545)		2	5,0
054179	--	IUS/07	IMPLICAZIONI LEGALI DELL'ESERCIZIO DELLA PROFESSIONE (LE RESPONSABILITA' DELL'INGEGNERE)		2	5,0 [5,0]
054323	C	ING-INF/03	INTERNET OF THINGS		2	5,0 [1,0]
097485	--	ING-IND/14	MACHINE DESIGN		2	5,0
095896	B	ING-INF/04	NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT		2	10,0
051822	C	MAT/09	NONLINEAR OPTIMIZATION		2	5,0
052359	C	ING-INF/05	PERCEPTION, LOCALIZATION AND MAPPING FOR MOBILE ROBOTS		2	5,0
052585	C	ING-INF/05	PERSONALITÀ, TEAM BUILDING, LEADERSHIP(a)		2	5,0 [5,0]

^(a) Closed number subject

Incompatible selections of courses

• The course Power electronics is incompatible withe the course Power electronics and supplies
• The course Control of industrial robots is incompatible with the course Control of industrial and mobile robots
• The course Control of mobile robots is incompatible with the course Control of industrial and mobile robots

Honours Programme Scientific Research in Information Technology

The Honours Programme Scientific Research in Information Technology is an excellence extracurricular programme offered by Politecnico di Milano and conceived with the aim of training master's degree students in scientific research, with specific reference to the field of Information Technology. The program aims to provide the brightest students with the fundamental tools to tackle research problems, so that such students progressively master the methods of scientific research and are able to elaborate a result that potentially gives rise to a scientific publication. The Honours Programme combines research activities conducted in collaboration with the research groups of the Politecnico di Milano with specially designed lectures and seminars. The title of the program will be officially reported in the students' transcript of records, together with the description of the activities carried out.

7.4 Foreign language

For the admission to the Master programme, an essential prerequisite is an adequate knowledge of the English language. The level of knowledge of the English language must be certified at the time of application for admission, through the achievement of minimum levels of test scores recognized by the University. These are available at the website of the University and of the School.
Candidates for admission are therefore advised to read carefully the document "Guide on English language requirements".

Language courses
https://aunicalogin.polimi.it/aunicalogin/getservizio.xml?id_servizio=204&idApp=1&idLink=4324

7.5 Degree examination

The final examination consists in the discussion of a Thesis. The preparation of the thesis is worth 20 credits, one of which is specifically dedicated to the acquisition of additional language skills, certified by the presence of an extended summary of the Thesis in English language. The Thesis will be written in Italian or in English, however it must contain the extended summary written in English.

 

The rules for the final exam of the BSc and of the MSc Programmes are published on the website of the School of Industrial and Information Engineering at http://www.ingindinf.polimi.it, along with the special rules for the Automation and Control Engineering Programme.

Information concerning general rules and regulations, session calendars, registration and consignment of theses is available at
https://aunicalogin.polimi.it/aunicalogin/getservizio.xml?id_servizio=204&idApp=1&idLink=4355

8. Academic calendar

The academic calendar is published in the website of Politecnico di Milano.

Academic calendar
https://aunicalogin.polimi.it/aunicalogin/getservizio.xml?id_servizio=204&idApp=1&idLink=4386

9. Faculty

The names of professors for each Course, together with their subject, will be available on the degree programme starting from the month of September.
The degree programme is annually published on the website of Politecnico di Milano.

The names of professors for each course, together with their subject, will be available on the degree programme, which is  annually published on the website of Politecnico di Milano.

10. Infrastructures and laboratories

Automation and Control Engineering students will have access to all of the Politecnico di Milano facilities (computer-equipped rooms, libraries, studios, canteens, sports facilities). Several courses include laboratory activities that will be carried out in computer-equipped rooms or experimental laboratories. The laboratory activities, computer based or experimental ones, aim at integrating the knowledge acquired in the lectures and allow the students to apply them in solving specific problems of automation.

A specific course of 5 credits, called "Automation and Control Laboratory", is completely carried out in a laboratory, specially equipped to allow the students to perform an experiment in which they integrate the knowledge acquired in the previous courses.
Graduating students can work at their Thesis in the research labs of the Departments of Politecnico di Milano.

 

Further information concerning this topic is available on the degree programme, which is annually published on the website of Politecnico di Milano.

 

11. International context

Research in the Politecnico di Milano proceeds alongside the extensive network of cooperative relationships and connections with other Italian and foreign universities, with public and private research centres and with the industrial system. The quality and effect of research carried out at the Politecnico have been confirmed in recent years by the increase in connections with the international scientific community. Testimony to this is the large number of research projects and programmes that have recently been undertaken with the best European and worldwide universities, from North America to South-East Asia.

 

In the 2019 QS Ranking, in the Engineering and Technology category, Politecnico di Milano ranked 16th among the Universities at the world level, 6th at European level, and 1st at Italian level. In particular, Politecnico di Milano ranks within the first 9 European Universities for the areas Computer Science & Information Systems, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering, all of which of interest for the BSc Programme in Automation Engineering.

12. Internationalization

Students on the Automation and Control Engineering programme can access international study programmes, based on the agreements held with numerous foreign institutions. Every year various students, both Italian and foreign, take part in international exchanges. Students chosen for a specific programme can enrich their profiles by studying abroad and earning credits that are fully acknowledged by the Politecnico di Milano.

 

There are multiple opportunities on offer. Amongst them are the following:

 

• study periods abroad with the Erasmus programme, or other non-EU special programmes;
• double degree programmes (that foresee awarding of a double master of science degree over a 3 year period, of which two are spent in a partner institution abroad);
• traineeship in companies or foreign university laboratories;
• writing the final thesis abroad.

 

In the website of the School ( http://www.ingindinf.polimi.it ) a document is available that reports information for students willing to have an experience abroad, in addition to the rules and guidelines of the University.

 

A dedicated section of the website of the programme ( http://ccs-automazione.elet.polimi.it/ ) reports specific information on international mobility for the Automation Engineering students, integrating the document of the School.

 
Students are invited to see such documentation before considering the possibility to access the international mobility programmes.

Information on exchange programmes, double degree projects and international internships, European research and international relations projects are available at
https://aunicalogin.polimi.it/aunicalogin/getservizio.xml?id_servizio=204&idApp=1&idLink=4677

13. Quantitative data

The Didactic Observation Unit and the Evaluation Nucleus perform periodic analysis on the overall results analysing the teaching activities and the integration of graduates into the work world. Reports and studies are available on the website of the Politecnico di MIlano.

14. Further information

Further information on the Automation and Control Engineering programme at the Politecnico di Milano can be found on the website:

http://ccs-automazione.elet.polimi.it

All the e-mail addresses available to ask questions related to specific topics are indicated.

15. Errata corrige