Politecnico di Milano Speciality : Mechanical
programme: Mechanical Engineering

Written exams in several courses often include ambiguously formulated or overly tricky questions, resulting in high failure rates even among well-prepared students. Oral exams sometimes override written results: students who have passed with strong grades can be subjected to prolonged questioning that appears designed to find minor gaps rather than confirm overall competence.
A student passing written exams with high grades—not once, but twice—does so through hard work, not chance. Comments suggesting otherwise reinforce perceptions of favoritism and arbitrariness, undermining trust in the assessment process.
Additionally, Italian students are often allowed to ask questions and answer in Italian, both in lectures and oral exams, creating an uneven playing field for international students required to perform entirely in English. I do note recommend this program to international students

Students are not evaluated solely on the basis of written exams, but through a combination of written and oral assessments. However, students who have attempted the written exams three or four times and achieved grades of 7 or 8 (out of 10, with 10 being the highest) are ultimately subject to the professor’s personal judgment and discretion, a system that leaves room for personal negotiations, favoritism, and clientelist relationships.

I have experienced a lot of personalities in this university, some lecturers are very rude when you ask questions, like the thought of you even being slightly confused at what theyre saying is a crime, while some are eager to answer your questions and even welcome it, all in all i personally focus on the good ones because i am here for a purpose. But if you’re really sensitive and these things are what you look out for, then this might come as a shock to you.

One of the unexpected perks here is how much emphasis there is on innovation and entrepreneurship. Polimi doesn’t just teach theory; there are actual chances to test business ideas, create prototypes, join incubators (like PoliHub), and work with mentors. Even in undergraduate courses, there’s a push to apply what you’re learning: whether it’s designing something new, modelling business cases, or collaborating with outside companies. If you’ve got energy and ideas, you can find many outlets to try them. I love being here genuinely.

my experience was not very positive. i attended the mechanical engineering course at the milan bovisa campus. my campus was not very comfortable because the classrooms were quite far from each other but the facilities were modern so overall it is a good campus. i was not very satisfied with the quality of the teachers. many of them are not at all passionate and sometimes they are unprepared for the students’ questions, but there are also some excellent teachers from whom you can learn a lot. the exams are purposely difficult. even a very prepared student could have some difficulty passing the exam because of their structure. in conclusion i would not enroll in this university because it made me lose the desire to study.

I study mechanical engineering. I felt always supported by polimi during this pandemic, the courses had been quickly adapted to distance mode in an efficient and practical way. Furthermore there are a lot of extracurricular activities, lots of event to take part in. Also I found the Career Service office really useful to have and idea of “what comes after” and try to be ready for it!