POLI.design: about us

Tradition and innovation, quality and ability to connect with the professional world are the cornerstones that have made POLI.design since 1999 one of the reference companies at an international level for post-graduate training.

Together with the School of Design of the Politecnico di Milano and the Department of Design, POLI.design forms the Design System of the Politecnico, an aggregate of resources, skills, structures and laboratories, among the most important in the world.

POLI.design is the post-graduate school in Design of the Politecnico di Milano that supports and completes the curricular paths of the School of Design, aiming at professional training and an effective insertion in the many areas of work in which the designer operates today.

It plays a hinge role between universities, businesses, organizations and institutions and professional worlds, operating in the perspective of internationalization and establishing partnerships with universities, schools, organizations, institutions, companies and companies from time to time.

In complex and closely interrelated worlds such as those we live in today, Design represents a resource that can guide societies and production systems towards new development models; it is also a resource that is nowadays crucial for standing up to global competition in terms of identity and diversity.

Design is a driving force behind growth that can guide individual and collective choices through cultural trends, guiding tastes, behaviours, lifestyles, and consumption styles. It has numerous and highly varied applications: from research and applications connected with the introduction of new technologies, to designing new products and services, from the study of communication interfaces to managing ergonomic and environmental qualities, from defining urban spaces and one’s own body, to governing processes connected with environmental and social sustainability policies.

In this context, POLI.design proposes to:

• Unite the academic and business cultures and the world of knowledge professionals;
  promote and develop design as a discipline and system of professions;
• Foster virtuous relationships between universities, institutions, manufacturers, and professionals;
• Support the development of creative enterprises.

Along with the Politecnico Design School and the Design Department, POLI.design forms the Design System of the Politecnico di Milano, a research, education, and promotion centre that is unique in its field in the world.

POLI.design is also significantly related to the Italian Design System, thanks to relationship with the Design Associations, as:

• ADI Associazione per il Disegno Industriale
• AIPi Associazione Italiana Progettisti d’Interni
• AIAP Associazione Italiana Design della Comunicazione Visiva
• Federlegno Arredo

POLI.design is based in Milan, a universally known and recognised international centre of excellence for design. The permanent structures, cultural institutions, fairs and showrooms, publishing industry, schools, displays, exhibitions, and events that the city has to offer are numerous and contribute to creating a culturally lively and dynamic climate that can enrich professional and training courses, providing a broader experience of design in all its most up-to-date forms, from the perspective of constant innovation.

Relations with the professional sphere are endorsed by the presence of four of the most important associations of design professionals on the board of POLI.design:

POLI.design operates within an international network, that is continuously growing thanks to the wide-ranging experiences and collaborations in an increasingly interconnected and global dimension. Our objective is to promote and spread the design culture, through enhancing and intensifying our international relations.

POLI.design has built strong relationships with companies and institutions worldwide by offering training programs for international students, professionals and companies, and by organizing tailored training courses and site-specific projects.

The goal of POLI.design is to promote the exchange, access and mobility in the world of design, strengthening and intensifying relations, in a perspective of spreading the culture of design.

POLI.design involves each year international students coming from 88 countries all over the world, such as Colombia, Brasil, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, China, Costa Rica, Turkey, Russia, India, Uruguay, Greece, Lebanon, Switzerland, Denmark, Korea, Thailand, Morocco, Mauritius, Qatar, Uganda, etc.

POLI.design operates as a link between the world of education and research and professional contexts, through experimental activities involving students and professionals in the field of design.

These are a few of the unique and immersive experiences that POLI.design organizes in collaboration with companies, institutions and associations, including:

• Short Courses;
• Applied Research Projects;
• Design Workshops;
• Study tours and guided visits to places of interest in the field of design (design studios, studies of the Italian Masters), production (company visits, industrial visits), dissemination and cultural debates around design (museums, foundations);
• Seminars by testimonials and professionals;
• International design contests;
• International exhibitions.

Board of Directors

Politecnico di Milano Representatives

Anna Barbara, President
Cabirio Cautela, Councilor

Representatives of the shareholders

Antonia Sabina Andriani (ADI)
Francesco E. Guida (AIAP)
Simona Belforti (FederlegnoArredo)

Shareholders

Politecnico di Milano Rector

Donatella Sciuto

Representatives of the shareholders

Luciano Galimberti (ADI)
Antonio Domenico De Antonis (AIPi)
Marco Tortoioli Ricci (AIAP)
Claudio Feltrin (FederlegnoArredo)

Management

Walter Ruffinoni, Managing Director
Roberta Gorno, Deputy Director

Administrative and Management Secretary

Maria Grazia Di Molfetta

Administration

Valentina Mazzei
Daniela Tornese
Elisa Guzzo
Davide Scarano

Operations

Iolanda Margiotta
Elisa Piccini
Anna Consolati
Marta Panigalli
Alice Pignatel
Marilena Tarantino
Martina Galli
Martino Zinzone
Sara Pellanda
Kezia Boragina Meduri
Emanuela Paciotti
Ilaria Rosaria Sebastianelli

Institutional Affairs

Matteo O. Ingaramo – Past President

Business Development

Luca Gabardi
Pietro Lenzerini
Sofia D’Alessandro
Xin Li
Marianne Fosca Stahl

Marketing & Communication

Luca Mautone
Stefano Mandato
Giulia De Bernardi
Rita Galli
Ciro De Palma
Antonio Alberti
Claudia Baratta
Maria Cecilia Buonocunto

The POLIMI Design System made by the Design Department, the School of Design and POLI.design, is located in the Bovisa district, north of the city of Milan, a short distance from the city center, in a symbolic place of the industrial Milan of the past.

The neighborhood is now experiencing a broad process of urban transformation, destined to become a pole of higher education, research and innovation.

The Politecnico di Milano began its history in Bovisa by settling almost twenty years ago in what is now the headquarters in via Durando, in the re-adapted factory of the former Ceretti & Tanfani, where in the past cables for cable cars were manufactured.

POLI.design offers opportunities for collaboration through University Innovation Centers in various fields, created to develop research projects together with partners, develop coaching activities, organize training opportunities for businesses and cultural initiatives.