Two Alumni with disabilities tell their experience at Politecnico

26 October 2020

We met Giulio and Fernando, two Politecnico alumni who told us their special story of transitioning from being students to employees.

Giulio, Alumnus of Electronic Engineering, is now professor and practical technical teacher in the Laboratory of Chemistry and Physics at at the high school IPSIA Sandro Pertini in Terni. He has a genetic pathology that has progressively deprived him of sight from the age of 7 years.

Fernando is an Alumnus of Computer Engineering, and today he is a Research Engineer at ST Microelectronics. He has been moving in a wheelchair since the age of 18.

Giulio: "At Politecnico the impact was hard: coming from another university, I had another study method and I had to adapt to a different approach to the subjects. The difficulties of moving between the various classrooms were easily solved thanks to the "peer tutors", i.e. students who collaborate with the university to accompany colleagues who have specific needs (I, for example, am blind and could not easily find the classrooms!)".

Fernando: "I had a passion for computer science, that's why I decided to study at Politecnico. They were good years in which I met many friends and had many different experiences. I was staying at the Student House, in a room specially equipped for me. Politecnico helped me a lot by allowing my brother to live with me to help me. It was a contribution without which I could hardly have attended. In university I didn't encounter great difficulties, neither in studying nor in the movement, and for logistical issues I always found support".

The interviews are taken from the article "La lezione della diversità", on page 50 of the 6th issue of the Milan Politecnico Alumni Magazine (MAP), available here: https://cm.alumni.polimi.it/news/magazine-alumni-polimi-versione-digitale-numero-6/