Diversity&Inclusion: Politecnico launches New Platform to share news on actions for Inclusion of Diversities

15 December 2020

Welcome to the new virtual space where Politecnico di Milano showcases its actions towards the inclusion of all diversities: a website made to share with the corporate world the path of our university towards becoming an engine for research and innovation, attentive to the needs of society and the needs of the individual .

“Diversity is an asset and a value. We say this as people of science (as researchers, if we did not accept diversity by nature, we would limit our ability to imagine new solutions) and also as people at the head of one of the first cultural institutions in the country" Professor Donatella Sciuto, Vice-Rector of Politecnico di Milano and Rector's Delegate for Research and Diversity.

Diversity&Inclusion is a space where Politecnico di Milano shares with external stakeholders the path of the University to promote inclusion, in line with the strategic programPolytechnic Equal Opportunities (POP).A platform where to share stories to tell the actions of the polytechnic community in favor of inclusion and diversity and also a meeting place to get to know the companies that like us believe in these values.

"The goal is also to invite companies and institutions to an ongoing collaboration on issues of social responsibility," says Federico Colombo, Director of Research, Innovation and Corporate Relations at Politecnico di Milano, "there are many companies that share with us the attention to the needs of society and the needs of the individual, and this collaboration becomes an important engine for research and innovation.

Gender, Multiculturality, Disability, LGBT+ and Wellbeing are the main themes that you will find on this platform and reflect as many strategic points in the commitment of Politecnico di Milano.

The gender issue is definitely a topic to which Politecnico is very sensitive, in order to overcome mistrust and encourage girls to approach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) degrees and to ensure that female researchers can always benefit from effective support to reconcile family and professional growth. The first concrete actions implemented include the presentation of the first official Gender Budget, the introduction of financial support for female researchers who resume research work immediately after maternity; a free nursery for female researchers, PhD students and degree students; seminars and training courses to prevent all forms of discrimination, including a MOOC entitled "Embracing Diversity".

To send an important message, Politecnico is about to launch Girls@Polimi, an invitation for companies to make their contribution by offering scholarships to female students who choose to enrol in those Bachelor level courses where the number of girls is less than 20%.

Another example of virtuous partnerships proposed by Politecnico to companies consists in the organization of Women Mentoring Paths, where small groups of female students are assigned company mentors, who then meet them regularly to help them become aware of the challenges that women may encounter during their future careers and the most suitable strategies to face them.

Certainly, the issue of women is not the only question to which Politecnico is committed. The university is today to all intents and purposes an international and multicultural place, with over 6,000 foreign students from all continents. The integration of these people in campus life, through student associations and many other initiatives and services (to mention one of them, the Buddy project, which combines international students with Italian students to promote peer-to-peer hospitality), is fundamental to the success of the university's educational plan. Politecnico di Milano is also committed to include people who identify as LGBT+ so that every person may feel free to be their true selves on campus. For three years, Politecnico has officially given its support to the event Pride Milano and it actively organizes seminars and meetings to discuss and create awareness on the topic, alongside the association of enterprises named Parks on one side and the student association called Poliedro on the other. A specialized team, called Multi Chance, offers welcome services, support, tools and continuous tutoring to disabled people enrolled in the study programs, in order to guarantee full attention to the needs of people with disabilities and SLD. Finally, for the last 3 years, Politecnico has also offered all students a free of charge psychotherapy and educational counselling service aimed at fostering psychological wellbeing in moments of discomfort, uncertainty and difficulties related to studying or personal events.

But real change is impossible without a conversation with external stakeholders. In fact, Politecnico di Milano is also the first university to become a member of the Valore D and Parks - Liberi e Uguali Associations. For all these reasons, the challenge of the new digital space Diversity & Inclusion is also to be able to tell more and more about the many activities and actions implemented to promote the inclusion of diversity and to open up to a continuous collaboration with companies, which thanks to their commitments of social responsibility are indispensable allies in the path of Politecnico to become an engine for research and innovation, attentive to the needs of society and the needs of the individual.