10 Thesis for Sustainability

10 Theses for Sustainability is the initiative promoted by the Symbola Foundation, Luiss and Unioncamere, with the support of Deloitte Climate & Sustainability, and realised in collaboration with the Almalaurea Inter-University Consortium, the RUS – Network of Universities for Sustainable Development and the INSTM – National Inter-University Consortium for Materials Science and Technology, under the patronage of the CRUI – Conference of Italian University Rectors and the Ministry of Universities and Research.

Many fields of knowledge are focusing on sustainability, making it the leitmotif of this century: from engineering to literature, from economics to political science. The initiative was a great success, with 2,062 applications from over 86 universities across Italy (62% female, 38% male). The 10 winners (6 women and 4 men) come from Campus Bio-medico in Rome, Luiss, Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino, Università Ca’ Foscari in Venice, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Università degli Studi di Catania, Università degli Studi di Palermo and Università Politecnica delle Marche. There are also 90 special mentions.

As stated in the announcement, the evaluation of the theses was carried out in two stages: a technical committee composed of the 22 universities participating in the call, including the Politecnico di Milano, which selected the 100 most deserving theses, and a scientific committee chaired by Professors Severino and Zamagni, which selected the 10 winners.

Among the 10 winners is a graduate of the Politecnico di Milano: Andrea Fumagalli, who obtained a Master’s degree in Management Engineering with his thesis ‘Assessing the environmental impact of photovoltaic technologies: a Life Cycle Assessment-based evaluation framework and its application to multiregional scenarios’. The thesis focuses on photovoltaics (PV), a key technology for the decarbonisation of the energy sector, but which requires up-to-date assessments of its environmental sustainability. The study develops a new assessment framework to compare the impact of the six main PV technologies on energy and greenhouse gas emission indicators. The results show that no single technology excels in all aspects, and that the production phase and the carbon intensity of the producing country significantly influence the environmental impact. The study highlights the critical role of PV in addressing climate change and the importance of material recycling and decarbonisation of the electricity supply chain.

Politecnico di Milano’s Master of Science in Management Engineering…

The Politecnico di Milano’s Master of Science in Management Engineering has once again made a significant leap forward in the prestigious Financial Times Masters in Management 2024 international ranking. The course climbs a six places compared to 2023, coming 64th in the world and 53rd in Europe.

The ranking assesses the world’s best management programmes across a number of dimensions, including among others career progression, graduate salary, environmental sustainability, diversity and the international experience offered by the course.

This rise reflects the University’s ongoing commitment to academic excellence and the development of highly skilled professionals. A detailed analysis of the results shows improvements in several key categories, starting with the ‘Career Progress Rank’, which rised from 31st to 14th place. This result demonstrates the effectiveness of the programme in facilitating not only access to the first job (the employment rate is 97% six months after graduation), but also the professional development of graduates.

A growing focus on sustainability

In a context where sustainability is playing an increasingly central role, the ‘Carbon footprint’ indicator showed a significant improvement, moving from 58th to 43rd place, an acknowledgement of the University’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact.

All indicators related to gender diversity, inclusiveness and international presence show the same trend.

A forward-looking path

Finally, the small but steady improvement in ‘Weighted salary’ confirms the high value of the programme in terms of return on investment for graduates.

The results provide valuable guidance on where to focus efforts to ensure that future graduates have an increasingly effective, responsible and change-oriented educational experience. Its presence in the rankings demonstrates the course’s ability to adapt to new challenges, while maintaining a competitive educational offering that is attentive to current issues such as sustainability and innovation.

For more information:https://rankings.ft.com/rankings/2961/masters-in-management-2024

Students of the “Invest in Foreign Markets” Lab among…

The international X-Culture competition, which focuses on the discipline of international business, this year saw the participation of 5,377 students from 131 universities and 70 different countries, organised in 1,289 mixed teams by nationality.

As in every edition, the challenge requires students to work remotely for eight weeks on a real internationalisation project for Italian companies that have joined the X-Culture initiative.

The competition was attended by the 51 students of the “Invest in foreign markets” lab, where Prof. Stefano Elia is professor of the Master of Science in Management Engineering course.

The students were divided into international teams to work with colleagues from other foreign universities and at the end of the competition, among the 1289 participating teams, 11 were selected as “best teams”, among which 4 teams included students from the Politecnico di Milano.

The academic tutors – former students of the Master of Science in Management Engineering – Ludovico Benetel, Alessio Di Marco, together with Alibaba’s business tutors Virginia Vassallo and Aurora Mazzette, played a key role, providing valuable suggestions and support to the students throughout the competition.

Finally, three students – Federico D’Ovidio, Giacomo Viganò and Dario Vignoni – were invited to attend the Symposium, held this year from 7 to 13 July in Chiang Rai (Thailand), which was the final stage of the competition, where they were able to compete with their peers from other countries and international universities on consulting and internationalisation projects for Thai companies. Congratulations to all the students for their outstanding achievements!

For more information on the initiative: 2024-1 Best Teams | X-Culture.org

Winning teams and students

Team: 2, Client: Cantina di Soave

• Anushka Roy, Arihant Institute of Business Management, India, Professor: Bhagyashri Patil
• Kyle J Roberts, Youngstown State University, United States, Professor: Omer F. Genc
• Capitanio Flavia, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Padovan Fabio, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Porcellar Rodríguez Sergio, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Tora Alexis Paul Alain, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia

Team: 4, Client: Didiesse

• Jackson Posner, Hofstra University, United States, Professor: Shawn Thelen
• Bertelli Riccardo, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Rossetti Matteo Pierre-Louis, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Stremme Lara, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Tofani Giuditta, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Warren Farjon, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia

Team: 9, Client: Thermalis

• Nancy Lin, University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, United States, Professor: Longzhu Dong
• D’Ovidio Federico, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Ouahabi Al Hassani Nora, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Petitdidier Gregoire Antoine, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Vignoni Dario, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia

Team: 10, Client: Voltolina

• Megan Scott, The University of Alabama, United States, Professor: Diana Gomez MBA
• Logan Martensen, Farmingdale State College, United States, Professor: Jing Betty Feng
• Shweta Shukla, The Academy School of Business Management, India, Professor: Satyajit D. Ingawale
• Droineau Come, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Lombardi Riccardo Pietro, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Marionni Martina, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia
• Rischmann Manuel, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Professor: Stefano Elia

Awards for Theses on “Logistics” in Memory of Professor…

Following the passing of Professor Gino Marchet, Full Professor of Logistics at the Department of Management Engineering of Politecnico di Milano, on April 27, 2017, the university established a thesis award in his memory.

Now in its seventh edition, the call for applications offers two awards of €2,000 gross each for master’s theses that address logistics topics, such as warehouse automation, picking, logistics 4.0, optimization of logistics and supply chain processes, logistics outsourcing, inventory management, etc.

Graduates who have obtained their Master of Science degree from any Italian Faculty of Engineering between October 1, 2023, and July 31, 2024, are eligible to apply.

The deadline for submitting applications is September 20, 2024.

For more information, visit the page:
https://www.polimi.it/studenti/tasse-borse-e-agevolazioni/borse-di-studio-non-dsu-e-premi-di-laurea/b-s-p-20030

Polimi Wins the National Final of the IPMA Project…

Alessandro Albertini, Marta Castello, Aurora Brocca and Dalia Scuotto are the names of the students who won the national final of the IPMA Project Management Championship 2024 and performed excellently in the international final held in Florence.

An excellent result was also achieved by the team of Nicolò Guglielmetti, Elisa Micieli, Gabriele Angelinetta and Safae El Ouaqoudi, who came third, and Silvia Barigazzi, Gregorio Brizzante, Alessandro Bosani and Emanuele Costa, who were also admitted to the national final.

These 12 project management students, under the guidance of Professor Giorgio Locatelli, mostly enrolled in the Complex Projects Business major of the Engineering degree programme, successfully passed the first two phases of the competition, winning the Italian championship and qualifying for the international final.

The International Project Management Championship is a global competition organised to involve university students in the field of professional project management and to promote the exchange of knowledge and know-how between the research and business worlds.

The national finals, held at Saipem’s headquarters, were a testament to the hard work and dedication of these students.

Additional section in English – Bachelor’s Degree

Starting from the 24/25 academic year, in the third year of the Bachelor’s Degree an additional section taught in English will be activated.

The courses that will be taught in English are:

• 061963 – ECONOMICS 2 (MACROECONOMICS);
• 061961 – BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION;
• 061964 – INDUSTRIAL PLANTS MANAGEMENT

The courses will have a constraint on the number of eligible students.

Access will be guaranteed by including the above courses in the Study Plan until there are no more spots available.