FAQ
Master's degree
The first thing to do is to identify an area of interest and then search for one or more faculty members who are active on the research front in that area (keeping in mind that sometimes what a faculty member does as research does not coincide with the content of his or her teaching). Practical ways to find the “right” advisors may be, in addition to “word of mouth” of course, to consult the publications of those who seem closest to the topic (e.g., on “Google Scholar“) or by exploring theses already done at Politecnico on the platform “PoliTesi.” Each professor informs about available theses in different ways: some do in-person presentations, others have papers with a list of possible topics. Contacting them by email is a great way to find out.
Yes, it is possible and can be an interesting experience from an educational point of view. The student is usually supervised by a company contact person and a professor of Politecnico di Milano, who acts as the supervisor. Often, it is the professor himself who, having contacts with a company, proposes such a path and guides the student in carrying out the thesis work. Other times, the student independently gets in touch with a company and then asks a professor to act as supervisor.
A few points of caution should be noted, however:
- a company does not have the title to say whether a work is a thesis with a “second reader” or without (in this case, it is informally called a “tesina”, i.e. a small thesis) a difference that depends on the degree of innovativeness and scientificity of the content. This decision is in the hands of the thesis advisor. It is therefore advisable to make arrangements involving the thesis advisor from the outset in the case of companies with which you come into contact independently.
- generally, work done in companies contacted independently leads to “tesine” rather than theses, being driven by business needs not necessarily oriented toward innovativeness or scientificity of results.
Please also note that in both cases a “Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)” may be required to be signed by both the student and the lecturer. This should also be made clear at the outset.
In light of the above, it is advisable on the one hand to give preference to thesis work in companies that already have a collaborative relationship with Politecnico, and on the other hand to invite companies identified independently by the student to get in touch immediately with the professor who will act as supervisor, to clarify path, objectives and possible constraints. There are several ways to formalize this type of collaboration through the professor’s department of affiliation and the career service.