Aerospace Engineering Politecnico di Torino

Overview

Key facts

• The Aerospace Engineering programme at Politecnico di Torino is divided into several thematic blocks: 
• Scientific and methodological foundations 
• Mathematics and basic sciences (physics and chemistry) for engineering. These courses are held in the first three semesters, although the third year programme also provides optional courses in mathematics and statistics for students wishing to strengthen their background. 
• General engineering   
• Timetabled in the second year, this block provides the base common to all engineers (industrial and other) and gives them the characteristic "mindset". It focuses on industrial technical design, materials science and technology, machinery mechanics, electrical engineering, electronics, applied thermodynamics, heat transfer and structural mechanics (the last three subjects, while sharing the programme with other industrial engineering students, are treated with greater attention to the connection with subsequent courses in aeronautic construction and aerodynamics). 
• Aeronautic maintenance 
• Also provided in the third year are more practical options, aimed at forming a professional figure with directly marketable skills and focused on aircraft maintenance. These training activities are supervised by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC), a member of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which guarantees full recognition for the purposes of awarding graduates Aircraft Maintenance Licence Class C, in accordance with EASA Part 66 international norms. 
• Context knowledge and final exam 
• Context knowledge gives students the global vision required by the very nature of aerospace engineering, and opens the way to related issues (economic, regulatory, environmental, humanistic, linguistic) whose weight in the aerospace business is growing. This content is often integrated into other courses and is taught throughout the curriculum; in the first year students study the evolution of aviation (including the current international aerospace scenario), English and computer science, while the second year includes courses in economics, including notions of aviation regulations and industrial security. Within the course offering of the Politecnico students can also choose further studies in economics, life sciences and emerging issues in engineering. 
• The programme concludes with a final exam based on an assignment carried out independently by the student, who will present his or her dissertation before a reviewing commission. For students who choose the EASA Part66 path the dissertation is associated to an internship in an industry or company. Both the dissertation and the presentation must be in line with current standards of technical communication. 
• Career opportunities
• The knowledge base of the aerospace engineer is not specialised, even though it integrates many and varied kinds of expertise. The final goal of creating an aeronautic or space product, far from narrowing the scope of training required, expands it; even when engaged in a specialist context, aerospace engineers must be able to form a global picture of the various aspects of a problem, to assemble knowledge from disciplinary domains that are often far apart, and apply it in the general context in which the product is designed, built and used.