Alta Scuola Politecnica Fully Funded Scholarships for Engineers, Architects and Designers 2017/18, Italy

ALTA SCUOLA POLITECNICA (ASP) CALL FOR APPLICATIONS A.Y. 2017/18 

Alta Scuola Politecnica (ASP) is an additional advanced program for Engineers, Architects and Designers which runs parallel to the Master of Science courses of PoliTo and PoliMi.
The study program of ASP consists of additional Courses and Multidisciplinary Projects.
Each year, ASP admits a maximum of 150 students, 90 at PoliMi and 60 at PoliTo.
The official ASP language is English

What ASP grants?

· Tuition fee waiver
· Free travel and accommodation during ASP courses
· Financial support for developing the ASP Multidisciplinary Projects
· Scholarships covering accommodation for international students
· Double MSc degree from both PoliMi and PoliTo
· ASP Diploma

Born as a joint venture between Politecnico di Torino (PoliTo) and Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi), the Alta Scuola Politecnica (ASP) is a school for young students who are motivated and highly qualified, who have a passion for innovation and who wish to develop their potential in a multidisciplinary community. ASP is an additional advanced program for Engineers, Architects and Designers which runs parallel to the Master of Science courses of PoliTo and PoliMi.

The study program of ASP consists of two elements: Courses and Multidisciplinary Projects.

ASP Courses are broad-based, with lectures and seminars held by renowned professors from different institutions in Italy and abroad, developing a fruitful interaction between students and teachers. Students attend a total of 4 ASP Courses over the two-year program, addressing topics such as the logic of modelling, creativity and sustainability, economics, management and ethical and socio-political aspects of innovation.

ASP Multidisciplinary Projects are focused on real-world problems (e.g. infrastructures for high-speed trains, nanotechnology applications for healthcare, localization and design of congress centers, information systems for tracing hazardous materials, etc.) proposed by PoliMi and PoliTo professors in collaboration with companies, public administrations and research institutions. The teams working on each project are multidisciplinary and consist of 6-8 students from different majors, under the supervision of tutors selected from among the ASP Faculty and experts of the supporting institutions.

ASP students will receive both an ASP Diploma and a Double Degree from PoliMi and PoliTo. The official ASP language is English.

Each year, ASP admits a maximum of 150 students, 90 at PoliMi and 60 at PoliTo.

Who can enrol

The selection procedure will be carried out separately in PoliMi and PoliTo. Therefore, candidates who are interested in applying for the ASP program must refer to the selection process of the Politecnico where they intend to enrol.

The ASP program is for EU and Extra-EU students who hold a degree (Bachelor) awarded by an Italian or accredited foreign university (in this second case, after a minimum of 15 years of global schooling - including primary school, secondary school and university) that grants access to a Master of Science course (Laurea Magistrale) at PoliTo. Students enrolled at foreign universities in 5 or 6-year degree programs who have not graduated yet must fulfill the minimum requirement of 15 years of global schooling (minimum 3 years at University level) and have 180 ECTS credits or equivalent.

Students enrolled in mobility programs can apply for the ASP only if they are enrolled in 24-month double degree programs.

At PoliTo the admission to ASP is only valid for selected applicants enrolled in a Master of Science course offered by PoliTo for the academic year 2017/2018 (first semester) according to the deadlines for the enrolment in each Master of Science course (see the Student Guide 2017/18).

Required documents for the application process

Summary of the compulsory documents that must be attached to the online application form, exclusively in English or Italian (note that the motivation letter must be in English):

• for Italian universities graduates: “self-declaration” ("dichiarazione sostitutiva di certificazione" ai sensi dell'art. 46 DPR 28 dicembre 2000, n. 445) of the Bachelor degree with the complete list of exams and corresponding results;

• for non-Italian universities graduates: 
   -    official certification (transcript of records) with the official stamp of the university attended, including 
        the list of the exams, the corresponding results and the final average grade; 
   -    Valid GRE^® General Test* (5 years since the test date), possessed by the application deadline. GRE 
        certificates can be sent directly by the examination centre to Politecnico di Torino, being an accredited 
        ETS centre (select the code 6994). Politecnico is not responsible for any communication delays by ETS.

• English language certification

• Motivation letter (in English). Please, click here to find the instructions to write the motivation letter. It should be composed of a maximum of 5,000 characters in total (spaces included).

IMPORTANT FOR ALL CANDIDATES: attaching the above indicated documents is mandatory even if the related application form fields are not marked with " * " (which means "mandatory") on website "Apply" procedure ("Attachments section").

*GRE^® GENERAL TEST 
Students can do GRE^® General Test in Torino at Politecnico, which has become an official Test Center. 

Next dates available:

• July 27^th, 2017 at LAIB 3
• August 29^th, 2017 at LAIB 3
• September 28^th, 2017 at LAIB 3

Selection Process

1. After the application deadline, the Evaluation Committee (composed of first and second level professors appointed by the Rector of Politecnico di Torino) will evaluate all the applications received. 
Candidates will be graded on the basis of the documents attached to the application form in order to verify that the academic requirements are met. 
The Evaluation Committee will evaluate the documents received and will assign a maximum of 60 points on the basis of the following criteria:

• Italian universities graduates: a maximum of 60 points for the average grade in a Bachelor degree;

• Non-Italian universities graduates: a maximum of 60 points for the GRE^® General Test.

Candidates who pass the preliminary assessment procedure based on the documentation submitted online will be admitted to the second step of the selection process, which consists in an interview carried out in English (held in October/November 2017). 
A maximum of 120 students will be interviewed. The list of candidates eligible for interview will be published on the “ASP interview” page. The interview gives a maximum score of 40 points. 
Candidates must attend the interview on the assigned date, at the time and place which will be communicated on the “ASP interview” page. Failure to attend will lead to exclusion from the selection. 

2. All communications will be sent to the email address provided in the application. 

3. During the interview the Evaluation Committee will assess the following features:

• communication skills;

• motivation and enthusiasm for the program;

• attitude during the presentation;

• fluency in spoken English;

• successful accomplishment of the program “Percorso per i Giovani Talenti”;

• motivation letter.

4.At the end of the selection process, a final list of selected candidates will be published on the “Selection outcomes” page by November 30^th, 2017. 
A "reserve list" of candidates will also be published on the “Selection outcomes” page. If any selected candidate withdraws, reserve candidates will be contacted by email according to their position on the list.

Within 10 days of the publication date, selected candidates must submit a letter of acceptance. Failure to do so will lead to losing the place. The letter must be downloaded from the “Selection outcomes” page. 

5. Admission to ASP is only valid for students who have been selected and have enrolled for the academic year 2017/18 (first semester) in one of the Master of Science courses (Laurea Magistrale) of PoliTo, according to the deadlines for the enrolment in each Master of Science course (see the Student Guide 2017/18). 

6. Selected candidates who join ASP must observe the rules set forth in the “ASP Students’ Guidelines and Rules”. 

Tuition fee and financial support

1. All students that attend the ASP program at PoliTo and successfully meet the course requirements will benefit from a waiver of the tuition fee due to PoliTo (the fee waiver does not include the regional tax and administrative fees), for the two-year duration of the Master of Science course (Laurea Magistrale).

2. ASP will cover living costs for all students enrolled in the ASP program at PoliTo during the Schools (transportation costs to the locations of ASP courses, lodgings and meals).

3. All students enrolled in the ASP program at PoliTo will benefit from financial support for their project activities, according to the study program and to the annual budget.

4. Only foreign students (foreign citizens from non-Italian universities, see section Who can enrol) that attend the ASP program at PoliTo will be granted financial support around 400,00€ net/month for the two-year period (24 months) of the ASP program, to cover part of their living costs in Turin. The scholarship may be subject to IRPEF taxation (income tax for individuals) because, unless a student withdraws, it shall be considered as income equivalent to that of an employee and therefore subject to IRPEF tax. In order to establish the correct tax category, the student will therefore be required to fill in the form "Modulo detrazioni IRPEF" provided by the administrative offices of PoliTo. However, students will also need additional money to cover their living costs in Italy.

5. To non-Italian universities graduates regularly enrolled in the 14^th cycle of the ASP program, in possession of the GRE^® General Test, the equivalent of the GRE® General Test current cost will be reimbursed.

If a student does not complete the ASP program, he/she will lose all the benefits granted by the ASP and he/she will have to pay the tuition fees (retroactively, even those of the first year if the student loses the status in the second year) corresponding to the highest fee level or, if he/she applies for fee reduction, according to the fee level he/she has been assigned due to self-certification. Students are therefore advised to ask for fee reduction. 
All the information will be published in the “Fee Guide 2017/18”. Students are invited to read this carefully once available on the PoliTo website. 

Please note:

• benefits provided by the Edisu Piemonte are not compatible with the ASP program: students cannot benefit from both Edisu and ASP at the same time. For further information, students are invited to contact the Edisu Office;

• scholarships granted by internal or external institutions to PoliTo may not be compatible with ASP benefits. For further information, students are invited to contact the Office in charge of the scholarship assignment.

This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

http://www.politocomunica.polito.it/en/press_room/news/(idnews)/9682