Design in Milan also rocks in education
16,000 young people are involved in these schools, between the Polytechnic, Ied and other facilities
by Luca Orlando
3' min read
3' min read
Companies, which offer career opportunities. And young people, who bring in the latest know-how.
While it is true that this scheme does not always work in Italy, in the field of design Milan represents a virtuous example, the concrete translation of the often abused term 'ecosystem'. The point of fall of the Salone del Mobile, an event of global resonance that gathers designers, operators, buyers and managers from all over the world, is in fact developed in an area that has made Design one of its strong points both in terms of industrial activities and job outlets and in terms of its educational system. Cause and effect merge, in a system effect in which the solidity of each element is a reinforcing element for the other.
In the census carried out by the Politecnico di Milano for the Salone del Mobile, the first targeted analysis to give a quantitative breakdown of the widespread feeling, a network formed by three universities, 11 institutes for advanced training in these subjects (Afam) and 20 public schools and institutes is in fact highlighted. With a mass of students that has increased by 50% in the last 20 years, now totalling over 16 thousand, almost one third of the Italian total for this line of study.
Italians but not only, as can be perceived at first glance by listening to the boys and girls of the Bovisa campus, where the Polytechnic's School of Design is located, sixth in the world in the sector rankings, improving by one position compared to the previous year.
"A leap forward that is pleasing, taking into account the fierce competition and the competition with private facilities that arrive at fees of up to 70 thousand dollars a year," explains Principal Francesco Zurlo, "for a reality like ours that continues to grow, with almost 4,700 students enrolled. The courses on offer, which include more courses in English, attract many foreign students to the School, which for the master's degrees is close to 40% of those enrolled and which in total reaches close to a thousand.
