Famous graduates of the Milan Polytechnic include Gio Ponti, pioneer of modern design and founder of Domus magazine, Aldo Rossi, the theoretician of postmodernism and author of L'architettura della città, and Gae Aulenti, architect and designer, famous for the redesign of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Faculty of Architecture Urbanism and Civil Engineering (AUIC), where the programme will take place, is housed in Campus Leonardo, the concept of which was created by another Polimi graduate, architect Renzo Piano.
"Politecnico di Milano is a school where students and professors learn from each other. Instead of ready-made answers, the emphasis here is on curiosity, testing and finding one's own direction. What excited me during my studies was the theory of architecture, which has a long tradition in Italy - its open approach made it really fun, not just a set of precepts," says Rudolf Nikerle, a Polimi graduate and currently a visiting studio assistant at the FA.
A double degree combines studies at two universities. Students spend two semesters at home and two semesters abroad. The diploma project is written in English under the supervision of teachers from both schools and defended at both institutions. In the academic year 2025/26, two students from FA CTU will study in this programme, while the Italian students will participate in the following academic year.
The cooperation with Milan Technology was initiated by architect Ondřej Císler, who is a visiting professor at Polimi. "We started talking about a double degree between Prague and Milan with Domenico Chizzoni, a colleague, professor at the Politecnico di Milano and a great expert on Czech architecture, around 2019. Due to the complexity of academic processes and inexperience on our side, at a certain point I did not even hope that we would be able to sign the contract. However, this is a fairly common relationship between European universities that promotes mutual cooperation. I think the possibility of graduating in parallel at a top international school of architecture is attractive for our students. This is a pioneering step for which I thank the current management of the school," comments Císler and believes that in time, FA CTU will have similar cooperation with other world universities.