Master of Science

Call for Applications for the 2007/2008 Academic Year

The project offers Pakistani students the possibility to receive a scholarship and other benefits to graduate from the Politecnico di Torino attending a Master of Science course in Engineering.
The initiative is promoted by the Politecnico di Torino and is supported by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

Academic offer

For the 2007/2008 Academic Year, applications for the following Master of Science courses will be accepted:

The length of the courses is 2 years full time and corresponds to 120 ECTS credits. All the courses are entirely held in English.

The activities will begin in September 2007.

Requirements

Academic requirements

In order to be admitted into the Master of Science program, applicants must possess a university degree equivalent to a Bachelor of Science degree, which is approximately equivalent to three or four years after secondary school, depending on the number of secondary school years.

Application is open to students who:

are citizens of Pakistan and/or come from Pakistani universities
are not already enrolled in a Master of Science course of the Politecnico di Torino before the 2007/2008 academic year
are not recipients of other scholarships, Italian or foreign.

Obtaining a degree at the Politecnico di Torino

To graduate at the Politecnico di Torino, students must attain a total of 120 credits, including exams and the final dissertation. A plan of studies must be outlined under the guidance of the student’s academic tutor to identify, in relation to the student’s previous academic career, the courses additionally required to complete the program of studies for the Master of Science course in which the student is enrolled at the Politecnico di Torino. The time required to graduate is approximately 4 semesters. However, the effective duration is also dependent upon each student’s capacity. Note also that the time required for the compulsory Italian course, which will begin at the beginning of September, before classes start, is not considered in the estimated duration of the program.

Scholarships

Selection criteria

Applicants will be accepted based on their previous academic career and on their Curriculum Vitae.

Amount of the scholarship

The gross amount of the Pakistan project scholarship for the Master of Science course is 10.000 Euro per year for the complete period. The exact net sum is dependent upon the individual tax conditions of each student, which can be verified only upon the arrival of the student.
The amount of the scholarship will not be increased in case the student will need more time to graduate than indicated.
The allocation of the scholarship is dependent upon the submission, within 10 days from the arrival in Torino of the student, of the original documentation, which must correspond with the documentation attached to the online form (see the “Selection outcomes” section below).
Payment of the scholarship occurs periodically. The first instalment is dependent upon the possession of the relevant documentation (residence permit, Italian fiscal code, and bank account in the name of the scholarship recipient), all obtainable upon arrival in Italy; for this reason, the first instalment is not paid at the moment of arrival at the Politecnico di Torino, but in the course of the following month.

Requirements to maintain the scholarship

Given that it is not possible to combine the benefits received from more than one scholarship, students who are assigned another study grant while receiving the Pakistan project scholarship must promptly notify the Politecnico di Torino.
Payment of the scholarship will be suspended if the academic performance of the recipient does not meet a satisfactory level.

How to apply

To apply, students must, under the penalty of being excluded from the selection process:

COMPLETE THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM

Deadline: 2 p.m. (Italian time) on May 31st 2007.
Method: fill in the online application form by first registering and providing your biographical information, logging in and choosing your degree course and level, and subsequently submitting the application.

Students who meet the eligibility requirements for the Pakistan project will receive an official e-mail from the Politecnico di Torino in which they will be asked to state their request for a scholarship by logging in to the application, filling out the appropriate “Scholarships and Financial Aid” section and attaching the necessary documentation in pdf format. After having completed these steps, the application for a scholarship will be considered complete.

N.B. The scholarship or project for which the applicant is eligible is not specified in the application form, since the Politecnico will automatically assess your eligibility for the Pakistan project based on the information you provide. At the end of the selection process (foreseen for the month of June), the Politecnico di Torino will inform you if you have been selected for an Pakistan scholarship (see the “Selection outcomes” section below).

If you satisfy the requirements to participate in the project you will be asked to attach the following documentation in pdf format:
1. an official transcript (original or authenticated copy) issued by the registrar of your university of origin containing ALL of the following information:
  - Planned duration of the program of study (no. of semesters)
  - Total number of exams sustained in the program of study
  - Total number of credits obtained in the program of study (if available)
  - Year of enrolment
  - A list of the exams already taken with the score of each exam and, where applicable, the number of credits earned with each exam.
  - The overall average score of the exams taken (at the moment of application)
  - A list of the exams still to be passed to complete the degree course
  - The grading system used with explanations (e.g. quantitative system from 0 to 10, with 5 corresponding to satisfactory; or qualitative system ABCD, with A as top grade and C corresponding to passing)
  - The semester of enrolment at the moment of the presentation of the application (e.g. "on xxx [day] the student is enrolled in the second semester of the fourth year of the degree course in xxx")
  If the transcript provided by the students' registrar does not contain ALL of the above information, an additional document will have to be sent that provides it. This additional document must be signed by an authority of the university of origin (Tutor of the degree course, Dean, etc).
2. Curriculum Vitae, dated and signed (in English if possible) - maximum 3 pages
3. Letters of reference (2 maximum)
4. A personal introduction letter (written by the applicant)
The documents must be rendered in English.

We emphasise that the data shown in the documents must coincide with those inserted in the online application form. Moreover, failure to attach even one of the above documents will result in exclusion from the selection process.

Selection outcomes

Following the closure of the online application form, a special commission will meet to assess the applications.

At the end of the selection process, a provisional list of standings will be composed with the names of the students who have been awarded a scholarship and the names of the eligible applicants that may be awarded a scholarship in the event of one or more renunciations.

The list of standings will be affixed to the Official Register of the Politecnico di Torino. On June 1st 2007, information about where and how to access the selection outcomes will be published on this project website and on the application section of the Politecnico website.

The expected date for the publication of the provisional list of standings is July 2nd 2007.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AFFIXING OF THE LIST OF STANDINGS TO THE OFFICIAL REGISTER OF THE POLITECNICO DI TORINO WILL BE, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, THE ONLY OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION OF INCLUSION IN THE LIST OF SELECTIONS AND, FOR STUDENTS WITH THE APPROPRIATE QUALIFICATIONS, THE ONLY OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION THAT THEY HAVE BEEN AWARDED A SCHOLARSHIP.

An e-mail message will be sent to all scholarship recipients and eligible applicants summarising the terms for the disbursement of the scholarship. This message will be sent to the address(es) specified by the students themselves on the online application form. NEVERTHELESS, THIS MESSAGE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION OF THE OUTCOME OF THE SELECTION.

The scholarship awardees and eligible applicants who wish to confirm their position must take the following steps:

download the scholarship acceptance form which will be published together with the list of selection outcomes, fill it in and fax it to the number +39 011 090 6329 by July 8th 2007. Failure to send in the acceptance fax within the given period will constitute a definitive renunciation and the scholarship will be reassigned accordingly.
upon arrival in Torino, scholarship recipients must hand in the original documentation, which was previously attached to the online application form (see the above list), to the International Relations Office. Before handing in the aforementioned documentation, we recommend that you make photocopies for yourself. We ask that you not hand in any other documentation other than that which has been required, and put all the documentation in a single folder bearing your name, surname and "Pakistan project". We reemphasize that the information given in the documents must correspond to that attached to the online application form. Failure to hand in the original documentation within 10 days from the student’s arrival according to the above conditions will result in the non-allocation of the scholarship.

Publication of the final list of standings is foreseen for July 10th 2007.

We emphasize that the Politecnico di Torino assumes no responsibility for the applicant's failure to view the list of standings and/or the terms for the acceptance of the scholarships as published online and on the Official Register of the Politecnico.

In all the e-mail messages and the correspondence sent to the Politecnico following the awarding of the scholarship, the recipient must clearly specify "Pakistan project", the level and degree course for which he/she has been selected.

Facilities

Tuition fees for Pakistan project students are covered by the project. Students will have to pay only the regional tax, the amount of which is approximately 150 Euro per year.

Pakistan scholarship recipients, together with the Master of Science course, will benefit from:

an intensive Italian language course, compulsory and free of charge
advice on lodging facilities (for more information visit the Accommodation section)
additional services offered to the student community (access to the Politecnico libraries and computer laboratories, WI-FI (wireless LAN), etc.); scholarship recipients will also be entitled to all the services offered by the regional university student assistance organisation, Ente regionale per il DIritto allo Studio Universitario ( EDISU Piemonte) at full fee: student canteen service, cultural and recreational activities, sports activities, libraries with lending service, etc. (for more information visit the Campus Facilities section)
assistance in obtaining an entry visa. For more information consult the Immigration Requirements section and the websites of the
assistance by the Stage and Job Placement Office for internship and employment.

Notes

The scholarship does not include accommodation costs, which are thus totally at the expense of the student
The Politecnico di Torino does not guarantee any type of accommodation for Pakistan project students. For students turning to the private market to rent an apartment, the initial amount requested for the cautionary deposit is equal to about three months rent, plus any fees charged by the real estate agency, if applicable. The approximate amount of the rent for an apartment shared with other students comes to about 250 EURO/month per person, and the rent for a small/medium sized apartment is about 500 EURO/month.
Enrolment at the Politecnico includes insurance coverage for accidents occurring on the university premises.

Medical insurance for emergencies (First Aid), as required by the law for non-EU citizens, is 98 EURO per year. Upon their arrival in Italy, students must pay this amount to INA Assitalia: this is required for the conversion of the entry visa into a residence permit. For further information on these matters, see the Health insurance section.
We advise students to go to the Italian Embassy or Consulate to inform themselves on the necessary requirements to obtain an entry visa in Italy.

Specific contacts for Master of Science

For Admission
International Relations Office	international.relations@polito.it

For Accomodation
Selected students will be contacted by the Ufficio Mobilità Studenti