Politecnico Innovation and Entrepreneurship (PIE) is Polimi Innovators for Politecnico di Milano students. PIE is built on the idea that an entrepreneurial culture is, first and foremost, a culture of responsibility, initiative and transformation. Entrepreneurship is not simply about starting a company, raising capital or entering a market. It means learning to understand change, recognise needs, develop solutions, engage people and create sustainable value.
PIE therefore represents a genuine educational philosophy, founded on the belief that entrepreneurship is, above all, a culture and a way of interpreting change. Its goal is thus to foster a culture of innovation that is accessible to all students, focusing on the individual even before the project.
PIE takes a long-term perspective: to build an ecosystem that can evolve over time, supporting students well beyond their university years and helping to shape people who will continue to innovate, learn and create value throughout their lives. Through learning experiences, hands-on activities and opportunities to engage with the worlds of research, business and innovation, PIE promotes a learning-by-doing approach, enabling every student to experiment, grow and develop the skills needed to face change with awareness and initiative.
Mission
PIE promotes a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within the Politecnico di Milano community, providing every student with opportunities, experiences and tools to turn ideas, skills and research into value for society.
We believe that entrepreneurial thinking is not a career path reserved for a select few, but a capability that enriches every professional journey.
Vision
We aim to make Politecnico di Milano a university where innovation and entrepreneurship are an integral part of every student’s learning experience, nurturing people who can recognise opportunities, create value and generate impact in research, business and society.
We do not aim simply to increase the number of students starting startups. We want every Politecnico student to develop a mindset capable of innovating.
Startups will emerge. Patents will be filed. Spin-offs will grow. But these will be the natural outcome of an ecosystem whose primary goal is to build a culture of innovation, make it accessible to everyone, and support people’s growth even before that of their projects. This approach is explicitly embedded in the design of the PIE Open and the PIE Program, and made possible through PIE Campus.