Politecnico di Bari, the courage to redefine its mission
Even a small university in Southern Italy can become a national and international player. The increase in new enrolments is the most significant among the three Italian polytechnics. Record enrolments, +54% in 10 years. Post-graduation employment rate, 91%. State funding, +35%
22 September 2025
A young university with great ambitions: this is the Politecnico di Bari, which over the past 10 years has proven to be the best performing among the three Italian polytechnics in terms of enrolment growth, with an increase of +54% between the Academic Year 2014/15 (1,384 students) and 2024/25 (2,134 students), while the Politecnico di Milano remained substantially stable (+0.7% over the same period, from 7,265 to 7,771) and the Politecnico di Torino (-0.05%, from 5,399 students in 2014/15 to 5,132 in 2023/24) as certified by data from the National Student Registry on first-time enrolments.
“Even more significant is the fact that this result was achieved in a context of demographic decline,” comments Francesco Cupertino, Rector of the Politecnico di Bari. “Over the same period, the number of 18-year-olds residing in Puglia fell by 10%, as reported by Istat, and in all southern regions universities were losing well over 10% of enrolments overall, as indicated by Anvur data. The Polytechnic has therefore not only reversed a negative trend, but has done so by establishing itself as an attractive point of reference for young people in the region.”
These figures, together with numerous in-depth fact sheets, are collected in the Report on the term of office (2019/2025) that Cupertino, outgoing Rector, wished to hand over in a publication presented today, before passing the baton to the new Rector Umberto Fratino, who will take office on 1 October. “It can be done” is the title chosen for the term-of-office report, which outlines the results of a profound effort by “a young university with great ambitions: from a resource for the territory to a national and international point of reference,” as stated in the subtitle.
Founded in 1990, Poliba is the youngest of the three Italian polytechnics and the only one located in Southern Italy. In addition to the excellent enrolment figures, the Apulian university also confirms an upward trend in the employment rate of master's graduates one year after graduation: this figure has increased by +23.6% (from 67.4% in 2014 to 91% in 2024), significantly narrowing the gap with the northern polytechnics. In the same period, Polimi recorded +4.6% (from 91.5% to 96.1%) and Polito +7.8% (from 84.7% to 92.5%).
Another significant figure concerns state funding. Transfers from the Ordinary Financing Fund (FFO) provided by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) to Poliba increased by +6% between 2024 and 2025, rising from 50.4 to 53.4 million euros in one year: only 8 state universities, out of 68, obtained a 6% increase in funding, the maximum allowed. In 2019, FFO funding for the Politecnico di Bari amounted to 39.7 million euros: growth over six years was therefore +35%, an achievement matched by few among medium-sized and small universities, and a recognition of the quality of the Politecnico di Bari's work in teaching, research and the Third Mission.
Even the data provided by Almalaurea confirm the appreciation by students of the Polytechnic University of Bari: the assessment of the adequacy of the spaces reserved for individual study has increased over these years by +38.9%, rising from 30% in 2019 to 68.9% in 2024. Satisfaction has also increased with respect to post-graduate study guidance services (+5.4%, from 60.6% to 66%) and with respect to job search support services (+6.9%, from 62.8% to 69.7%).
“This is not just about data – says Cupertino – but about proof that even a small university in the South can become a national and international player, if it has the courage to redefine its mission, to experiment with new forms of knowledge transfer, and to invest in human capital with a long-term vision.”
The term report. In about 100 pages, the report is divided into three macro-sections: “Living the Polytechnic”, “Vision for the territory” and “National and international relevance”. Among the achievements over the six-year period are the renovation of the Bari campus, with the redevelopment of 17,700 square metres including the refurbishment of the Aula Magna, the large lecture halls, the inauguration of the New Rectorate and the OPLA laboratories that integrate research, teaching and spaces for associations. The foundations have been laid for the large Innovation Park at the former Caserma Magrone, an ambitious urban regeneration project covering 100,000 square metres, which in July 2025 the University officially acquired into its assets.
Development has also involved the Taranto campus of Poliba, where, for example, the P-Tech project (Pathways in Technology Early College High School), promoted by IBM, has been established, which the Polytechnic University of Bari launched for the first time in Italy: an educational pathway aimed at offering students in the area – particularly in vulnerable contexts – a concrete opportunity for direct access to university and qualified employment, and which this year saw the first two students graduate from Poliba.
On the business relations front, 16 Public-Private Laboratories have been activated since 2010, generating 3 million euros in private investment every year, and the new Agrifood HUB is being developed in Corato (Bari), a research, development and advanced training centre in the agri-food sector. BINP – Boosting Innovation in Poliba, established in 2022 as the first certified university incubator in Puglia, has supported 30 entrepreneurial teams, catalysing over 4 million euros in investment.
As evidence of leadership capacity at the national level, Poliba is the lead institution of NEST – Network 4 Energy Sustainable Transition, one of the 14 major extended partnership projects selected by the MUR and funded under the PNRR for a value of 118 million euros. The work has also been extensive in positioning the Apulian university as a point of reference for the Mediterranean basin, as shown by the launch, with the 2025/2026 academic year, of the first three-year Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture Sciences for Heritage, the result of a joint programme between the University and the Ismail Qemali University of Vlora. The full term report is on the website www.poliba.it.
The article Politecnico di Bari, the courage to redefine its mission comes from Poliba Chronicle.
