Call for Visiting Professor in “Contemporary City: Description and Projects”

Shortlist of the selected candidates for the "Visiting Professor" Call

• Johannes Novy
• Brigitte Schultz

The Visiting professorship programme aims at strengthening the internationalization of the School of Architecture and Society and of the Department of Architecture and Planning, by welcoming a foreign scholar for a semester term. The visiting professor will be in charge of lecturing one full course at the School for the period of her/his visiting position, developing autonomous research activity at the Department of Architecture and Planning, joining seminars and academic venues. The visiting professor will be in charge of lecturing the course Contemporary City: Descriptions and Projects.

The Course

Contemporary City: Descriptions and Projects is a course offered at the second year to the students enrolled in the first year of the Master of Science in Urban Planning and Policy Design at the School of Architecture and Society (Campus Leonardo). The course will be taught in English, it equals 8 ECTS credits and consists in 6 hours of teaching per week, for a total of 80 hours. It is scheduled in the spring semester (March 2013 – June 2013). A date for final examinations of participating students shall be fixed in mid July 2013.
The course aims at analyzing and discussing core issues of contemporary urban planning and design with reference to a multi-scalar and interdisciplinary approach. The analysis of major changes in the European and/or non-European urban realm may consider a critical discussion of new urban landscapes and development patterns, the emergence of new city forms, the issues at stake in historical city centers, problems and dimensions of contemporary practices in the domain of planning and designing contemporary cities. A complex understanding of contemporary planning challenges shall be presented, considering the impact of regional, demographic and socio-economic changes on urban design, urban policy and programs. A critical reference to a set of international case studies will be very appreciated. The course is rewarded with a sum of 20.000 euro (for taxes paid in Italy, please consider that the average income tax in Italy equals about 46%. Other arrangements may be verified).

The School

The Politecnico di Milano is one of the most outstanding Universities in Europe and ranked by the QS World University, Engineering and Technology 2011 among the leading fifty universities in the world. Funded in 1863, it is the largest school of architecture, design and engineering in Italy (http://www.english.polimi.it).

The Master of Science in Urban Planning and Policy Design is a renown program which is taught in English since 2006 at the School of Architecture and Society (http://www.arch.polimi.it). The proportion of international students is relevant and produces a stimulating environment both for teaching and learning. The Master of Science Programme is rooted in a polytechnic tradition, bridging urban design, regional studies and social sciences. The programme aims at developing a wide scientific and professional education in urban planning and policy making. The aim of the programme is to train professionals who can deal with the multiple and complex issues of the contemporary policy agenda of cities and regions. Students who graduated from the Master of Science Programme usually work for international organizations, local governments, research institutes, real estate companies, private offices. The courses are held at the central City Campus Leonardo in Milan. Among the Full Professors of the programme: Pier Carlo Palermo (Dean of the School of Architecture and Society), Alessandro Balducci (Vice Rector and former president of AESOP; Association of European Schools of Planning), Bruno Dente, Patrizia Gabellini, Gabriele Pasqui (Head of the Department of Architecture and Planning), Costanzo Ranci (Coordinator of the PhD Programme in Spatial Planning and Urban Development). Qualified research staff and Phd students with significant international and professional experiences are involved in the tutorship and teaching activity.

The Department of Architecture and Planning is currently being refounded as a new department and starting from 2013 it will be renamed as Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, including new members from the field of Architecture, History of Architecture and Restoration. Directed by Prof. Gabriele Pasqui, it is now the second largest Department of Politecnico di Milano and the largest in the field of Architecture; furthermore it is also an important research centre in Italy for urban and spatial planning issues, enjoying in a well established international network of centres of excellence.

Submission of application

The visiting professorship program is open to highly qualified foreign scholars in the discipline of urban planning and related fields (e-g. Urban Studies, architecture, urban design, geography). Applicants must hold a doctoral degree and be affiliated to an academic or research institution. In order to state an interest in participating, the applicants should send the following documents (pdf format):

1. Application form.doc (49kb)
2. Complete Curriculum Vitae
3. List of publications
4. Letter of motivation
5. Pdf with scanned copy of your Passport/ID
6. A proposed programme for the course, specifying: aims and contents, methodology, proposed readings and eventual side activities.

The application and the set of pdf files shall be sent to the address: diap@polimi.it with the title/object “APPLICATION FOR VISITING PROFESSORSHIP 2013”. An email acknowledging the receipt of the application will be sent.

For any further information, please contact diap@polimi.it with the object “VISITING PROFESSORSHIP INFORMATION”.

Deadline for submission is November 30th, 2012

A short list of selected candidates will be made by December 15 and a Skype colloquium will be scheduled. Final results of the selection will be available by the end of 2012.