How it all started
Back in 2019, ten motivated PhD students started the Optica (formerly OSA) Student Chapter and the EPS Young Minds of Milano. Each division counted 5 members at its foundation.
Now, the chapters of Polimi boasts more than 25 selected members, fostering a dynamic and lively atmosphere inside the Physics Department of Politecnico di Milano!
Our story
Most of our chapter founders, before starting the PhD in Physics at Polimi, were students in the course of Engineering Physics, probably just like you!
Let us be honest with you: after all those years spent studying on books, most of us had no idea of what our job would have looked like after graduation…
Students on one side, and professors/engineers on the other side. Why don’t we talk to each other enough? What comes after I become a Physics Engineer? How will my future job look like?
Blank.
We all felt the same struggle.
This was our trigger. We felt the urge to connect the students of Engineering Physics with the academic/industrial panorama, with professors, alumni, and companies that would seek for their profile when hiring. We wanted to bridge this gap.
And here we are, lighting it up!
Our motivation drove us here
So…how to bridge this gap?
We knew about Optica, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the generation, application, archiving and dissemination of knowledge in the field. We learnt that Optica was strongly supporting diverse groups of students worldwide to create professional development and community service opportunity: student chapters.
We decided to found one! Well… actually, two! We also founded a EPS Chapter, to spread our outreach dissemination efforts: within Optica we focus more on quantum optics and photonics, and within EPS we focus broadly on condensed matter physics and nanotechnology (pretty much like our two different masters in Engineering Physics at Polimi!). And a few years later, we founded our third chapter, with SPIE, more oriented on technology-related dissemination.
Since 2019 the chapters work together with a shared vision.
The passion that keeps it up
Thanks to the financial support of Optica, EPS and SPIE, we diversify our dissemination efforts and we can give you a taste of what a Physics Engineer looks like in real life!
We organize guided tours in our labs, more than 50 (!) different laboratories are inside the Physics Department. Did you know?
We help you find your dream master thesis project. Have you heard about the event “Speed Date with Research“? It was invented by us! And now it is the official annual event of the Physics Department in which all master thesis projects are presented to the students.
We organize events to show you what an actual Physics Engineer looks like in real life… have you heard of “Physics Talks“? We have also created this format, and we brought it around during the past years, inviting Alumni from Engineering Physics to share their experience with the students. Engineers and physicists working in Academia and Industry, giving us all a taste of what it’s like to work in tech, finance, consultancy, data analysis and more.
We help you build a connection with them!
Beyond science, we care about our scientific community. Our chapters also advocate for ethical research and equal representation in STEM, particularly for historically underrepresented categories (LGBTQIA+ community, gender, demographics, social backgrounds, and more).
Ah – we almost forgot! We also do things “just for fun” š like our live quiz with prizes and our seasonal happy hours, to meet with one another and exchange new ideas for future events!
Thank you
Thank you for being here, and reading our story through our eyes. We hope to see you at our next events! They are always free.
If you feel motivated to take part to the change, and actively participate in the organization of our events, apply to become a chapter member! Beyond being extremely impactful on your CV, the chapter membership transforms your scientific vision, creates connections with other international researchers and, also, innumerable opportunities: it can really change your future, like it did for all of us.
The members of the Student Chapters
of the Physics Department of Politecnico di Milano
Student Chapters of Politecnico di Milano 