Politecnico di Torino, throughout its SAFE Hub, provides reasonable adjustments and special arrangements for students with disabilities (or with functional characteristics requiring specific adjustments) throughout their educational path (Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD, State Examination).
In particular, students can be officially supported by the Special Needs Unit if they are a:
- student with SpLD – Specific Learning Disorders;
- student with disabilities and invalidities;
- student with SEN – Special Educational Needs, which include Neurodevelopmental Disorders, or Borderline Intellectual Functioning, Communication Disorders, Autism Spectrum, ADHD, or diagnosed psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and mood disorders, psychotic and dissociative disorders, eating disorders, etc;
- student experiencing temporary difficulties due to proven and serious health problems.
The SAFE Hub can support students who provide updated medical documentation, respectively:
- for students with SpDL: certificate issued by SSN (Italian National Healthcare Service) or by specialists and facilities accredited by SSN (pursuant to Law 170/2010). The certificare must have been issued no more than 3 years ago if released before turning 18 years old.
- for students with disabilities: certificate of disability or invalidity, with both diagnosis and percentage of disability clearly indicated;
- for students with SEN: medical certificate with a clear diagnosis with the functioning profile explaining in a clear way the negative impact on learning or social participation.
- for students experiencing temporary difficulties due to serious health problems: a recent medical/hospital certificate, containing both diagnosis and prognosis.
You need to get the approval of the SAFE Hub before receiving specific support. This normally happens at the beginning of the educational path, but you may request the intervention of the Hub at any time of the year.
You can request to be supported by the SAFE Hub in the following ways:
First-year students: after completing the enrolment process, please contact the SAFE Hub via ticket for a preliminary interview. Please upload the certificate of disability/invalidity or "temporary difficulty" in .pdf format (if not already uploded to the Appy@polito platform).
Continuing students (Year 2 or beyond): upload the certificate in .pdf format and send it by ticket to request an interview.
Removing architectural barriers and ensuring that students with disabilities can enjoy their right to university education is how we guarantee inclusion at Politecnico. Politecnico has a specific plan approved by its governing bodies to remove architectural barriers.
After analyzing individual cases, Politecnico can offer IT tools and aids specifically created by specialists to ensure that students can reach a good individual autonomy. If necessary, these aids may be used for the entire period of study.
If you are a student with disabilities enrolled at Politecnico di Torino with a certified disability or invalidity rate > 66%, you may be totally exempted from paying your tuition fees. For more information, consult Tuition Fees Regulations.
If you are officially supported by the SAFE Hub, you are free to use the following spaces:
- SAFE Hub rest room: room furnished with two orthopaedic beds for people with disabilities, access by reservation.
- SAFE Hub study room: study room with 14 seats, access by reservation.
- SAFE Hub PC room: PC room with 4 seats for people with disabilities, access by reservation.
Special arrangements are assigned to each student by the SAFE Hub (ex Special Needs Unit) on the basis of the documentation uploaded through the Apply@polito procedure.
Students with a Disability or SLD Certificate
If you took the admission test (TIL) using special arrangements, after enrolment you will receive an email at your University email address (smatricola@studenti.polito.it) inviting you to access the Teaching Portal, Personal Area, Disability/SpLD/SEN box, to view your assigned special arrangements.
You will find a set of introductory slides. Once you confirm that you have read them by selecting the acknowledgement box, you will be able to view the list of special arrangements assigned to you.
Please note: If your SpLD certificate does not include detailed recommendations, the standard arrangements normally available to students with SpLD will be assigned automatically:
- Calculator
- Legibility criteria
- Extra time
- Assessment focused on content rather than form
If you believe that additional arrangements may be needed, you must submit a ticket within 15 days of receiving the email and attach the complete documentation, including test results and your functional profile, so that the activation of further special arrangements can be assessed.
Students with a SEN Certificate and Currently Enrolled Students Not Yet Supported by the SAFE Hub
After enrolment or registration, you must contact the SAFE Hub through the ticketing system and request the activation of special arrangements.
If you have not already uploaded your documentation through Apply@polito, please attach your medical/clinic certification to the ticket in PDF format.
Important Information for All Students
- Once assigned, your special arrangements are immediately visible to the lecturers teaching the courses included in your study plan. However, you have 15 days from the date of the email inviting you to review them (through the Teaching Portal, Personal Area, Disability/SpLD/SEN box) to contact the SAFE Hub through the ticketing system and request clarification and/or changes.
- If you decide not to accept the support plan, any reassessment of your special arrangements will only be possible from the following academic year.
- After the 15-day period, your support plan can no longer be changed for the entire academic year, unless an additional medical or specialist certificate documenting the need to reassess the special arrangements is submitted through the ticketing system.
- Your special arrangements will be automatically confirmed after your study plan and course enrolments have been finalised for each academic year, including when you enrol in a Master's Degree programme after completing a Bachelor's Degree.
PLEASE NOTE: Students who have been assigned special arrangements are required to consult them with each professor well in advance of the examination session, in order to discuss on the most appropriate way to apply them to the specific course and assessment.
If you are having temporary difficulties with attending your classes and taking your exams for a significant period of time due to serious and certified health reasons, you can report this situation to the SAFE Hub by ticket.
“Significant period of time” refers to:
- inability to attend classes for at least one month;
- inability to take exams for at least 2 consecutive sessions, or need for support for written assessments due to objective impediments in independent writing.
The SAFE Hub will examine your medical documentation and propose an meeting to evaluate temporary support measures.
Please note that all students are required to take their exams in person at the university. The only exceptions are people under oncological therapy, which must be duly certified.
C-PEN LingoPen / Exam Reader
- To be used in the SAFE Hub study room and/or borrowed
If you are a student with SpDL/disabilities, you can borrow new generation reading support devices, designed to facilitate individual learning and exams, respectively:
- N.5 C.Pen LingoPen
- N. 5 C-Pen Exam Reader
The pens can be used in the SAFE Hub study room; it is also possible to borrow them at home.
For loan requests, you must:
- send a ticket indicating which pen they need (Lingo Pen or Exam reader)
- wait for confirmation of the availability of pen before collecting it from the SAFE Hub room (opening hours 09:00-12:00; 14:00-16:00 Monday to Friday)
The loan is personal and users are held fully responsible for any damage caused to the pen and for its correct conservation. Users are also liable in the event of theft or loss.
Upon delivery of the pen, you are required to check its integrity and state of conservation and report any problems to the staff.
Loans last 14 days and are renewable (renewal request via ticket within the day before the expiration date).
If you do not return the pen by the deadline, you will not be allowed to borrow/use the pen for a period equal to the delay.
In the event of accidental loss, theft, or destruction, you will have to refund the cost of the pen.
Noise cancelling headphones loan
4 noise-cancelling headphones are available to users studying in the study room and requiring special acoustic insulation. To borrow the headphones, you must send a ticket to the SAFE Hub, specifying the day and time of use. You must deposit your ID document, which will be kept by the staff until you return the device.
If you are supported by the SAFE Hub, you can enjoy the following services:
Peer tutoring → for students with disabilities, specific learning disorders (SLD), or special educational needs (SEN)
It aims to support the autonomy of students by helping them with individual study and encouraging their inclusion in university life.- Support with getting around campus → for students with disabilities
This service provides assistance with getting around campus and between Politecnico campuses (including off-campus teaching sites), to support students’ full participation in university activities.
If you wish to request these services (Peer Tutoring and Support with getting around campus) for the 2026/2027 academic year, please send a ticket to the SAFE Hub by the following deadlines:
a) For first-year students:
• 21 September 2026 – 7 October 2026 → for services starting in the first semester
• 1 March 2027 – 12 March 2027 → for services starting in the second semester
b) For continuing students (enrolled in year 2 or beyond):
• 21 September 2026 – 7 October 2026 → for services starting in the first semester
• 1 March 2027 – 12 March 2027 → for services starting in the second semester
More information is available in the Guidelines.
The service targets students supported by the SAFE Hub who require long-term support, clearly indicated in the report of the specialist who made the functional diagnosis.
A specialized tutor or a professional educator can support you continuously for a fixed number of hours in order to:
- facilitate your communication with the teaching staff and your peers;
- help you manage time and orgnize your study;
- offer the LIS interpreting service to deaf students.
This type of service is mainly offered to students with complex disabilities or people with communication and relational disorders.
Normally you can activate this service as soon as you enrol at Politecnico.
To request the service, you must send a ticket to the SAFE Hub, enclosing a medical certificate which states the specific need for specialized tutoring support.
Over the years, we have supported several students, and with each one of them we have tenaciously shared projects, efforts, satisfactions, critical moments and positive results.
Each student has built his/her own path, unique and particular, and has contributed to the growth of our service in experience and planning.
We have decided to make this page available to everyone. It is a space for sharing experiences and skills, where the protagonists can tell their stories, which we hope can stimulate other students and enrich new paths.
Methodological warning:
To ask for the publication of a contribution, you must send a ticket. The SAFE Hub will evaluate it to verify if it is in line with the purposes indicated above, without going into the merits of the contents.
We want to stress the fact that the author assumes full responsibility for what is written; any references to programs or products shall not have promotional purposes, but rather only reflect an individual experience.
Guides
The guides in this section have been created from the direct experiences of some students supported by the Special Needs Unit, with the idea of sharing useful tools to overcome possible critical issues during the university path.
Any references to programs or products do not have promotional purposes, but rather reflect the individual point of view of the author.
Enjoy reading!
Specifically:
1) Eneas's study guide suggests strategies for students with upper limb motor difficulties
2) Roberto and Annalisa's guide mainly targets students with visual difficulties
This section is dedicated to advertising events, scholarships, opportunities offered by local institutions and/or bodies:
- Back to Inclusion Job Day: Interviews and Job Opportunities, Third Edition 2026
On October 2, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., a webinar will be held on the topic "Work and Disability: When the Reform Reaches the Workplace." Register here
On October 23, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., the online event Inclusion Job Day will take place: companies will introduce themselves, engage with candidates through chat sessions, and organize one-to-one interviews.
- Fondazione Ufficio Pio: Ragioniere Faustino and Dottoressa Giuseppina Moretti scholarships, supporting university students with neurodevelopmental disorders. The deadline for completing the application is 15 November 2026
- Time 2 Foundation has opened its new headquarters in Corso Stati Uniti 62/b - Open, “spazio aperto di diversità”, a place where the idea and practice of a society made of diversity is nurtured every day.
The spaces can be used in many ways, there is a cafeteria, a study room, the possibility of participating in events and courses... I recommend browsing the site, it is a beautiful place right next to us!
- Tutorial-Me Managing Disability: a platform created by the UMANA MENTE Allianz Foundation in collaboration with the Coordination of Lombard Universities for Disability (CALD), a tool and a place accessible to all , totally free of charge, with a single mission: to promote the culture of disability.
- Disabled Tennis project
- AISM (Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla): brief presentation of the association; how to become an ambassador.