HR Excellence in Research

In November 2013, the European Commission awarded Politecnico di Torino with the 'HR Excellence in Research Award' on the basis of an Action Plan aimed at giving concrete implementation to the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The Award acknowledges the quality of the University's research environment and the initiatives put in place to support the work and careers of male and female researchers.

Find out about initiatives to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Award in the dedicated section of the website.

In April 2021, Politecnico di Torino received a site visit from three European Commission’s experts who reconfirmed the HR Excellence in Research Award by expressing a very positive assessment: “The whole approach of PoliTO towards HRS4R is admirable. Any issues which have been praised during this assessment are actually models of good practice”.

The Human Resources Strategy for Researchers - HRS4R is embedded in the POLITO4IMPACT Strategic Plan (2018-2024) and the representatives of the various components of the University community are involved in its design and implementation.  

In compliance with the HRS4R requirements, Politecnico di Torino carried out the self-assessment of its recruitment procedures against the Open Transparent Merit-based Recruitment-OTM-R checklist and published information of the OTM-R policy.

In order to assess how the research community perceives the implementation level of the European Charter for Researchers principles, in 2018 and 2023 Politecnico di Torino administered a survey to all those engaged in research activities, regardless of career stage or role - from PhD candidates and research fellows to fixed-term researchers, associate and full professors.

The results were analysed by the Focus Group of Researchers, presented to the HRS4R Steering Board and university governing bodies, in order to support the development of University strategies and initiatives, and were made available to all staff.

Analysis of answers to the 2018 questionnaire 

Analysis of answers to the 2023 questionnaire

The 15 Italian universities awarded with the HR Excellence in Research Award drafted a report addressed to the Ministry of University and Research and to the European Commission illustrating benefits and best practices of participating in the HRS4R initiative, as well as the obstacles encountered during its implementation.

• New European Charter for Researchers
• Action Plan 2013-2015
• Action Plan 2015-2018
• Action Plan 2019-2021
• Action Plan 2022-2024
• Action Plan 2025-2027