The Research Ethics Committee

The Research Ethics Committee of the Politecnico di Milano operates with the aim of safeguarding, in compliance with current regulations, the rights, dignity, integrity and welfare of human beings and animals involved in research, respect for the environment, freedom and the promotion of science.

The Ethics Committee has the duty of providing reasoned opinions, at the request of individual researchers or research or teaching structures, to ensure that research is carried out in accordance with the ethical principles defined by international and national regulations and the Code of Ethics and Conduct of Politecnico di Milano. The Ethics Committee is not responsible for the functions reserved by law for the ethics committees of other bodies, particularly hospitals. The Ethics Committee also has the task of promoting reflection and training on the ethical aspects of research.

Adherence to high ethical standards in research contributes to the promotion of research integrity, understood as the application of ethical, professional and legal standards that underpin good research practice and as recommended in the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity.

The regulation of the Ethics Committee can be consulted here.

Three-year period 2024-2026

President

Viola Schiaffonati
Associate Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science at Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB), Politecnico di Milano
Curriculum Vitae

Vice President

Gabriele Pasqui
Full Professor of Urban, Regional and Rural Studies at Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DASTU), Politecnico di Milano
Curriculum Vitae

Components

Andrea Bassi
Associate Professor of Experimental Physics Of Matter And Applications at Department of Physics (DFIS), Politecnico di Milano
Curriculum Vitae

Stefana Maja Broadbent
Associate Professor of Industrial Design at Department of Design (DESIGN), Politecnico di Milano
Curriculum Vitae

Silvia Faré
Full Professor of Industrial Bioengineering at Department of Chemistry Materials and Chemical Engineering ‘Giulio Natta’ (DCMC), Politecnico di Milano
Curriculum Vitae

Laura Maria Sangalli
Full professor of Statistics at Department of Mathematics (DMAT), Politecnico di Milano
Curriculum Vitae

Maria Zanichelli
Associate Professor of Philosophy of Law and Legal Informatics at Department of Law, University of Bergamo
Curriculum Vitae

The research activities typical of a polytechnic university increasingly address issues that have a direct impact on human beings, their lives and interactions, society as a whole and the natural environment. Such research raises questions that relate to the sphere of ethics, although awareness of the potential ethical implications of research, even when it is purely technological in nature, is not always present: the technology being researched is often seen as a ‘neutral’ tool given a priori.

The Ethics Committee is intended to be the forum to which researchers can turn for discussion and in-depth analysis of the ethical aspects of their research and the courses of action to be taken.

From an operational point of view, the opinion of the Ethics Committee is required, for example, in cases where research involves people and the use of human tissues and cells (see, for example, the Declaration of Helsinki), the collection of personal data (as defined by the European Commission), research in non-EU countries, animals (see, for example, the actions promoted at European level to protect animals used in research). But also, in cases where research may have significant, and in the case of negative, effects on the environment, on people's health and safety. As well as in all cases where research may have dual use (more details in the recommendations of the European Commission with particular attention to Appendices 2, 3 and 5) and potential unethical purposes. However, it is not always easy to understand when an opinion should be sought from the Ethics Committee because there are many cases where these general indications may be difficult to translate into practice.

The European Commission has developed an important document, the completion of which is necessary to access possible EU funding, with the aim of promoting researchers' awareness of the potential ethical implications of their research. Each section of the document contains a checklist that can guide self-assessment and can be used for prior checking of proposals that are to be submitted to the Ethics Committee for its opinion. 

To request an opinion from the Research Ethics Committee of the Politecnico di Milano, it is necessary to fill the opinion form for requesting an opinion and the necessary documentation depending on the case. All the detailed information, documents and necessary forms can be found on the University intranet, as well as the calendar of Ethics Committee meetings with the various deadlines, so that all steps can be planned in good time.

For information on the activities of the Ethics Committee, please write to the following e-mail address: comitatoetico@polimi.it 

The reference structure is the Research Office, Research and Innovation and Corporate Relations Division
Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano