The current structure

In 1987 the territorial diffusion process of the University began, the Politecnico Network, which led to the opening of the regional campuses of Cremona (1987), Como (1987, active until 2018), Lecco (1989), Mantova (1994) and Piacenza (1997), with the aim of establishing a more direct relationship with the students and interacting with the community's local businesses.

In the Bovisa area of Milan, where various disused warehouses and old gas tanks were found, starting in 1989 a university campus emerged with the new Schools of Civil Architecture, Design, and Industrial Engineering and some of the most advanced and innovative laboratories in Europe: the Wind Tunnel, for the development of research in the field of fluid dynamics, the Transportation Security Laboratory, where spectacular crash tests are performed, in addition to the Design Laboratories.

In 2021, the new Architecture campus in the area of via Bonardi was inaugurated in Milan Leonardo, from an idea and with the involvement of Renzo Piano. It led to an increase in open and study spaces available to students and an improvement in the environmental quality through the creation of extensive green spaces.

Politecnico was one of the first Italian universities to implement the reform of the university system, which led to the "three plus two" education structure with Bachelor of Science and Master of Science programmes.

Beginning with the academic year 2000-2001 bachelor's programmes were grouped into schools, based on their areas of interest. Each year Politecnico offers numerous Master Degrees (first and second level) and PhD research courses on a wide range of subject areas and disciplines in the fields of Engineering, Architecture and Design. Since the academic year 2000-2001 the institution has also set up a bachelor's programme in Computer Engineering online, the first of its kind in Italy.

Politecnico currently offers a number of international mobility programs. The T.I.M.E. programme is devoted to engineering students who, after attending classes for two years in a foreign university, can achieve a double degree. The Unitech project on the other hand is dedicated to training top managers. In addition to Politecnico, it is supported by seven other European technical universities and receives financial support from international industries, permitting a limited number of engineering students at Politecnico di Milano to carry out their final year of studies at one of the partner universities and to perform an internship at one of the companies involved in the project.

ASP, the Alta Scuola Politecnica, was founded in 2005 through a project of the Politecnico of Milan and Turin that offers 150 students per year, selected among the talents registered in the first year of the Master of Science programme, in one of the two Politecnico institutes, a double degree and ASP diploma. Of these 150 students, at least 25% must originate from abroad. The Alta Scuola offers an additional training programme: courses on the themes of innovation with international professors, multidisciplinary projects tied to businesses and institutions to be developed through a team, with the aid of a tutor, with periods of study abroad and internships with companies.

Even after graduation the relationship with Politecnico does not end, it only sets new goals, seeking to assist graduates through the process of entering the world of work. Through the Alumni Polimi Association, Politecnico offers placement services from a pool of thousands of companies to virtually all graduates. It also provides direct logistical and administrative assistance and supports graduates to establish spinoff companies, business incubators in which "new entrepreneurs" develop their ideas and turn them into innovative, high-quality products or services ready to face the marketplace.