Excellent research, growing third mission and competitive projects: Poliba's assessments in the VQR
Rector Fratino: «A university in Southern Italy capable of competing at national and international level»
30 April 2026
The Politecnico di Bari stands out in the latest VQR – Research Quality Assessment – published in recent days by ANVUR – the National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research System. The products submitted by Poliba received more than excellent evaluations, higher than those of the other Italian polytechnics. Its regional standing is clear: the Politecnico di Bari obtained the best evaluations among universities in Puglia. Third mission activities are growing, and so are the strategies to enhance research results. Particularly positive is the assessment of participation in competitive international projects, where Poliba ranks fourth in Italy.
WHAT WAS EVALUATED
ANVUR assessed the quality of research outputs (articles published in scientific journals, books, monographs, translations, patents). It also evaluated some third mission cases (events, joint laboratories, collaborations with institutions and companies, etc.) and – new in this edition of the VQR – the value of competitive projects (calls funded by the European Commission, the United Nations, WHO, NASA, the European Space Agency, etc.). This VQR refers to the 2020-2024 period and concluded in March 2026.
THE RESULTS IN DETAIL
Average quality of the outputs Those submitted by the Politecnico di Bari received evaluations ranging from “excellent” (score 0.8) to “exceptional” (1), on a scale that goes from zero points in the case of “poor relevance or unacceptable” to the maximum full score in the case of an exceptional evaluation. At national level, Poliba ranks twelfth for the average quality of research outputs.
Young researchers The VQR also considered the outputs of young researchers: in this area too, Poliba obtains the best evaluations among the polytechnics. It is the twelfth university in Italy.
Third Mission The results in the third mission area are also good. With regard to this indicator, Poliba has not yet reached the top, but compared with the previous VQR (2015–2019) it has made the greatest progress. Among the assessed case studies are the Politecnico’s public-private laboratories, a model of collaboration with companies that has grown significantly in recent years.
Competitive projects With regard to this indicator, a new feature of the VQR 2020-2024, at national level it ranks fourth for the amount of funding obtained through competitive research projects. This means a very high ability to win European and international calls focused on current research topics with high innovation potential.
COME FUNZIONA LA VQR
A group of experts selected by Anvur examined the outputs of 100 Italian universities, for a total of almost 200,000 outputs (1,016 from the Politecnico di Bari) basandosi su 3 criteri: originalità; rigore metodologico e impatto del prodotto sulla comunità scientifica (numero di citazioni ricevute).
THE RECTOR UMBERTO FRATINO’S COMMENT:
«It is an honour to represent a university that in recent years has demonstrated an enormous capacity to produce excellent and competitive research in the territory, becoming a point of reference for society and the business world. These results show how, starting from the South, it is possible to climb quality rankings, establishing ourselves among the great Italian universities. With these evaluations – Rector Fratino concluded – we can expect, among other things, an increase in the performance-based share of the FFO (the state funding fund for universities) and a further growth in the social impact of our research, fostering innovation for the Territory and the Country».
All data from the VQR 2020-2024 are available on the website https://www.anvur.it/it/novita-ed-eventi/valutazione-della-qualita-della-ricerca-2020-2024-presentati-i-risultati-aggregati
The article Excellent research, growing third mission and competitive projects: Poliba's assessments in the VQR comes from Poliba Chronicle.