POK stands for Polimi Open Knowledge: it is the MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) portal of the Politecnico di Milano that was launched in 2014. Since 2025, POK also hosts MOOCs from other universities and from the Higher Education in Art, Music and Dance (AFAM), as part of the Digital Education Hub 'Edvance' (https://www.edvance.it/).

POK's claim is 'MOOCs to bridge the gaps'. It expresses the strategy adopted by the Politecnico to:

• support students during their career;
• support upskilling and reskilling for professional growth;
• promote teaching innovation in both higher education institutions and schools;
• promote academic social responsibility (opening up the expertise of Politecnico di Milano for the benefit of a general audience, promoting conscious citizenship in compliance with the third mission of universities).

To this end, we classified the courses by six thematic patterns.

The MOOCs available on POK are free and open to everyone. Upon completion of the MOOCs, a certificate is issued, either as an Open Badge or a Certificate of accomplishment (this is specified in each MOOC's information page).

To attend a MOOC, you need to access with a verified personal account. You can log in using a Polimi account, an eduGAIN account, or through SPID/CIE ("How do I access POK?").

If you don't have any of the above accounts, you can create a POLIMI account, regardless of your affiliation with the institution ("How can I create a Polimi personal account?").

Once you've logged in with your verified personal account, you can independently enroll in the courses that interest you ("How do I enrol in a course?"). After that, you can immediately access the content and use the materials whenever and wherever you want.

POK allows access through different authentication methods:

• If you already have a Polimi account (because you are a student, professor, employee, or because you have already created this account in the past), use it to log in
• If you are a student from another university, access through eduGAIN. If your university has not activated eduGAIN authentication, create a Polimi account
• If you are not a university student and do not have a Polimi account, you can access with SPID/CIE
• If you do not have SPID/CIE or, in any case, have never used the services offered by Polimi, create a Polimi account ("How can I create a Polimi personal account?").

If you created an account on POK before February 25, 2025, to maintain your progress in MOOCs attended before this date, log in with your Polimi account, if you have one or through eduGAIN, if you are a student from another university.

We recommend creating a Polimi account only if you don't have any other verified personal accounts (eduGAIN/SPID/CIE). At the bottom of the login page, click on "Don't have an account?" and then on "Create a Polimi account" to start the creation procedure. 

If you are a student from one of the institutions that are part of the Edvance network (here the list), use your eduGAIN account. If you are a student at Politecnico di Milano, you can also use your Polimi account.

Edvance issues a micro-credential in Open Badge format to learners who have successfully completed a MOOC. This badge is equipped with a series of descriptors that should facilitate its recognition for the potential (future) attribution of University Credits (CFU). However, the decision regarding recognition, and therefore whether to award CFUs or not, remains with the student's home university.

Use the eduGAIN system or Polimi account to access (and no longer SPID/CIE).
Please note that the history of what you have done so far through SPID/CIE cannot be recovered and/or associated with other accounts.

Completing a MOOC provides a certificate of accomplishment that users can download in PDF format from a dedicated section of Politecnico di Milano's Online Services ("How do I download the certificate of accomplishment?").

From February 25, 2025, certificates will also be issued in the form of Open Badges, which are digital certificates that are easily shareable and certify the acquisition of disciplinary knowledge, personal abilities (soft skills), and/or technical competencies acquired upon completion of the course.

Initially, the Open Badge will only be available for some MOOCs, but its issuance will gradually extend to all POK educational offerings, eventually replacing the current certificate of accomplishment. Check the "Certificate" section of each individual course for the completion criteria and the type of certification offered.

These certificates are not official credentials and do not grant university credits, grades, or diplomas.