Milan's bargain course

The Milan Polytechnic, one of Italy's top engineering schools, is preparing a three-year degree course in information technology engineering that will operate almost entirely via the internet. This will allow students from all parts of Italy to enrol, without the high costs of living in Milan.

From September, classes of about 20 students will access a web page with the text of the lectures, the images that go with them, and a number of interactive applications. They will be supported by tutors via email. Every six months they will spend a few days at the polytechnic's Como site,just outside Milan, where there are lodgings for students, to take exams and attend conventional lectures.