Teaching, Research and the "Third Mission" are the three main university activities. UniTo has chosen to interpret the three traditional missions multidimensionally by giving value to people and to the places where they carry out their studies and work. The University intends to innovate teaching and research, through constant attention to changing needs and technology, and thus to ensure their continued high quality. UniTo also intends to be open to the public, disseminating new knowledge in the socio-cultural context, collaborating increasingly with institutions, local bodies and businesses to impact on the community socially, economically and culturally.

The research carried out at the University is an immense asset for the economic, cultural and social development of the City of Turin and its surrounding area. In the last few years, the University has built close ties with the business world and the city’s institutions, making the creative potential and skills of UniTo researchers available through a variety of initiatives, which are the result of a strategic approach aimed at enhancing the impact of university research on the community and locally.
The opening up of highly specialised research infrastructures and laboratories to the outside world is giving rise to growing interest, as are the recently launched training courses on business creation and support in starting up one’s own business. The University’s collaboration with industry and local institutions generates a virtuous circle that helps to stimulate technological innovation in businesses and services, while at the same time enabling the University to recognise trends within industry and the needs of the community, encouraging it to promote areas of research that can help businesses and institutions choose innovative solutions that respect local sustainable development.
Considering the University’s important role in contributing to innovation locally, UniTo intends to enhance the "third mission" Case Studies to participate more actively in public engagement initiatives and to intensify opportunities for technology and knowledge transfer, as well as sharing large instruments through Open Access Labs.
The contribution to local economic and social development must also be guaranteed by greater planning of permanent professional updating and opportunities for scientific dissemination through public engagement activities. Fostering public engagement activities also involves the redevelopment of memory spaces and the promotion of the University’s cultural heritage, in synergy with the museum system of Turin and Piedmont.