POLIS University — Center of Excellence on Housing, Planning and Development is a private university in Tirana, Albania, with a strong focus on architecture, planning, environment, urban management, and applied research. Its structure combines three main academic units with an interdisciplinary innovation center, and it also includes affiliated units such as the Co-PLAN habitat development institute, the MetroPOLIS architecture studio, and an incubator.23
Its mission appears closely connected to affordable and sustainable housing through its planning and habitat-development work, especially via the Faculty of Planning, Environment and Urban Management and its relationship with Co-PLAN, which the university describes as its origin.5 The faculty states that it has a “very strong social mission” by providing services and consultancy to communities and local authorities, suggesting a practical role in urban governance, spatial planning, and development policy.5 The university also offers professional and research-oriented programs in areas such as digital architecture and territorial planning and GIS, reinforcing its applied orientation.6
Geographically, POLIS University’s core activity is in Albania, but it has an international dimension through European academic memberships, Erasmus+ mobility, and partnerships with foreign universities and networks.57 Its website also highlights English-language and international programs, indicating a regional and European academic scope rather than a purely local one.6