PhD Programme PhD Objectives and Training Pathway

PhD Objectives and Training Pathway

Educational Objectives of the PhD Program

The PhD program aims to provide highly qualified technical-scientific training, preparing doctoral students for both academic and professional careers in the industrial sector. The main objectives include:

• Developing advanced methodological skills for the design, management, and control of plants, products, processes, and materials with a particular, but not exclusive, focus on the industrial sector.
• Preparing candidates to tackle complex problems in research, technological development, and innovation in industrial sectors.
• Promoting a scientific and systemic approach in solving practical and theoretical problems.
• Encouraging internationalization through research periods abroad and collaborations with foreign universities.
• Promoting scientific output through peer-reviewed articles, with the possibility of submitting a "collection of articles" as a doctoral thesis.
• Providing transversal and interdisciplinary training through:
• Collaborations with heterogeneous research groups, with the Board of Teachers encouraging each doctoral student to spend time in groups other than their own, to foster the exchange and integration of skills.
• Involvement in Industry 4.0 topics (e.g., additive manufacturing, augmented reality, simulation), which require the integration of knowledge from different fields (mechanics, computer science, materials, automation).
• Course and seminar structures that include soft and complementary skills, promoting broad-based preparation.

 

Training Pathway

The training pathway of the PhD in Industrial Engineering is fully consistent with the educational objectives defined by the Board of Teachers. This consistency is reflected through a series of structural, organizational, and content-related choices that aim to concretely realize the program’s vision:

1. Modular and Specialized Structure

The program is organized into four curricula, each addressing specific areas of industrial engineering.

• Energy and Innovative Industrial and Environmental Technologies
• Product and Process Design and Development
• Industrial and Reliability Engineering
• Materials Science and Engineering

This allows for targeted yet integrated training, in line with the goal of providing advanced skills in major industrial sectors.

2. Training in Scientific and Transversal Skills

The program requires the acquisition of 30 ECTS (1 ECTS = 6 hours of classroom teaching) through courses/seminars, with at least 6 ECTS in soft and complementary skills (e.g., scientific communication, intellectual property, project writing and management), meeting the need to train well-rounded researchers capable of operating in interdisciplinary and complex contexts.

3. Internationalization and Mobility

A mandatory period abroad of at least 3 months is required, in addition to active promotion of participation in conferences and international collaborations. This aligns with the goal of shaping professionals with global perspectives and the ability to engage internationally.

4. Guided Research Activities and Continuous Evaluation

Each doctoral student is supervised by one or more tutors, responsible for ensuring consistency between research activities and educational objectives. Furthermore, annual reviews with faculty members external to the research group serve to monitor progress and effectively guide activities.

5. Promotion of Scientific Production

The writing of peer-reviewed articles is encouraged, and submitting the thesis as a "collection of articles" is allowed, promoting the dissemination and quality of the research conducted.

6. Interdisciplinarity and Scientific Cross-Fertilization

The program requires each doctoral student to spend time in a research group different from their own, promoting the meeting of different skills and thus responding to the need to train flexible and interdisciplinary professionals.