Dottorato di Ricerca in Ingegneria dell'Innovazione Tecnologica

General information

Cycle: 38

Expected starting date: 01/11/2022

Expected duration in years: 3

Maximum number of positions for which the accreditation is requested as per art. 5, paragraph 2, Min. Decree 226/2021: 4

Doctorate that received international accreditation (Joint Doctoral Program): No

Description of the training project and course objectives
Description of the project:

The PhD Course in Engineering of Technological Innovation offers advanced training to carry out research in the field of industrial engineering and technological innovation, with particular reference to Industry 4.0 technologies.

The Ph.D. Course aims to meet the challenges of digital transformation by training individuals capable of conducting theoretical and applied research on the main themes of new digital technologies, innovative production processes and new organizational models.

The Doctoral Program is structured in two Curricula: Advanced Manufacturing and Digital Technologies for Industry 4.0. The two paths have in common a background related to physical-mathematical models and methods. The first curriculum offers a specific focus on Key Enabling Technologies in industry, while the second one delves into the development of IT solutions in industry. The training program is structured on a three-year course comprising 180 credits, of which 30 are for basic methodological courses, 130 for the development of the Doctoral Thesis, and 20 for applied research activities in companies or research institutions in Italy or abroad.

The Doctoral Program is organized in agreement with the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. The collaboration includes the involvement of CNR researchers in the Doctoral College and the possibility for doctoral students to use CNR laboratories for study and research activities.

Course objectives

The Doctorate Course in Engineering of Technological Innovation aims to train professional profiles able to carry out highly qualified research in Universities and international research agencies as well as in companies working in the advanced manufacturing sector, industrial automation and IT services.

The profile trained at the end of the doctoral program has knowledge of various digital technologies, innovative production processes, and new organizational models related to digital transformation. He has data science skills, thus being able to process information with big data analysis and machine learning techniques and extract information useful for decision-making processes. Finally, he has mastered the bibliographic study of scientific documents and the writing of scientific reports and articles.

The courses offered allow students to develop a solid methodological background and multidisciplinary knowledge, acquiring advanced theories and methodological approaches, problem analysis and modeling skills, innovative solution techniques, and knowledge of advanced materials and technologies.

Employment and professional prospects

The PhD course aims to train professionals able to carry out highly qualified research in the field of industrial engineering and information related to the advanced manufacturing sector, with particular reference to the Industry 4.0 technologies. Research Doctors also have multidisciplinary knowledge and skills to operate in all other areas where 4.0 technologies are used.
The PhDs will therefore be able to carry out research and professional activities at national and international level in public and private institutions such as universities, research institutions, companies and central and peripheral administrations. Specifically, possible employment opportunities for the PhD in Italy and abroad will be:

• Post-doctoral fellowships, research grants or contracts from researchers in Italian and foreign universities;
• highly qualified personnel in research and training institutes or in technology transfer centers;
• professional in companies operating in manufacturing and services, industrial automation and IT applied to the industry;
• high-level professional roles in national public institutions (ministries, regulatory authorities, local public institutions) and international ones;
• managerial roles in multinational companies with a high level of innovation;
• entrepreneurs in contexts characterized by a high level of innovation.

Administrative office

Consistency with the objectives of PNRR

The Ph.D. in Technological Innovation Engineering active since Cycle XXXIV trains cross-disciplinary figures who can successfully fit into the activities of several priority missions of the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan).

The PhD in Technological Innovation Engineering is structured to enable research in the field of industrial engineering and technological innovation, with particular reference to Industry 4.0 technologies. It aims to develop professionals capable of carrying out high-profile research activities in international universities and research institutes, as well as in companies operating in the advanced manufacturing, industrial automation and IT services sectors, and is also an innovative and cross-sectorally characterized Ph.D., inherent to Industry 4.0 issues and interdisciplinary, inherent to Big Data methodologies and applications.

The objectives of interest of the NRP missions in which the doctoral program intervenes are:

• MISSION 1: DIGITIZATION, INNOVATION, COMPETITIVENESS, CULTURE AND TOURISM
• M1C2: DIGITIZATION, INNOVATION AND COMPETITIVENESS IN THE PRODUCTION SYSTEM

Component 2 of Mission 1 aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the production system by enhancing its rate of digitization, technological innovation and internationalization through a series of complementary interventions. It aims to foster the digital transition and innovation of the production system by encouraging investment in advanced technologies, research and innovation. Realize investment in ultrafast 5G fiber optic connections. Strengthen participation in the development of the space economy and Earth observation systems for monitoring territories. Promote the development and competitiveness of Italian companies also in international markets, including through innovative financial instruments.

Organization type

2c) Doctorate in an associate form as per Min. Decree 45/2013 with Italian research agencies

Partnering/affiliated boards

Description of the facilities, structures and scientific equipment of the Board

The Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche (National Research Council - CNR) is a national public research organization with multidisciplinary expertise, supervised by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR). Founded in 1923, it has the task of carrying out scientific research projects in the main fields of knowledge and applying their results for the development of the country, promoting innovation, internationalization of the "research system" and fostering the competitiveness of the industrial system. Every day, the CNR faces the challenges of our time in multiple areas: human and planetary health, environment and energy, food and sustainable agriculture, transport and production systems, ICT, new materials, sensors and aerospace. Also human sciences and cultural heritage protection, social sciences, bioethics, quantum sciences and technologies, artificial intelligence, and enabling technologies.

Activities are carried out through a human resource base of about 8,500 employees operating throughout the country, more than 7,000 of whom are engaged in research and research support activities. The scientific network consists of 88 research institutes and seven departments for macro-thematic areas. An important contribution comes from collaborations, including international ones, with researchers from universities and companies.

In addition, the CNR is the largest non-university institution involved in the PhD programs of Italian universities, with the aim of contributing to the higher education of young people through paths characterized by a very high scientific profile, innovation and quality of research.

Doctoral curricula related to the Doctorate Course

Professors’ Commission

Coordinator

Clemente Cesarano

Members of the Commission (Teaching Staff and Researchers of the Italian Universities)

Members of the Commission (Nonacademic staff employed at Italian or foreign institutions and teaching staff at foreign Universities)

Planned/envisaged teaching activity

Envisaged courses (apart from those delivered in programs related to first and second level study courses)

Automatic summary of the courses comprised in the training path

Yearly average total hours:

150 (value obtained from the sum of the total number of hours over the whole cycle of all courses divided by the duration of the course)

Number of courses: 3

Of which a final exam is envisaged: 3

Other training activities

(Seminars, laboratory and research activities, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary training)

Positions, grants and budget for research

(2): (Yearly grant amount % of monthly grant amount)
(3): (% of monthly grant amount (yearly grant amount/12) * months abroad)

Sources to cover the budget of the doctorate course (grants included)

Research journeys