Land, Environment, Resources, Health - L.E.R.H.
Antonella Tosatto
The mission of the LERH syllabus is to define integrated strategies for the management of natural resources and risks, in order to promote cross-sectoral rural development and related bio-economic activities using advanced knowledge and skills.
Deepening
Course Objectives
The mission of the LERH syllabus is to understand the processes that govern natural and agricultural ecosystems and their relationship with economic-social processes and to train managers, researchers and operators in integrated strategies for the management of natural and food resources, in order to promote sustainable rural and agri-food development and ensure the broader social benefits. Specific attention is paid to the dynamics related to environmental and climate change.
Educational activities
The training activities are focused on the study of the components that contribute to the determination of the quantity and quality of agro-forestry systems and to the protection of the environment (soil, climate, plants, water, phytosanitary interventions, biodiversity).
Research lines
The five research areas of the LERH Programme are: Agricultural, Forestry and Food Economics and Policy; Forest ecology and forest management; Hydrology, water resources, soil and soil conservation; Agricultural and forestry mechanization and operations management; Viticulture and oenology, food quality and nutrition.
The disciplinary areas covered by the LERH course are therefore broad and range from individual biological organisms to natural and managed ecosystems, from natural systems to agricultural and landscape systems, and from the conservation of resources to their use in order to provide, in a sustainable way, a flow of goods and services to consumers and society through the food and non-food supply chains. Understanding and effectively managing agricultural, forest and environmental resources in times of profound change requires a long-term vision and multidisciplinary approaches that involve the entire faculty, which works with experts from different disciplines and with a marked focus on international collaborations.
Professional profile
Overall, the training provided by the PhD course allows good employment opportunities both in public and private research and experimentation institutions, and in free-lance sectors of high technical-scientific specialization, in companies and organizations in which highly complex problems have to be faced. The experience gained in the LERH PhD course shows how the high scientific qualification and the excellent attitude acquired for group collaboration make doctorates appreciated figures for inclusion in the academic world. In fact, statistics show how doctorates in recent cycles have found a place both in Italy and abroad, in the academic world and in international institutions. Career opportunities in national and regional public bodies and in the advanced tertiary sector have also been significant, in particular in the field of design and consultancy in engineering companies, IT services and numerical cartography relating to land management, but also in the activity of the freelance profession with a high technological and training content.
The employment prospects of PhDs are many:
- research in public and private facilities, in Italy and abroad; research and course unit in universities;
- high and qualified professional activity in public and private institutions and companies operating in the forestry and agro-industrial sector.
Contacts
Land, Environment, Resources, Health - L.E.R.H.
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry
Viale dell'Università 16 - 35020 Legnaro (PD)
Marco Borga (Coordinator)
marco.borga@unipd.it
Laura Secco (Deputy Coordinator; Head of Teaching)
laura.secco@unipd.it
Administrative Contacts
phd.lerh@unipd.it