Find out more

The PhD Course in Information Engineering is offered by the Department of Information Engineering (DEI), which gathers almost all professors and researchers of the University of Padua working in the scientific area from which the Department takes its name. This coexistence within a single Department of all scientific fields of Information Engineering—also linked by several interdisciplinary projects—is one of the strengths of the Course, which has always benefited from the organizational structure of DEI, from the wide variety of research lines carried out by the groups operating there, and from the laboratories they have at their disposal, thus allowing PhD candidates to benefit from an environment particularly suitable for their scientific training.

At the strategic level, for DEI the PhD Course is a fundamental tool to pursue its mission of carrying out research in cutting-edge topics, training personnel able both to ensure continuity to these activities and to transfer the knowledge acquired in the academic context and make it productive for the territory, both locally and globally. Proof of this is the Department’s commitment to funding, with its own resources and those of its faculty, several PhD scholarships, as well as the participation of companies in financing various PhD scholarships.

Research training in such a broad area of Engineering requires that each PhD candidate, during the three years of the program, be provided with the tools and guidance necessary to deepen interdisciplinary knowledge in several ICT sectors beyond the one in which they specialize; to develop a methodologically sound approach to conducting both theoretical and experimental research; and to strengthen the transversal foundational preparation (mathematics, physics, computer science) required for this purpose.

Moreover, considering that career prospects have increasingly shifted from academia and public research institutions towards industry—ranging from large multinational corporations to start-ups—the training plan includes elements of problem-solving, technological transfer, entrepreneurship culture, protection and exploitation of intellectual property, and basics of business organization.

A first tool foreseen for this purpose in the training plan is a catalogue of courses and other learning activities, available at https://phd.dei.unipd.it/courses/, which includes:

- specific PhD courses (with final exam), some in the area of transversal methodological competences in Information Engineering (advanced IT tools, statistics, applied mathematics), and the remaining in the areas of the core research sectors. At least 80 hours are required over the 3 years of the program;

- seminars specifically organized by the PhD Course in Information Engineering or jointly with other PhD Courses of the University, on transversal topics (Public Ethics, Team Work, International Funding Opportunities, Intellectual Property, Building a Researcher Career). At least 4 hours are required for these activities;

- mandatory attendance of at least one course organized at the University level on transversal skills. At least 8 hours are required for this activity;

- participation in departmental research seminars.

The central and most substantial part—both in terms of time and intellectual effort—of the doctoral program is undoubtedly practical research training, which is guaranteed first of all by the inclusion of each PhD candidate in one of the research groups operating at DEI (https://www.dei.unipd.it/aree-di-ricerca). PhD candidates work closely with faculty members and young researchers whose scientific results have placed DEI at national (VQR) and international levels of excellence. This provides PhD students access to thirty research laboratories, an additional nine teaching laboratories, as well as an individual workstation with a computer and access to the departmental network with advanced computing systems and multimedia peripherals.

Course Objectives

The general objective of the PhD Course is to train researchers in all areas of high scientific interest and, at the same time, recognized social impact within Information Engineering, providing PhD candidates with a culturally stimulating and well-equipped environment in which to conduct highly competitive research with strong national and international relevance, aiming to achieve excellence in their respective disciplines.

These disciplines correspond to the core sectors of Information Engineering: Electronics, Photonics, Computer Science, Telecommunications, Control Engineering, Bioengineering, Electronic Measurements, Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, with particular reference to Optics and Lasers for the former and to Operations Research for the latter, as well as all application sectors in which Information Engineering methodologies are widely used.

Within this general framework, the educational project of the Course is designed and structured to train PhD graduates with a combination of skills, knowledge, and abilities whose relative weight can adapt to the attitudes and individual objectives of the PhD candidates, whose goals are increasingly shifting from academic or research institution careers toward industrial or entrepreneurial paths.

To this end, the educational project aims to develop: the ability to conduct scientific research at the international level both in academia and industry; the acquisition of methodologies and technical knowledge that allow PhD graduates to conceive and design projects at component and system level; the aptitude to work in teams to carry out complex projects; the skills required to interact effectively with the international scientific community and/or with the local and international industrial community, including through participation in international conferences and research stays in universities and research institutions abroad; advanced transversal competences in the sectors covered by the PhD, with the potential to generate new professional profiles; the ability to develop leadership in introducing and transferring technological innovation, including in SMEs.

To facilitate the achievement of these objectives, the PhD Course is organized into two curricula, “Bioengineering” and “Information Science and Technology,” a division that reflects the fact that Bioengineering, although fully belonging to the core sectors of Information Engineering, has strong links with the medical, biological, and biomechanical areas.

Educational Activities

The training of such researchers requires acquiring interdisciplinary knowledge across various sectors, which is provided and encouraged during the three years of the program, as well as deep mathematical preparation allowing the use of highly sophisticated calculation and problem-solving methodologies.

In the first two years, students have access to a catalogue of courses, seminars, and other learning activities, available at the link https://phd.dei.unipd.it/courses/

As for research training, this is guaranteed primarily by the integration of each PhD candidate into one of the research groups operating at DEI (https://www.dei.unipd.it/aree-di-ricerca), where candidates work in close contact with faculty members and young researchers whose scientific outcomes have brought DEI to national (VQR) and international excellence, having access to 30 research laboratories, 9 teaching laboratories, and individual workstations with departmental multifunction printers.

Research Areas

The PhD Course in Information Engineering aims to train researchers in the areas of microelectronics, computer science, telecommunications, control engineering, photonics, multimedia signal processing and transmission, operations research, bioengineering, as well as in all application sectors in which Information Engineering methodologies are widely used.

Professional Profile

For years now, there has been a clear trend showing that the professional outcomes of the PhD in Information Engineering are shifting from the academic field towards industry and private enterprise, including the creation of start-up companies. This trend is immediately evident when analyzing the origins of the funding for the scholarships offered: more than 30% of the positions (45 out of 140) offered in the last three cycles are funded by companies, mainly through topic-oriented positions within company-funded research projects.

The main roles that PhD graduates in Information Engineering go on to occupy are:

a) scientists for the conception, design, and development of innovative complex systems and devices employing information technology, even in fields other than their specific one;
b) university teaching and research staff;
c) research staff in public and private research centers in Italy and abroad;
d) highly qualified personnel with responsibilities in project management and group leadership for research and innovation in ICT companies or companies with high ICT utilization;
e) entrepreneurs founding start-up companies in the ICT sector or in sectors with high ICT utilization.

From an analysis conducted in 2021 on a sample of 69 PhD graduates who obtained the title between 1/1/2018 and 31/12/2020 (out of a total of 81 graduates), 29 were holding post-doctoral positions at universities (4 abroad), 7 were holding positions equivalent to that of researcher (5 in foreign universities), and 33 were employed in ICT companies.

  Curriculum

• Bioengineering
• Information and Communication Technologies

  Other information

• Calls and Admissions
• The International PhD guide
• Administrative Informations