PhD in
Advanced-Systems Engineering
The purpose of this international PhD programme is to train a new generation of researchers able to carry out independent research in the areas of Advanced-Systems Engineering and give them the opportunity to transfer and exchange knowledge with national and international research centers and industries.
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This international PhD program trains a new generation of researchers who focus on Mechanical and Manufacturing Systems, Automation and Electronic Systems and Computer Systems to carry out independent research in the areas of Advanced-Systems Engineering and to give them the opportunity to transfer and exchange knowledge with national and international research centers and industries.
The three-year PhD programme focuses on the study and development of advanced and intelligent systems through an interdisciplinary approach that responds to recent technological developments (e.g., Cyber-Physical-Systems, Industry 4.0, Internet of Things) by integrating the disciplines of mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, information engineering and computer science. They are supported by specific skills in mathematics and artificial intelligence.
PhD student projects pertain to the following research areas, which are actively pursued by research groups at unibz on a long-term basis, and are considered in the PhD on Advanced-Systems Engineering:
Mechanical-and-Manufacturing-Systems Engineering
- Mechanical and Mechatronic Systems
- Advanced Manufacturing Technologies
- Mechanical Engineering Design and Optimization
- Production Systems and Management
- Smart Factory
Automation and-Electronic-Systems Engineering
- Autonomous systems
- Humanin-the-loop systems
- Thinfilm devices and sensors
- Flexible and wearable electronics, smart textiles
- Micro and nano technology
- Soft biocompatible sensor systems
- Robotic Systems
- Automatic Control
- Intelligent Sensor/Actor Networks
Computer Systems Engineering
- Systems of Systems
- Complex Networks
- Distributed Systems and Security
- SelfAdaptive Software Systems
- Development and Operation of IoT Systems
- Operations Research
The main features of the PhD are an interdisciplinary scientific approach and the participation of internationally renowned scientists on the Scientific Committee.
At a Glance
Duration of the programme: 3 years
Courses will be taught in English
Places available: 22 with scholarship + 5 without scholarship
Campus: Bozen-Bolzano
Tuition fees: € 180 per year
Programme Structure
The PhD covers the research areas of Advanced-Systems Engineering and offers you a stimulating, multilingual environment with fellow researchers from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Upon acceptance into the programme, you will be required to design a research project and write a study plan in collaboration with your supervisor, including the purpose of your project and the steps necessary to implement it. You will conduct a thorough literature survey, which includes a summary and analysis of the state-of-the-art of your research topic. Occasionally, you will be required to update the study plan in consideration of the progression of your work and the latest developments in your research field.
Your stay for at least three (and up to twelve) months at a foreign research center is mandatory. You will be required to publish at least one article in an international peer-reviewed journal and present your results at least at one international conference. During the three-year program, you will also be required to regularly attend classes and seminars, specifically designed for PhD students.
The stages of the PhD
The PhD research activities are organized into five phases:
- Phase 1 (first 2 months): In collaboration with your supervisor, you shall identify your research topic and develop a study plan.
- Phase 2 (2nd -6th month): After an exhaustive review of the literature concerning your subject area, you shall define your research programme based on the state of the art of your research topic.
- Phase 3 (6th -12th month): you will start/continue your work applying the approach defined for your project.
- Phase 4 (12th -24th month): you will continue your research, you will plan your stay abroad, and you will be expected to begin preparing the manuscript(s) for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
- Phase 5 (24th-36th month): During the final stage you will complete your research project, the publication of your manuscript(s), and your dissertation.
Study abroad
During the three years of the PhD programme, you will be required to commit to your research project full-time. Your stay at a renowned foreign research center for at least 3 months (up to 12) is compulsory. This will be an opportunity to diversify your study experience, by conducting research in highly stimulating and competitive contexts, exchanging ideas with other researchers, and, thereby, networking with international colleagues.
People
PhD Programme Coordinator: prof. Karl Von Ellenrieder (photo)
Student Representative in the Lecturer's Committee: Zeeshan Hameed
highlights
Studying at unibz
Living in South Tyrol, Housing, Scholarships and more
Coming to unibz from Abroad
Application procedure, Visa, Residence permit and more
Application and Admission
You can find key information to apply and gain admission to this PhD Programme. For detailed information browse the general and specific calls below.
In order to gain admission to the PhD programme, you will need to have obtained 300 ECTS credit points (master degree) and have some relevant academic experience in the field of the programme. You will also have to demonstrate competence in the English language during the interview.
1st Call
Application deadline: by 15 June 2023, 12:00 midday (GTM +2:00)
Admission interviews: 22-23 June 2023 (at unibz or via MS Teams according to one’s availability - if not otherwise communicated)
Publication of ranking lists: by 14 July 2023
Confirmation of the PhD position - 1st Call
Applicants with grant: starting from 14 July 2023 until 27 July 2023;
Applicants without grant: starting from 27 July 2023 until 04 August 2023.
Enrolment: Starting from 27 July 2023 until 31 October 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
2nd Call
Application deadline: by 18 July 2023, 12:00 midday (GTM +2:00)
Admission interviews: 24-25 July 2023
Publication of ranking lists: by 7 August 2023
Confirmation of the PhD position - 2nd Call
Applicants with grant: starting from 7 August 2023 until 23 August 2023;
Applicants without grant: starting from 24 August 2023 until 31 August 2023.
Enrolment: Starting from 24 August 2023 until 31 October 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
3rd Call
Application deadline: by 11 September 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
Admission interviews: from 13 September to 18 September 2023, online via Microsoft Teams
Publication of ranking lists: by 28 September 2023
Confirmation of the PhD position - 3rd Call
Applicants with scholarships: starting from 28 September 2023 until 16 October 2023.
Enrolment: Starting from 17 October 2023 until 31 October 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
Total positions: 28
1st Call
Positions with university grants: 5
Positions MD 118/2023 under PNRR: 1
Positions without scholarship: 2
2nd Call
Positions with other type types of grants: 1
Positions MD 117/2023 under PNRR: 12
Positions without scholarship: 3
3rd Call
Positions MD 117/2023 under PNRR: 4
Applications to the selection procedure can be submitted from the date of the announcement of the public competition.
Each application is subject to a payment for administrative expenses (30 €). This registration fee cannot be reimbursed under any circumstances.
In order to apply, you need to follow these steps:
- Create an account at Application Portal and upload in electronic format a passport-size colour photo and a valid ID (passport or identity card, front/back);
- In the application portal, select the PhD programme and pay the registration fee of 30 € (see instructions in the portal);
- Fill in the online form in the same portal and upload the additional required documents (see the specific attachments to the call for each PhD programme).
Completing the application online is the only way to submit the application. Applications will not be considered if:
- incomplete or without compulsory entry qualifications/requirements;
- sent by e-mail.
It is necessary to upload the required documentation for each PhD programme chosen in the portal. A traffic light system indicates complete/incomplete documentation (missing documents will be marked in red).
Only documents uploaded by the deadline will be evaluated. It is advisable to apply online well in advance and to check the portal regularly to take note of any notes concerning missing and/or incorrect documents.
After the deadline, it will no longer be possible to complete/correct incomplete applications.
The University is not liable if the portal is overcharged, due to the net or to the software itself.
1st Call
At this link you can find a list of potential research projects and their corresponding proposed supervisors. Please carefully read the document and select two of these projects to include in your personal statement. While, the general projects may change slightly after the start of the program, the list of potential projects has been developed to ensure a synergy between an applicant’s areas of research interest and the research specialties of the faculty/program. In your personal statement you should clearly explain what your research interests are, what your motivation for pursuing a PhD is, and how your academic background and experiences ensure that you have the capability and skills required to successfully complete this advanced degree.
2nd Call
At this link you can find a list of potential research projects and their corresponding proposed supervisors.
3rd Call
At this link you can find a list of potential research projects and their corresponding proposed supervisors.
All citizen, regardless of sex, age and nationality may apply to be admitted to a PhD programme:
- Applicants holding a postgraduate degree as per Italian Ministerial Decree no. 509/1999, a postgraduate degree as per Italian Ministerial Decree no. 270/2004, a degree of the former Italian university system, or an equivalent degree obtained abroad;
- Applicants achieving one of the above mentioned titles within the enrolment deadline. In this case applicants will be admitted conditionally to the selection procedure, and they must produce the degree certificate within the enrolment’s deadline. If not, their application is considered null and void.
All applicants are eligible for selection, subject to verification of self-certified statements pursuant to Presidential Decree no. 445/2000 and subsequent amendments and additions. In the event of a false declaration, the university may order at any time, by order of the Rector, the exclusion of applicants from the selection process or from the PhD programme, without prejudice to the criminal liability arising therefrom.
Candidates with degrees obtained abroad that have not already been declared equivalent to an Italian degree
On the basis of the documentation produced, the selection committee will declare the foreign qualification equivalent to a Master's degree, solely for the purposes of participation in this competition. Candidates with a foreign qualification will be admitted to the selection process with reservations and will be excluded from the PhD programme if it turns out, after verification, that the qualification does not comply with the requirements of this call for applications and therefore does not permit enrolment in the PhD programme.
The official language of the PhD programme is English and applicants are expected to possess a very good working knowledge of English.
The English proficiency of each candidate will be assessed during the interviews.
To apply to the PhD programme, applicants must include the documentation listed below. Incomplete applications will be excluded from the competition.
Attention: text exceeding the maximum allowed length (if clearly indicated for a document) will not be taken into account! Please respect the format/length indicated.
Diploma supplement or the Master degree diploma together with the transcript of records of all passed exams (=certificate with exams list of Master degree):
- if graduated in Italy: diploma supplement or self-declaration (following the Italian D.P.R. no. 445/2000) of the degree awarded with the exams passed (if graduated) or just with the exams passed (if not graduated yet);
- if graduated abroad: certification that at the university in the country in which the degree was obtained they have access to a course of study similar to that chosen at unibz. They must therefore upload one of the following documents to the pre-enrolment portal:
The Diploma supplement, where it must be indicated, that the person has achieved at least 300 credit points (ECTS) and that the study title gives access to a PhD programme. In case of doubt, unibz reserves the right to request the Statement of comparability;
Statement of comparability of the qualification, issued by the Italian Information Centre on Academic Mobility and Equivalence (CIMEA), in the case the Diploma supplement is missing;
Declaration of equivalent value of the qualification, issued by the Italian consulate or embassy abroad.
Curriculum vitae (CV) (in English and preferably following the EU format, which can be downloaded here).
A personal statement, written in English (max. 2 pages). In this document, the candidates shall indicate which of the proposed research areas and topics they are interested in. They may mention why they think unibz and this Ph.D. programme is the right place for their tertiary education and research activities.
Other documents to be included by applicants, when available:
Up to a maximum of 2 reference letters, written in Italian, German or English provided by a university lecturer or a researcher from a research institute, describing the work carried out and its quality. In lieu of letters, the names and institutional contact information of up to 2 professional references can be provided.
A list of publications (published, being published, or submitted for publication) and the digital copy of at most 3 selected publications from the past 5 years (note that most weight is given to articles indexed in Scopus and/or on the Web of Science).
The application process consists of three stages:
- The applications are first reviewed for administrative completeness and eligibility by the competent unibz offices.
- Those complete applications, which fulfill the base admission requirements, are then evaluated by the ASE PhD Programme Evaluation Committee, which shall consider the applicant’s CV, cover letter, qualifications (including any publications), and the alignment between the candidate’s profile/interests and the PhD Programme research areas. The Evaluation Committee shall then create a list of applicants to be admitted to the 3rd stage of the selection process.
- Each candidate will be interviewed to assess his/her basic/fundamental technical knowledge in one or more of the PhD programme’s research areas, as well as her/his ability to orally communicate in English. The interview may be conducted via live video conference, if necessary. The Evaluation Committee shall rank the applicants via a comparative assessment.
The following scores will be awarded:
- up to 10 points for: the applicant’s CV, cover letter and qualifications,
- up to 10 points for the appropriateness of the CV regarding the research areas of interest for the PhD programme,
- up to 20 points for the interview.
The final score is the sum of the points awarded for the 3 categories described above, with a max of 40. The final score shall be used to define the ranked list of candidates, and to determine which candidates will be offered a research scholarship. The lowest score to be admitted in the rank-list is 20/40.
Scholarships financed by external institutions.
If interested in one of the scholarships financed by external institutions, the applicant must explicitly state his/her interest in the letter of motivation and application.
Separate rankings may be drawn up for such grants. In any case, these separate rankings will only include candidates who have already been included in the general ranking of merit and who have a scientific curriculum that is particularly appropriate to the project in question.
The final ranked list will be published here.
Fees amount to € 180
In order to confirm your study place, you need to log on to the application portal and pay the tuition fees (€ 180) which includes the provincial tax for the right to study of € 164 and a revenue stamp of € 16. by one of the methods indicated on the portal by the deadline indicated above.
If you do not respect this deadline, you will automatically lose your study place. If, by paying the instalment you have confirmed the study place, there will be no refund of the tuition fees unless you are a non-EU applicant resident abroad and you do not receive the necessary documents from the Italian authorities in your country.
1st Call
Application deadline: by 15 June 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
CALL GENERAL PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
CALL SPECIFIC PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
2nd Call
Application deadline: by 18 July 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
CALL GENERAL PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
CALL SPECIFIC PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
3rd Call
Application deadline: by 11 September 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
CALL GENERAL PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
CALL SPECIFIC PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE