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Coordinator: Prof. Giuseppe Campione

Vice-Coordinator: Prof. Michele Fabio Granata

Starting cycle: XXXIX (39)

 

Curricula

1. Structural and geotechnical engineering

2. Transportation infrastructures engineering and geomatics

 

Description of the training project

The PhD programme in Engineering of Structures and Infrastructures based at the University of Palermo is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary programme designed to address some of the most pressing problems of our time related to the world of engineering.

The training programme of the Engineering of Structures and Infrastructures PhD course is designed for the personal and professional growth of graduates and professionals on a broad spectrum of topics related to Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, Road Infrastructures, Transport and Geomatics.

Thanks to this course of study, doctoral students will not only have an in-depth knowledge of the issues and problems of their own field of study and research, but will also be able to combine specialist knowledge from other disciplines. This challenge is addressed by our programme through constructive interactions and an effective synthesis of science and engineering. Research in the programme makes use of the possibility of combining innovative experiments, new theories and advanced simulation methods.

The PhD programme is divided into two curricula:

- Structural and Geotechnical Engineering

- Engineering of Road Infrastructures, Geomatics, Transport.

During the three years of the Engineering of Structures and Infrastructures PhD course, students will participate in training activities that include attendance of specialised courses, participation in seminars, workshops, laboratories and study days or other courses offered by our or another university (Italian or European), to be identified according to the student's training needs.

These activities, on the basis of the opinions and proposals for improvement made by the doctoral students, the suggestions of internal stakeholders (Courses of Study, Schools of Specialisation, Master's Degrees, Doctoral School, Board of teachers, University Governance, Departments) and from national and international comparison, will be periodically reviewed and updated in order to align them with the cultural and scientific evolution of the disciplinary areas of reference of the doctorate.

In line with the Athenaeum's strategic planning and with the development of a marked interdisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity, the Doctorate Course Board promotes training activities common to all the doctoral addresses (e.g. basic Matlab course, language and computer training, etc.).

During the course of the doctoral programme, the quality of the research and training activities will be assessed for each year and for each doctoral student, and meetings with stakeholders will be organised at least once a year for a comparison with the world of work and industry in order to grasp the needs of the evolving market and for the insertion of future doctoral students in important top positions in the world of work.

 

Course Objectives

The Interdisciplinary Doctorate Course aims at introducing students to advanced knowledge of methods for the analysis of problems and the solution of scientific questions related to Structural Engineering, Geotechnics, Road Infrastructure Engineering, Transport, Geomatics.

The educational objectives of the PhD course are divided in relation to the two curricula into which it is divided: Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, Road Infrastructure Engineering, Geomatics, and Transport.

The curriculum in Structural Engineering and Geotechnics encompasses the topics of the scientific disciplines of Construction Science, Construction Technology and Geotechnics and aims to train highly qualified researchers and professionals with the ability to identify, formulate and solve complex engineering problems related to the world of construction and its interaction with the subsurface. Some relevant fields are computational mechanics, dynamic analysis of structures and monitoring, geomechanics, thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of geomaterials, tissue biomechanics and mechanobiology, seismic and landslide risk mitigation, concrete constructions. The curriculum aims to train high-level figures who know how to manage new technologies and innovation in the field of construction. The studies will train both researchers of international standing and technicians who know how to deal with the design of complex structures.

The general objective of the Road, Geomatics and Transport Infrastructure Engineering curriculum is to train highly qualified figures capable of deal with and solve problems related to the design, construction, maintenance and management of road and rail infrastructures in their life cycle; employ criteria related to efficiency, safety, socio-economic and environmental sustainability in the design and operation of road and transport infrastructures; recognise the basic problems of the transport system in the mutual influence between supply and demand to manage projects and programmes for the operation, maintenance, functional upgrading, and decommissioning of the infrastructures of competence according to circular economy principles; to design, execute and process surveys with the most modern 3D surveying techniques; to develop advanced geomatic procedures in support of engineering applications; to acquire, process, analyse and manage spatial information through remote sensing techniques and spatial information systems.

The curricula aim to specialise in the research topics offered according to priority objectives, consistent with the most advanced international research areas and with those belonging to the disciplinary scientific sectors of the lecturers belonging to the doctoral college.

The innovative features of the course largely derive from the multidisciplinary perspective underpinning the training project and the opening of the curricula to a plurality of interdisciplinary specialised competences. This corresponds to a real need, which is expected to grow in the coming years, and which is connected to the implementation of recent EU and national legislative provisions and guidelines.

Both curricula deal with highly topical issues in the field of basic and applied research, whose strategic importance for technological advancement is recognised by the scientific and industrial community.

In addition to the specific topics of the two curricula, interdisciplinary thesis work is encouraged, also carried out in collaboration with other institutions and on transversal topics. Doctoral studies will train both researchers and scholars of international standing and qualified designers and technicians who are able to deal with the realisation of structures, road infrastructures and complex transport systems.

The objectives of the PhD course also include mobility and internationalisation, which is activated by study and research periods planned for PhD students and faculty members with other Italian and foreign locations.

 

Expected occupational and professional outlets

The PhD programme aims at training high-profile researchers and professionals, capable of planning, designing, building and managing in a highly qualified manner the activities proper to the world of civil constructions and materials, including the related industrial applications. In addition to the perspectives typical of the university and research worlds, the Doctor in ENGINEERING OF STRUCTURES AND INFRASTRUCTURES will be able to work in apical, technical and/or managerial roles, with a degree of responsibility appropriate to the level of competence acquired and with a marked ability to tackle new problems, even complex ones, in the field

- of the liberal profession, in professional studios and companies for the performance of design and/or consultancy activities aimed at determining forms of technical support to the decision-making process;

- of private companies for the construction and maintenance of civil works;

- of territorial public bodies with technical offices in charge of planning, design and management of civil works and road infrastructures (Owners and Management Companies);

- of companies, bodies, consortia and agencies for the management and control of systems, works and services, with particular regard to mobility and transport infrastructures;

- of service companies for the feasibility study of the urban and territorial impact of road infrastructures.

The PhD student will be able to combine innovative experiments, new theories and advanced simulation methods thanks to an effective synthesis of science and engineering, acquired during the PhD course.

The ultimate aim of the PhD course is to train students in the principles of science and technology in the fields of research in which the professors of the PhD college work, to provide them with the tools to carry out future activities both in the field of scientific research and in the field of technology, and to enter the economic and production sector professionally. Considering the employment picture of PhDs who have graduated in the last five cycles, the employment outlets are wide-ranging. Recently, a large number of PhDs have found employment in research at the university where their doctorate was awarded and at research centres, including foreign ones based in Europe.