Objectives and Professional Opportunities
Course Objectives
The Ph.D. Program in Smart and Sustainable Industry aims to train experts with a high scientific profile, capable of contributing to technological innovation, digital transformation, and sustainable development of the significant production chains in the national and European landscape, providing students with a solid background for understanding fundamental physicochemical phenomena and the most complex and challenging engineering problems, as well as a thorough knowledge of the numerical and experimental methodologies and approaches necessary for their analysis and implementation. The Course exploits a significant network of research interactions in several application areas and the powerful synergies between the active regions of the Politecnico di Bari and the University of Bari Aldo Moro, capitalizing on the expertise developed in the numerous technology transfer programs of the proposing universities, the potential of the many public-private laboratories that long present within them, and the industrial research initiatives underway in the regional and national territory. The Course is divided into two interconnected cultural macro-environments to ensure strongly interdisciplinary educational objectives: Core technologies that include embedded systems, smart sensor networks, ICT, Internet of Things, Industrial Internet, Big Data and Analytics, Fog/Cloud/Mobile Edge Computing, cybersecurity, industrial automation and measurement systems, robotics, smart machine development, mechanical design and machining technologies, process engineering, evolutionary and adaptive manufacturing systems, efficient and sustainable energy systems, organizational process innovation and models business. Emerging technologies that include nanotechnology and advanced materials, additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, industrial tribology, advanced devices and sensors, smart systems, quantum technology, smart wearable devices, collaborative robotics, advanced human-machine interface, cognitive automation, advanced machine learning, virtual & augmented reality, metaverse, digital twin and simulation, human-centered artificial intelligence, blockchain, smart education and training for technology transfer. Technologies will be explored with a sensitivity aimed at social, economic, and environmental sustainability and improving human well-being. To train Ph.D.s capable of contributing to technological innovation, digital transformation, and sustainable development of the significant production chains in the national and European scene, the PhD Program Board identifies for each student a customized training path that allows an adequate degree of in-depth study in line with specific interests and talents. The course includes, together with the specifically defined research activity for an overall commitment of 120 credits, also a teaching activity for a maximum number of credits equal to 60, by the didactic regulations of the Doctoral School (SCUDO) of the Polytechnic University of Bari (https://www.poliba.it/sites/default/files/dottorati/regscudo2021.pdf), to be carried out preferably in the first two years. The teaching activity, typically in the first year, is geared toward making the fundamental skills more homogeneous, including attending basic teachings. After that, students can take specific subjects to achieve the more in-depth objectives of the Course. Specifically, the doctoral teaching imparted within the Course includes subjects offered by SCUDO (http://www.poliba.it/it/dottorato-di-ricerca-pagina/offerta-didattica) from which the student can choose the most suitable ones to enrich their education in agreement with the Supervisor and the Board. The SCUDO offer is divided into three levels: level 1 – subjects of common interest; level 2 – subjects of interest for specific areas; level 3- subjects proposed by the PhD Program Boards. The teaching offer defined by the SCUDO Board, upon a proposal of the individual PhD Program Boards, is usually updated annually to allow doctoral students a plurality of content throughout the cycle. Doctoral didactics is complemented by seminars (http://phd-ssi.poliba.it/scientific-events) focusing on specific aspects related to technological innovation, digital transformation, and sustainable development of industry, also organized in collaboration with large companies, PMI, and research centers, with which there are already numerous and well-established collaborative relationships. Students are also strongly advised to study at foreign Universities or Research Centers of relevant international prestige and to interact closely with the industrial world, which is also functional for a better understanding of technology transfer processes and implicit for educational paths with a more robust characterization in this direction.
Career opportunity
The ALMALAUREA 2023 report on the profile and employment status of PhD testifies to the high effectiveness of the skills acquired during the doctoral course on the performance of the specific job, witnessed by about 77% of employed PhDs, as well as the high employment rate (about 91%) already one year after obtaining the PhD degree, with an average of only three months to find the first highly specialised job opportunity. The employment condition of PhDs is, therefore, better than graduates with Master’s Degrees in the CUN areas, with about 84% of those employed in an “intellectual, scientific and highly specialised profession”. Moreover, nowadays, companies are called upon to invest in digital technologies useful to support the transition to Intelligent Industry and Sustainable Development and, consequently, need to find qualified personnel for this purpose. The Excelsior report by Unioncamere-ANPAL 2023 foresees a total need of about 4 million workers in the period 2023-2027, with a clear growth in the demand for technical figures, especially in areas such as digital, green and demographic which will have a increasing impact on the labour market in the coming years. The comparison between demand and supply shows, overall, an insufficient supply to cover the needs of the economic system, with significant differences between the various research and development fields. For the STEM areas, the most critical mismatches are found in the mathematical, physical and computer sciences and engineering. There remains, therefore, a situation in the skills of individuals that do not fully correspond to the needs of technological innovation and the digital and sustainable transformation of industry. The specific skills acquired at the end of the PhD programme in Smart and Sustainable Industry fully meet the needs of key professionals in the development of systems with high technological content, expressed by the modern industry manufacturing industry, which is called upon to constantly invest in process, product and service innovation. Among the industrial sectors of outlet, and of particular interest in regional and national areas, it seems relevant to mention: aerospace automotive, mobility and transport, smart cities, biomedicine, mechanics and mechatronics, agribusiness, electronics, IT telecommunications, energy, logistics, steel, textiles-clothing-footwear, manufacturing. In addition to these sectors, for the PhDs, professional outlets can be identified in research and development activities for the service industry as well as for systems, products and services related to resource management. PhDs in Smart and Sustainable Industry will also be able to work as professional consultants required by companies for the management of innovation processes and as experts in EU research programmes. Finally, some of the PhDs may be absorbed into the academic roles of Italian and foreign universities as well as become researchers at public and private research organisations, and at consortia for sustainable development and technological innovation industry.