| Degree awarded | Ph.D. in Autonomous Systems |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Program length | Three years full-time |
| Location | Different universities and research centeres in Italy |
| Starting date | November 1, 2024 |
| Funding | 33+ fully paid scholarships (list of the research projects) |
Program Overview
Ongoing developments in the fields of automation, control systems, data science, and artificial intelligence are expected to influence the role of engineering systems in our society heavily.
Autonomous systems are the leading drive that enables technologies such as smart manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, drones, and smart grids. These systems are capable of learning and independently performing decision-making tasks.
The Doctoral program (Ph.D.) in AUtonomous SYstems (DAUSY) aims to provide high-profile skills and rigorous research training to prepare students to become versatile professionals and knowledgeable researchers.
Major focus will be on the broad field of Automation Engineering and its numerous connections to Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Optimization, Communication Systems, Information Theory, Machine Learning, Computing, Mathematics, and Signal Processing. Ph.D. graduates will be capable of conducting high-quality original research, creating new knowledge, deriving valuable insights, and making tangible impacts on academia and the field.
Main research directions
- Design and develop autonomous engineering systems, which can be applied to smart manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, smart grids, robotics, and more.
- Develop smart control algorithms (e.g., AI-enabled control, data-driven control, vision-based control) for smart environments such as smart cities, autonomous vehicles and mobile robots, smart grids, sustainable mobility systems, smart buildings, and smart homes.
- Develop testing platforms for emerging techniques to advance engineering autonomous system applications (e.g., cyber-physical systems, digital twin techniques).
- Design automated and high-performance industrial systems, studying issues related to distributed control and supervision for systems composed of networks of sensors, actuators, and collaborative robots.
- Design and operation of autonomous systems to guarantee their reliability and security, ensuring their proper functioning even under uncertainty (robustness), monitoring and predicting failures, ensuring that confidentiality and privacy requirements are not violated, countering both physical and cyberattacks, and designing secure processes in environments where automated and human systems interact.
Benefits
- A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious Ph.D. program with the possibility to present your work at international conferences.
- Enrollment at one of the prestigious universities and research centers in Italy, with the possibility to spend several months at national industrial companies and/or international research centers or universities.
- Full-time employment for three years.
- A gross monthly salary and benefits (such as pension contributions, maternity leave, and unemployment benefits).
Language requirements
If English is not your native language, you need to demonstrate a degree of proficiency corresponding, at least, to the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Knowledge of Italian is preferred but not required.
Specific requirements
Candidates must hold an M.Sc. degree, preferably in Systems and Control, Electrical Engineering, Artificial intelligence (AI), Mechanical Engineering, or related subjects. Moreover, candidates should fit the following profile:
- Being a talented and enthusiastic young researcher;
- Strong background in the fields of control systems;
- Strong academic background and rich experience in engineering systems, embedded systems, and system design;
- Good programming skills in MATLAB/Simulink and/or Python;
- Being a team player with excellent communication and cooperation skills, in a dynamic and multi-disciplinary project-driven environment;
- Creativity and ambition, hard-working and persistent mindset;
- Ability to independently organize your work;
- Good scientific writing skills.
Scholarships
Scholarships are determined as follows:
| Net scholarship for research periods in Italy | about 1200 €/month |
| Net scholarship for research periods abroad | about 1800 €/month |
| Research budget 20% (total in the 3 years)* | about 12000 € |
| Taxes** | 120-160 €/year |
*The research budget can be used for registrations for on-site and online conferences, photocopies, posters, textbooks, computers, and related equipment; expenses for publishing publications and language courses.
**Taxes are calculated based on the Italian ISEE (Equivalent Financial Situation Index).