The CMCEI PhD Course has the strategic objective to focus on advanced technical and scientific training, aiming at both training a new generation of researchers to lead the future ecological, energy and digital transition and, simultaneously, incorporating the elements of change in terms of innovation, business models and processes, that are needed to achieve technological progress and sustainability objectives. Therefore, the aim is to create new figures of highly educated researchers and engineers who can deal with the complexity of technical-scientific issues in view of managing innovation and the change taking place in civil engineering infrastructures.

The academic prestige and the technical expertise incorporated in DICATECh - the largest Department in the Polytechnic University of Bari - are internationally recognised. Currently, DICATECh is facing the challenge of combining the strong technical design tradition in teaching and research with the urgent need to address the PNRR priorities. Furthermore, public and private stakeholders in the Civil and Environmental area are transforming to face the rapid social and economic changes, which increasingly require new skills in the management of innovation processes, the transition towards new business models and redesigning existing processes to support the implementation of business plans from the short (operational) to the long term (strategic). This process is driven by the need to control the quality of public investment with a focus on social and economic as well as environmental sustainability to accomplish the strategic needs of the PNRR.

Being aligned with the cultural plan of DICATECh, the CMCEI Doctorate fits well as a third level of education in the new Civil Engineering supply chain, integrating the concepts of ecological, energy and digital transition with the already mentioned management transition. This is perfectly coherent with the implementation of the research prospects outlined in the National Research Plan, valorising the opportunities provided by the PNRR.

On a national and international scale, the research themes the Doctoral Program will deeply investigate are reflected in many of the objectives of the United Nations 2030 sustainability agenda. At the local level, they are perfectly aligned with the objectives of the Puglia Region Smart Specialization Strategy.

The CMCEI Doctorate is aimed at creating a professional figure with high technical-scientific skills capable of managing in an integrated way the technical, economic, financial and social needs of planning, design and management of civil infrastructures, in the high complexity context that is increasingly characterizing future scenarios.

Therefore, the skills provided will enable highly innovative technical-scientific research activities to be carried out at universities, research institutions and public and private companies. Future PhD students will have the opportunity to hold roles of high responsibility in national and local government agencies for the Environment, Territory and Civil Infrastructures as high-level officials, as well as managers of large companies dealing with Civil Engineering. The advanced training provided can allow also the activity of chartered engineer, individually or in partnership, in national and international contexts, with high levels of competence and innovation.

Based on these elements, training activities will be aimed at guaranteeing a solid basic technical and scientific preparation, which will be followed by specialized interdisciplinary training. There will also be specialized training courses in specific SSDs in the event that the doctoral student, consciously, intends to pursue a future as researcher at universities, public or private research bodies.

Prof. Orazio GIUSTOLISI

Coordinatore del Corso di Dottorato

orazio.giustolisi@poliba.it