PhD in Emerging Digital Technologies

The PhD Programme in Emerging Digital Technologies is a three-year programme which provides an exhaustive training path with structured teaching and supervised research activities.
In line with the standards of excellence pursued by the School, the aim of the program is to train a high-level professional whose target placement is represented by national and international research facilities, public and private, and device manufacturing or service-providing companies operating in the field of communication, information and perception technologies.
The PhD Programme has an interdisciplinary approach, in the fields of Telecommunications, Information Engineering and Perceptual Robotics, which represent the main areas of interest of the Research Units at TeCIP Institute.
The course is structured in 3 curricula:
- Telecommunication Networks and Photonic Technologies deals with future generation programmable wired and wireless telecommunication systems and networks, photonic circuits and integrated sensors, photonics for microwaves for 5G/6G, photonics for radar and lidar, optical wireless, use of artificial intelligence and programmable hardware accelerators (FPGAs, CPUs, SmartNICs) in telecommunication networks and quantum technologies. Applications of these technologies cover the terrestrial, non-terrestrial and space sectors;
- Cyber-Physical Systems focus on methodologies, models and algorithms for mobile and distributed cyber-physical systems, ensuring performance, reliability and security. Expertise includes real-time operating systems, middleware, virtualization, machine learning, resource optimization on platforms with hardware accelerators (GPUs, TPUs, FPGAs), and optimized industrial process management. Key applications include embedded control systems, industrial automation, cloud-edge computing, IoT architectures, and autonomous vehicles;
- Mechanical Intelligence and Robotics refers to human-robot interaction systems, virtual/augmented reality, cognitive architectures for artificial entities, intelligent automation systems and artificial intelligence, advanced materials for robotics, renewable energy recovery mechanisms, intelligent machines and materials, advanced sensor optoelectronic systems, and aerospace technologies.
The PhD Programme has various collaborations with national and international, private and public research bodies. PhD students are required to undertake a compulsory minimum 6-month period of study and research abroad, in prestigious Universities or companies.
At the successful completion of the Programme, the School awards the student with the ‘Ph.D.” (Philosophiæ Doctor) Degree.