Educational Goals

The PhD Programme in Environmental and Health Sciences aims to train experts capable of: addressing specific questions raised by health and environmental institutions, stakeholders, and the public community; improving diagnostic proficiency for diseases related to environmental exposures; understanding the results of environmental investigations; critically reading and interpreting epidemiological data on health status and potential environmental risks for exposed individuals; proposing solutions to improve environmental quality; developing innovative solutions to enhance individual well-being; understanding risks due to natural phenomena; and promoting longevity and a healthy, active life.

The educational pathway of the PhD Programme includes both teaching activities and experimental research. Classroom learning activities, primarily conducted during the first two years of the programme, include lectures and seminars on specific topics delivered by members of the Doctoral Board and/or qualified experts from national or international institutions or companies. This allows doctoral candidates to focus more on research activities in the third year. Moreover, activities are proposed to enhance the skills of doctoral candidates in transversal topics, such as the ability to communicate research results, engage the public community in an open and Citizen Science perspective, and facilitate technology transfer. At the beginning of the PhD programme, each doctoral candidate must plan the research activities with the support of one or more tutors from the Doctoral Board and possibly external tutors. This will involve drafting a project, the implementation of which will constitute the experimental activity of the programme. Doctoral candidates will be encouraged to continuously deepen and update their knowledge, especially in the research area of their project, through participation in specific schools or workshops. Research activities will be conducted in laboratories equipped with cutting-edge technologies and will be integrated with training periods at foreign laboratories for a mandatory minimum period of 3 months to a maximum of 12 months. There is also the opportunity for doctoral candidates to conduct their research at research organisations and/or private companies that have research and development units.