Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
PhD in Sustainable Energy and Technologies
Bolzano, Italy
PhD
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English, Italian, German
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
EUR 200 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* 29th April 2025 (12:00 - noon)
** 200 € for the first academic year
Key Summary
The admissions process aims at selecting candidates with an outstanding academic profile, a strong interest in the topics dealt with and the ambition to develop a career in scientific research, either in academia or for private or public organisations.
The 3-year programme includes training to strengthen specific skills and gain knowledge about the efficient and sustainable use of resources and energy in households and buildings, power generation, manufacturing processes, transport and agriculture. Besides training, students will design a 3-year research project under the supervision of a team of lecturers and researchers aiming at exploring the field and providing an original contribution to science in the fields related to the PhD programme, such as energy production from renewable sources, thermophysics of buildings, biofuels and bioenergy, energy storage, environmental and industrial fluid mechanics, clean mobility and powertrains.
Given the interdisciplinary nature of the research carried out in the Faculty of Science and Technology, we welcome prospective candidates from various academic backgrounds. The ideal candidates are Engineering graduates, but the programme is also suitable for Architecture, Physics, Maths and Chemistry graduates.
Through these training activities, a PhD candidate can develop the skills to design, organise and manage highly innovative basic and applied research projects. At the same time, students will also develop methodological rigour, the ability to interpret and disseminate results, the skills to deepen and develop their knowledge independently and the ability to work in a group in an interdisciplinary context.
The Scientific Committee includes internationally renowned scientists from Italian and foreign Universities. The international research training and the skills developed during the doctoral programme will help PhD candidates meeting their career aspirations, both inside and outside research institutions.
The core topics of the PhD program are:
- Technical and economic Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (EES) in end uses, including buildings and industrial production processes, from the user to a regional scale
- Energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality in buildings, from design to control
- Energy efficiency in production processes
- Management of energy consumption at the district level, optimization of district heating systems
- Renewable Energy and Energy Conversion Technologies (RECT)
- Exploitation of renewable energy sources (particularly biomass and biofuels, hydropower, and others), environmental and industrial fluid mechanics, and development of the related technologies
- Efficiency in thermal processes, energy generation, and technologies for industrial and civil cogeneration (electrical and fluid power machines)
- Energy storage solutions, fuel upgrading, energy recovery, energy vectors, novel mobility, and powertrains in the automotive and industrial sector
A specific focus is laid on the peculiar contexts of the Alpine territory of South Tyrol, but also its integration in the international context.
The admitted candidates will design a study plan with their supervisor in order to define the purpose of their research project and the necessary steps to implement it, after compiling a comprehensive literature review. Candidates will then have to regularly verify and, if necessary, update, their research and study plan, taking into account the development of the project itself and the latest developments in their field of research. During the course, particularly during the first year, candidates will regularly attend classes specifically designed for postgraduate students and also technical workshops and specialized lectures by researchers and specialists in the chosen disciplines.
The stages of the PhD
The doctoral program is divided into four stages which end after 6, 12, 24, and 36 months, respectively. In stage 1, the candidate defines the research area, the specific topic, the research question, and the methodology. In stage 2, in the second half of the first academic year, candidates will gain all the required skills and knowledge to carry on their research project and start their investigations. In stage 3, which indicatively starts with the second year, candidates are expected to apply the approaches and the acquired methodologies and skills in order to tackle their research questions and disseminate the early results by presenting them at national and international conferences. In the fourth and last stage, in the third year, candidates will have to collate the results of their research project and write a paper in an International peer-reviewed Journal and their doctoral thesis.
Semester 1
Advanced Scientific English
Semester 1
Theory of Scientific Method
Semester 2
Advanced applications of fluid mechanics
Semester 2
Modelling Methods for Applied Physics
Semester 1-2
Optional Activity - 2nd year
Semester 1-2
Optional Activity - 3rd year
Semester 1-2
Optional Activity - 1st year
Semester 1-2
Admission to 2nd year
Semester 1-2
Admission to 3rd year
Semester 1-2
Admission to the final exam
During the three years of the PhD program, candidates are required to commit full-time to the PhD and the program will include both working on the research project and learning activities. Students are also required to carry out part of their research in another University or Research Centre abroad, for at least three months and up to a year. This is an extremely valuable opportunity for a Ph.D. candidate to study specific aspects of their research in depth under the direct supervision of world experts in their chosen research topic. It's also an opportunity to carry out research in highly stimulating and competitive contexts while exchanging ideas with other scholars and establishing an early network of colleagues in the world of research.