PhD courses for the A.Y. 2024-25
This is the Calendar of the institutional courses for the academic year 2024/25: click on the individual courses for further info about programs and registration details. Attendance of 75% for all courses is requested.
Courses will be offered mainly by the Edmund Mach Foundation but also at UniTN departments involved in the PhD program in Agrifood and Environmental Sciences.
Laboratory health and safety (LHS) - for all PhD Students (no credits assignment)
Lecturer(s): C3A and FEM health and safety officers and consultants (org. by UNITN)
Summary: Lectures and practicals in general laboratory safety procedures, equipment use, and basic first aid.
Description: Legally required basic (4 hours) and specific (8 hours) training in health and safety and risks connected to work activities.
Skills acquired: knowledge of basic chemical manipulation, laboratory skills, biological hazards, fire and radiation safety and basic first aid.
Notes and Pre-requisites: Mandatory for all PhD students (unless certificate of previous courses available or no access to laboratory)
Calendar: low risk course is available online - for the editions of the medium risk course please refer to phd.aes@unitn.it
C3A Basic and advanced courses
How to write a research project - basic - 1st year PhD Students
12, 13 December 2024 and 16 January 2025 Summary
Lecturer(s): Ilaria Pertot
N hours: 10
ECTS: 1
Summary: Basic knowledge on how to prepare a research project for my PhD. The main sections are: how to carry out the literature search and demonstrate the progress beyond the state of the art, how to define the aim and the specific objectives, what are the main steps to build the workpackages and relevant sections, Gannt chart, deliverables, milestones, contingency plan and other tools (8 hours lesson and 2 hours for the draft project preparation). Useful support for the PhD project preparation: the practical part will specifically focus on the PhD project of the student.
Learned Evaluation procedure: Project proposal
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st Year PhD students
Schedule: online classes - see courses calendar for details - link for connection will be sent directly by the lecturer before online classes
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Understanding Agri-environmental Decisions: A Behavioural Economic Perspective
13-30 January 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Simone Cerroni
N hours: 24 (21 hours classes + 3 hours final exam/presentation)
ECTS: 3
Summary: The course provides students with an in-depth description of state-of the-art methods and tools that are used to study the behaviour of various stakeholders involved in the food supply chains, including their behavioural response to agri-environmental policy interventions. Among other methods the focus will focus on survey experiments, economic experiments and randomised control trials. The course also provides principles of statistics and econometrics to be used in data analysis. Classes will consist of 7 standard frontal lectures, 1 tutorial on statistics and econometrics, 1 tutorial on research ethics in policy evaluation, and 3 interactive practical lectures.
Skills acquired: The course will improve knowledge and understanding of new trends and policies in the agri-food sector. Students will familiarise with methods and tools for better understanding agricultural agents’ behavioural response to these policies. Strengths and limitations of these methods will be covered to stimulate critical thinking and the elaboration of new research ideas. The course also aims to improve students’ knowledge and understanding of principles of statistics and econometrics applied to evaluation problems.
Learned Evaluation procedure: - Oral presentation of an academic paper (20%)
- Oral presentation and short report on the development of an experimental protocol (40%)
- Oral presentation and short report on conducted data analysis (40%)
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st Year PhD Students
Schedule: 13-30/01/2025 - location: DEM Room 3H - timetable: see courses calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Aquatic ecosystems in natural and human impacted environments
13-17 January 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): M. Tolotti, M.C. Bruno, W. Bertoldi, G. Zolezzi
N hours: 24
ECTS: 3
Summary: The course provides an insight on the physical, chemical, ecological and biological properties and dynamics of freshwater ecosystem, considering natural conditions (Module 1) and the effects of human stressors (Module 2). Specific case studies of different freshwater ecosystems will provide examples of the possible methodological approaches.
Module 1 (12 hours): Aquatic ecosystem in natural conditions. This module addresses the main variables and processes driving the habitat dynamics in natural freshwater ecosystems.
Skills acquired: ability to describe and interpret aquatic habitats in running waters and lakes, across time and space, including physical, chemical, morphological variables, such as flow, temperature, nutrients, and foodweb descriptors and the effects of vegetation on the above.
Module 2 (12 hours): Aquatic ecosystem under direct and indirect human stressors. This module provides insight on direct (e.g., pollution, water withdrawals, engineering) and indirect (land use and climate change).
Skills acquired: methods to recognize and quantify stressors such as source and point pollution, hydro-morphological alterations, thermal alterations, extinction and creation of habitats; methods for mitigation /restoration strategies (e-flows, morphological restoration, sediment augmentation).
Learned Evaluation procedure: Oral presentation of a scientific paper chosen by the PhD student.
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1
Schedule: 13-17/01/2025 - location: DICAM - Room 1H - timetable: see courses Calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Exploring biodiversity using Phylogenetic Methods
21-24 January 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Omar Rota Stabelli
N hours: 16
ECTS: 2
Summary: Evolution can deepen our understanding of biological processes by revealing how things come to be the way we currently observe them. A useful type of methods is the one based on phylogenetic inferences. The aim of the course is to understand the principles of some of these methods (phylogenetics, clock, barcoding, metagenomics). The course is structured in 4 mornings in 4 successive days (4 academic hours per day) with a combination of lectures, discussion and presentations.
Skills acquired: an overview of the practical tools for studying the evolution of genes and the diversification of species (molecular phylogenetics, metabarcoding, estimates of divergence times using molecular clocks); skills in presenting and discussing scientific articles that use phylogenetic methods.
Learned Evaluation procedure: evaluation of presentation and active discussion
Notes and Pre-requisites: NONE
Schedule: 21-24/01/2025 - location: PRC-FEM (Room to be defined) - timetable: 9.00-12.40 - see courses calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Introduction to statistical tools
January 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Ananchiara Berardinelli
N hours: 24
ECTS: 3
Aim of the course: Introducing, by examples extrapolated from agricultural research experiences, correct ways to use statistical tools.
Topics:
1. CONCEPTS OF STATISTICS APPLIED IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE: statistical methods for the planning, analysis and interpretation of experimental work.
2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS: organize, summarize and describe measures with a table and with a graph; types of variables; correct number of significant digits.
3. THE BASIS OF STATISTICAL TESTING: normal distribution, mechanical properties of the normal curve; the formulation and testing of hypotheses; parametric and non-parametric tests; testing normality; possible solutions when data are not normally distributed.
4. COMPARING TWO SAMPLES: Student’s t-test; Mann-Whitney test.
5. COMPARING THREE OR MORE SAMPLES: ANOVA; Kruskal Wallis; Post Hoc Procedures.
6. BIVARIATE CORRELATION ANALYSIS: the meaning of correlation; investigating correlation; correlation and linearity; steps to follow when two data sets are to be analysed for correlation; Pearson’s coefficient; Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient; the significance of correlation; the interpretation of the results: correlation and causality.
7. REGRESSION ANALYSIS: the regression line; assessment the Goodness-of-fit: Sums of Squares and R2, residuals and standard error; the significance of the regression line; advise on using regression analysis; non-linear relationships; multiple linear regression.
8. OTHER STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES: introduction to multivariate problems and associated multivariate data: direct and indirect observation. Main objectives of Multivariate Data Analytical Techniques. Data description (explorative data structure modeling); discrimination and classification; regression and prediction.
Learned Evaluation procedure: Written report on data analysis and interpretation
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st and 2nd Year PhD students
Schedule: January 2025 - location and timetable to be defined
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Physiology and Genetics of Fruit Ripening
21 January - 28 February 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Fabrizio Costa, Nicola Busatto
N hours: 16
ECTS: 2
Summary: The course will provide the basics of fruit physiology and ripening.
Module 1 (8 hours): Fruit ripening physiology. This module will provide a general description of the type of fruits and their mode of ripening. The interplay between different hormones in regulating the fruit ripening will be discussed, introducing, moreover, the genetic analysis addressed to the detection of the main loci controlling fruit ripening related pathways.
Skills acquired: knowledge of ripening physiology and the interplay among several hormones.
Module 2 (8 hours): Genetic regulation of fruit ripening. This module will present the road map of the functional analysis carried out to date to disclose the main regulating mechanisms of fruit ripening. The state of the art of the molecular and biotech techniques used to date to investigate the fruit ripening processes will be also discussed, from recombinant DNA to OMIC approaches.
Skills acquired: investigation of the molecular mechanisms regulating fruit ripening using the most advanced biotechnology approaches.
Learned Evaluation procedure: oral presentation
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st Year Students
Schedule: 21/01 - 28/02/2025 - location FEM - see courses calendar for timetable details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Ecological and epidemiological modelling
27 January - 6 February 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Rachele Nieri, Roberto Rosà
N hours: 16
ECTS: 2
Summary: 8 hours of lectures on the basis of eco-epidemiological models with application both in agriculture and public health. 8 hours of practical exercises with software R using experimental data from agriculture and public health case studies.
Description: this course will provide an insight on the development and analysis of ecological and epidemiological models with applications in agriculture and public health
Skills acquired: conceptual ideas and mathematical tools needed for implementing ecological and epidemiological models, especially population dynamic models as well as epidemiological models.
Learned Evaluation procedure: presentation on a topic agreed with the student
Notes and Pre-requisites: 2nd year Students are expected to know the basic concepts of mathematics and statistics. Prior knowledge of open source software R use is also required
Schedule: 27 January - 6 February location: FEM - timetable: 9.00-11.00 - see courses calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Sustainable production and consumption from a social perspective
27 January - 12 February 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Emanuela Bozzini, Francesca Forno, Natalia Magnani
N hours: 24
ECTS: 3
Summary: The objective of this course is to critically discuss the transformations in patterns and practices of production and consumption, giving particular attention to sustainability ideas and practices. The class will be articulated in three main modules (8 hours each).
Module 1 (8 hours): Overview of long-term trends in agricultural production and its sustainability
Skills acquired: Knowledge on historical trends in agricultural production, resource use, chemical input across world regions; knowledge on issues of sustainability of current agricultural systems in relation to demography, urbanization and resource depletion.
Module 2 (8 hours): Consumer Culture and Society. This module offers the opportunity to engage with sociological theories of consumption and contemporary consumer society.
Skills acquired: Familiarity with sociological concepts to investigate changes in consumption practices and lifestyles, with a special attention on food consumption trends. The focus will be on the practice of consumption with regard to lifestyle, consumer subjectivity, meaning making, sustainability and ‘food diversity’.
Module 3 (8 hours): Social innovation and sustainability. The module aims to introduce students to sociological theories and debates concerning the development of social innovation for sustainability.
Skills acquired: familiarity with debates on sustainability and social innovation, with a special attention to food and food systems.
Learned Evaluation procedure: Final written report or presentation
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st Year Students
Schedule: 27/01-12/02/2025 - location SRS - see courses calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Crop physiology and climate change
4-21 February 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Michele Faralli; Michele Perazzolli
N hours: 18 (final exam included)
ECTS: 2
Summary: The aim of the course is to provide in-depth concepts on crop physiological responses to the complex interplay between climate change variables. Specific efforts will be placed in understanding physiological mechanisms underlying stress tolerance and potential management approaches for protecting grapevine from the naturally occurring multifactorial stress combination.
Module 1. Introduction to climate change: time to reschedule the agricultural agenda (2 h, prof. Faralli).
Module 2. Effects of multifactorial stress combination in grapevine: pro e cons of the changing climate (3 h, prof. Faralli).
Module 3. Advances in physiological analysis and crop phenotyping (2 h, prof. Faralli).
Module 4. Linking leaf physiology with plant microbiome and VOCs (4 h, prof. Perazzolli)
Module 5. Experimental design in crop physiology (2 h, prof. Faralli)
Learned Evaluation procedure: A journal club where students present and discuss a paper chosen from the literature on climate change and crop performance (2 h) + Oral presentation where students should be able to present a putative project on fruit crop and climate change: defining overlooked questions, construct your own hypothesis, build the route to solve agricultural-related problems (3 h).
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st and 2nd Year PhD students
Schedule: 4- 21 February 2025 - Location FEM, timetable: see PhD courses calendar 2024/25 for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Biotremology: the study of vibrational communication
11-20 February 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Rachele Nieri; Valerio Mazzoni
N hours: 12
ECTS: 1,5
Summary: The course will introduce the main concepts of the study of vibrational communication in animals, biotremology, from theory to methodological aspects.
Module 1 (3 hours) - Theory of biotremology: concept of wave, sounds and vibrations, semiophysicals (pherodones and allelodones), reception and emission of vibrations, active space, behaviours mediated by vibrations.
Module 2 (9 hours) - Practical aspects: main equipment to acquire and playback vibrational stimuli, main softwares for data acquisition and analysis, principles of data analysis. Most part of module 2 will be carried out in the laboratory of biotremology.
Skills acquired: 1) To differentiate biotremology and bioacoustics, to list the main behaviours mediated by vibrations and to recognize ecological context in which vibrations are relevant.
2) To set up an experiment to acquire vibrational data and to analyse and interpret results.
3)To design a playback and perform a playback experiment
Learned Evaluation procedure: Oral presentation: experimental design of a biotremology study (field of application chosen by the student)
Notes and Pre-requisites: --
Schedule: 11-20/02/2025 - location: FEM - timetable: see PhD courses calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Plant Molecular Breeding for a sustainable crop improvement
12 February - 1 April 2025 - scheduled to be defined - Summary
Lecturer(s): Fabrizio Costa, Umberto Salvagnin
N hours: 24
ECTS: 3
Summary: Agriculture is the biological foundation of human civilization, the basis of human life on earth. Crops have been continuously shaped, initially by natural driving force, then by the food and feed needs. All these changes rely on the modification of the genetic background and the selection of the most favourable individuals, considering also their interaction with the environment. In the current agricultural system, crops are on the front line, experiencing climate change and political decisions. Genetic improvement and breeding represent to date the most valuable strategies to guarantee food security and safety, beside a sustainable crop production.
This course will illustrate the origin of agriculture and genetics, providing the base of plant breeding. In a second part, the most recent techniques of molecular plant breeding will be illustrated, focusing on how modern biotechnological strategies have been applied to genetically improve the crops at the base of our agriculture and food production.
The students will be guided to the principle undertaking the control of important agricultural traits and the basic schemes of breeding. Following the introductory part, the several DNA-based approaches employed to support the selection phase of breeding and the identification of the genomic regions controlling the most relevant trait of interest will be presented. The course will end discussing the most recent breeding technologies with a particular focus on genome editing.
Learned Evaluation procedure: oral presentation
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st and 2nd year
Schedule: 12 February- 1 April 2025 - location FEM - see PhD courses classes calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Innovative methods in crop protection
19 and 20 February 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Ilaria Pertot, Michele Perazzolli, Gerardo Puopolo, Emanuela Bozzini
N hours: 16
ECTS: 2
Summary: The course will give an overview about regulation aspects and innovative procedures for the control of plant pathogens and insects on major crops.
Module 1 (8 hours): Regulatory provisions on pesticides and biopesticides. This module will provide details on novel regulatory provisions on plant protection products and sustainable use of pesticides with a focus on the European Union.
Skills acquired: knowledge of policy principles and provisions informing EU regulation on plant protection products.
Module 2 (8 hours): Innovative approaches for pathogen control. This module will provide details on innovative approaches to control plant pathogens.
Skills acquired: knowledge of new generation tools for biological control of pathogens.
Skills acquired: knowledge of the pioneering low impact techniques for the integrated management of phytopathogens; to learn the main types of existing biopesticides, their mode of action, their application strategies, the advantages and disadvantages deriving from their application.
Learned Evaluation procedure: Final written test
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st year
Schedule: 19 and 20 February 2025 - location FEM - see PhD Courses Classes calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Behavioral ecology and manipulation for insect pest control
24-27 February 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Gianfranco Anfora, Valerio Mazzoni, Rachele Nieri, Marco Valerio Rossi Stacconi
N hours: 12
ECTS: 1,5
Summary: The course will give an overview about innovative and consolidated techniques of behavioral manipulation for the control of crop insects.
Module 1 (3 hours): Principles of insects’ behaviour and communication. The aim of this module is to provide the students with a clear understanding of the main concepts of behavioral ecology that will be used in the subsequent modules. The main topics are theory of animal communication, terminology and methodologies to investigate insect perception and communication modalities.
Module 2 (6 hours): Techniques of behavioral manipulation. The aim of this module is to provide expertise on the principles of plant protection strategies alternative to the use of synthetic chemicals. Techniques based on the use of semiochemicals, semiophysicals and sterile insect technique will be treated.
Module 3 (3 hours): Techniques of biological control. The module aims to provide critical understanding of the different biocontrol approaches that can be adopted for insect pest management. The module will address the day-to-day concerns of biocontrol practitioners, including how to rear and release a control organism, suppress the target organism, and minimize harm to non-target organisms.
Skills acquired: knowledge of the pioneering low impact techniques for the integrated and organic management of insect pests (i.e. semiochemicals, natural enemies, biotremology,); their mode of action, their application strategies, the advantages and disadvantages deriving from their application.
Learned Evaluation procedure: Final written test
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st year
Schedule: 24-27 February 2025 - location FEM - see PhD courses Calendar for timetable details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
How to write a scientific publication
11 -18 March 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Ilaria Pertot, Gerardo Puopolo
N hours: 10
ECTS: 1
Summary: How to structure a manuscript logically and with effective storytelling, how to prepare your manuscript for publication (main sections, good practices, main mistakes), what are the considerations to do before sending your manuscript to a scientific journal (submission to a journal), what happens to your scientific manuscript after you submit it (process and role of editor and reviewers).
Learned Evaluation procedure: Practical assignment completed and correct
Notes and Pre-requisites: Any year, preferably 2nd or 3rd year PhD Students
Schedule: 11-18 March 2025 - location: FEM/online - see PhD courses classes calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Production and characterization of fermented foods
March 2025 - scheduled to be defined - Summary
Lecturer(s): Roberto Larcher, Tiziana Nardin, Raffaele Guzzon, Tomas Roman
N hours: 16
ECTS: 2
Summary: The course aims to provide, through a series of monographic seminars, notions about current issues or innovative trends in the transformation of raw food, with particular reference to traditional fermented foods. Ample space will also be given to analytical techniques for the characterization of food.
Module 1: Oenological treatments and technological fermentation management.
Module 2: Evolution of microbiota through wine oenological fermentations, influence of technological and environmental variables and impact on wine quality; Wine spoilage microorganisms, risk for wine quality and human health, and innovative approaches at the winery and wine hygiene.
Module 3: Chemical characterisation of fermentative compounds; Identification and quantification of metabolites; Chromatographic separation and analytical detection: profiles of minerals, sugars, amines, amino acids, organic acids, vitamins and volatile compounds; Targeted and untargeted profiles; Models of origin and botanical traceability;
Skills acquired: familiarity and ability to interpret and describe fermentative processes and define quality controls.
Learned Evaluation procedure: written exam
Notes and Pre-requisites: 2nd year
Schedule: March 2025 - scheduled to be defined - location FEM - timetable not yet available
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
How to make a scientific presentation and public speaking
6 - 14 May June 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Rachele Nieri; Gerardo Puopolo
N hours: 8
ECTS: 1
Summary: In the high-stakes world of research, the ability to present one's work effectively can make or break a career. Researchers must master the art of scientific presentation to secure funding, land prestigious positions, and share their discoveries with the global scientific community. This course is designed to equip graduate students with the essential skills required to create and deliver impactful scientific presentations. The course covers the entire process from the initial stages of organizing content and designing slides to the art of public speaking. Students will learn how to convey complex scientific information clearly and engagingly to diverse audiences. The course emphasizes practical exercises, including peer reviews and live presentations, to build confidence and refine presentation techniques.
Skills Learned:
- Organize scientific content logically and coherently.
- Design visually appealing and informative slides.
- Convey complex ideas clearly and concisely.
- Capture and maintain audience interest.
- Develop strong vocal delivery, body language, and eye contact.
- Employ strategies to effectively respond to questions during Q&A sessions.
- Integrate videos, animations, and other multimedia elements.
- Manage and reduce public speaking anxiety.
- Utilize peer and instructor feedback to improve presentation skills.
Learned Evaluation procedure: Oral presentation of a scientific talk
Notes and Pre-requisites: NONE
Schedule: 6 - 14 May 2025 - Location FEM - see PhD courses classes calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Field sampling and spatial ecological modelling
19 - 23 May 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Marco Ciolli, Clara Tattoni
N hours: 40
ECTS: 5
Summary: 18 hours lectures, Basis of Field sampling techniques and Spatial Ecological modelling using GIS and GPS; 10 hours field sampling work with measuring instruments and GPS; 12 hours practical Exercises with basis of GIS Ecological modelling with QGIS and R.
Module 1 (28 hours): Theoretical and practical basis of field sampling techniques and data collection and spatial ecological modelling. Exploration of field data and how they can be used/misused, How to perform sampling in the forest and GPS data collection in the field, basis of spatial ecological modelling, overview of various modelling techniques with special reference to landscape ecology, land use change modelling and scenarios development, Vegetation Analysis and cartography, basis of remote sensing for vegetation. Forest landscape change detection, Markov Chain scenarios and Landscape Ecology indexes and parameters.
Skills acquired: How to select sampling areas in the field and the reliability and limits of field data. Importance of data understanding and of sampling procedures. Data acquisition and critical interpretation of data sources. Improving GPS data sampling in the field.
Module 2 (12 hours): Practical exercises with a Special focus on Land use change, Vegetation Analysis and cartography, basis of remote sensing for vegetation, Past Forest landscape change detection, Production of Markov Chain scenarios future/past and Landscape Ecology indexes and parameters and modelling of different pollution sources. Overview of various modelling techniques. Comparison of different techniques, pros and cons. Alien species modelling and study cases. Interpretation of Model results and validation. GIS and R Practice on sample data.
Skills acquired: It will give a thorough introduction to the How to use and combine the data in a GIS to perform geospatial analysis and ecological modelling; How to use QGIS plugins and basic use of R as a GIS.
Learned Evaluation procedure: Presentation on a topic discussed in the course OR, alternatively Data processing using GIS or R
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st year
Schedule: 19-23 May (8:30-12:30 // 13:30-17:30) - location DICAM - see PhD courses/classes calendar for details
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Atmospheric and climate processes over complex terrain
May - June 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Dino Zardi
N hours: 16
ECTS: 2
Summary: xxxxxx
Skills Learned: xxxxx
Learned Evaluation procedure: xxxx
Notes and Pre-requisites: xxxxx
Schedule: May - June 2025 - Location DICAM - timetable to be defined
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
How to write a research project - advanced
June 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Ilaria Pertot
N hours: 20
ECTS: 2,5
Advanced knowledge on how to prepare a research project proposal. The course is specifically targeting post-doc projects or small teams projects. The EU funding scheme and the evaluation process. Opportunities for project proposal application (4 hours lesson and 16 hours project preparation).
Overview of the funding opportunities in the new Horizon EU, with particular focus on MCSA post-doc and ERC starting grant.
Attention: the course is organised with a minimum of 5 participants!
Learned Evaluation procedure: project proposal
Notes and Pre-requisites: 2nd or 3rd year PhD Students
Schedule: June 2025 - Location FEM - timetable to be defined
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
GEOframe Informatics & Digital Twins of Hydrology (Propedeutico alla Summer School)
May - June 2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Riccardo Rigon, Giuseppe Formetta
N hours: 24 (3 days of 8 hours)
ECTS: 3
This is a prerequisite course to access the GEOframe Summer School (Soil-Critical Zone-Plant-Atmosphere interactions)
Schedule: see dedicated section of the GEOFRAME blog
Registration procedure: the registration procedure will be made available on the dedicated section of the GEOFRAME blog. For any doubts, you can contact prof. Formetta
GEOframe Summer School (Soil-Critical Zone-Plant-Atmosphere interactions)
June 2025 - Summary
The second edition of the GEOframe Summer Schools will be held in June 2023 at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering of University of Trento. The main topics will embrace the water flow (and heat transport) in porous media, the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, and inverse problems. The aim of the course is to enable participants to run their own simulations with the GEOframe tools to simulate the critical zone. The GEOframe Summer Schools deals mainly with the 1D tools and introduces the 2D ones called WHETGEO (Water. HEat and Transport in GEOframe, 1D and 2D), and GEO-SPACE (GEOframe Soil Plants Atmosphere Continuum Estimator).
The course is devoted to Ph.D. Students, Post-docs, Young researchers and aims to make the participants run their simulations of the hydrological cycle on their own catchments and estimate the hydrological budget components. To have an idea of the topics, the interested researchers should give a look at the material of the previous school (http://abouthydrology.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-geoframe-schools-index.html).
Besides the lectures and the hands-on sessions, the Summer School is the occasion for discussion and experience exchange among senior scholars and young researchers. Three days. around a month before the school, will be dedicated (via Zoom) to installations of the software, explanations of the main concepts deployed with OMS3/CSIP (Object Modelling System v3/Cloud Service Integration Platform) and GEOframe as an open platform to do hydrology by computer and the pursue the Digital Twin Earth Hydrology metaphor. Lectures will be dedicated also to teach elementary concepts about using Jupyter Notebooks for inputs and outputs treatment and representation.
The material of the school will be made available on the GEOframe blog (https://geoframe.blogspot.com). Three ECTS credits are issued on the infrastructure topics. 5 credits on the hydrological topics.
Learned Evaluation procedure: The students will be asked to run their own examples in 1D and 2D
Notes and Pre-requisites: NA
Schedule: June 2025 - see dedicated section of the GEOFRAME blog
Registration procedure: the registration procedure will be made available on the dedicated section of the GEOFRAME blog. For any doubts, you can contact the scientific committee of the GeoFrame School
Animal Conservation in Theory and Practice - NOT ACTIVE FOR THE AY 2024/25
Not active - Summary
Lecturer(s): F. Cagnacci, F. Ossi, B. Robira, H. Hauffe, Emily Pascoe
N hours: 32
ECTS: 4
Summary: Conservation biology strives to describe, understand, and forecast biodiversity dynamics by applying ecological and evolutionary theory within the contexts of resource management, economics, sociology and political science. This course will explore the motivation for preserving biodiversity at all levels (genetic, species, ecosystem), available decision-making tools, and the consequences of various interventions, covering mainly terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and including wild animal and plant species.
Module 1 (8 hours) - Principles of conservation biology. We have entered the Anthropocene, the Era of humans, where human impact is widespread in all biomes. The module will cover the essentials of conservation biology science, its area of application, and the analysis of major threats of humans on ecosystems.
Skills acquired: theory of conservation biology and fields of application
Module 2 (8 hours) - Conservation of terrestrial mammals in the Alps. The module will use the principle acquired in Module 1 to analyse conservation cases of terrestrial mammals in the Alpine range.
Skills acquired: application of conservation biology theory to terrestrial mammals.
Module 3 (8 hours) - Conservation genetics. The interactive module will focus on the application of genetics, genomics and metagenomics to conservation science, including wildlife forensics, and the importance of preserving genetic variation.
Skills acquired: principles of conservation genetics/genomics with practical examples of current research, and active discussion of case studies.
Learned Evaluation procedure: Project exam (problem-solution analysis) with written part and presentation for Outreach
Notes and Pre-requisites: 1st Year PhD students
Schedule: not active for the AY 2024/25 - location: FEM
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Introduction to agrometeorology and environmental measurements - NOT ACTIVE FOR THE A.Y. 2024/25
Not active for the AY 2024/2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Mirco Rodeghiero, Nadia Vendrame
N hours: 16
ECTS: 2
Module 1 (8 hours):overview of the main instruments and variables measured in a meteorological station. Instruments sensors and data collection. Measurement of precipitation, pressure, temperature, wind, solar radiation, humidity and soil moisture. Main features of an agrometeorological station.
Module 2 (8 hours): introduction to the study of vegetation-atmosphere interactions, focusing on the physical processes influencing the life of plants and determining the productivity of agricultural crops.
Skills acquired: type of sensors used for monitoring of main meteorological/environmental variables; vegetation-atmosphere exchanges of mass and energy.
Learned Evaluation procedure: Oral presentation of a scientific paper chosen by the PhD student
Notes and Pre-requisites: NA
Schedule: for the AY 2023/24 this course is not active
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Insects as a Sustainable Feed Alternative - NOT ACTIVE FOR THE A.Y. 2024/25
Not active for the AY 2024/2025 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Sihem Dabbou
N hours: 12
ECTS: 1,5
Summary: The aim of the course is to provide an overview on insects and the increasing interest basic knowledge on the use of insects in animal feed.
Description: The course is organised in 3 lessons: 1. Introduction on Insects and legislation (2 hours) / 2. Insect rearing (case study: Black Soldier Fly) (3 hours) / 3. Potential of insect meal in monogastric animal farm nutrition (3 hours).
Practical activities: 1. A journal club where students present and discuss a paper chosen from the literature on this topic (2 hours). / 2. Oral presentation where students choose and present the interesting topics on Insect as feed (2 hours).
Skills acquired: Tools for studying the importance of insects as animal feed; skills in presenting and discussing scientific articles on this topic
Learned Evaluation procedure: Oral presentation
Notes and Pre-requisites: NA
Schedule: for the AY 2024/25 this course is not active
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.aes@unitn.it
Courses organized by other UniTrento centres/dept. and open to C3A PhD Students
Courses offered by CIBIO (Doctoral programme in Biomolecular Sciences)
CIBIO educational Offer is available on the official website; click on + to find some of their most frequently requested courses
Data exploration - prof. Pietro Franceschi
Getting started with R and RStudio: a handson introduction – prof. Pietro Franceschi
Introduction to metagenomics – prof. Nicola Segata
Content and details can be found in the official web-page (download box - SB_Manifesto of Studies 2024/25).
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to phd.bioscie@unitn.it
Courses offered by DICAM (Doctoral Program in Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering)
The educational offer 2024/25 of DICAM PhD program is available on the DICAM official webpage - Click on + to find some of their most frequently requested courses
Environmental data management and analysis with GIS - Paolo Zatelli - Alfonso Vitti - Marco Ciolli (40 hours, 5 credits)
GEOframe Winter School - Riccardo Rigon, Giuseppe Formetta, Marialaura Bancheri - CNR (64 hours, 8 credits)
Statistical methods and data analysis - Stefano Siboni (36 hours; 4,5 credits)
Further details and courses can be found in the official web-page.
Registration procedure: in order to register in the course, please write an e-mail request to dicamphd@unitn.it
Courses offered by SUSTEEMS (Doctoral Programme in Sustainability: Economics, Environment, Management and Society)
The Academic offer 2024/25 is available on SUSTEEMS official webpage - Click on + to find some of their most frequently requested courses
Applied Econometrics - Prof. Fezzi (24 hours)
Performance Analysis for Sustainability - S. Amato, P. Candio and E. Santini
Further details and courses can be found in the SUSTEEMS official webpage (see curriculum section)
For any questions do registration request, please write to phd.dem@unitn.it
Soft Skills - courses organized by external bodies but recognized by C3A PhD Programme
Technical Scientific English
2024-25 - Summary
Lecturer(s): Felicity Hope
N hours: 24 or 16
ECTS: 3 or 2 type B
Courses of Technical-Scientific English (Academic Writing, Presentations and Academic Writing II) addressed to PhD Students of the scientific area.
Syllabus, classes calendar and enrolment procedure for the AY 2024-25 are available here.
Students must register online starting at 10.00 on the first day of registration, by connecting to the page https://cialsrv.unitn.it/cialweb/web-site/index.jsp and entering the Esse3 passwords (for more information, please contact cla@unitn.it).
Please note that a maximum number of 15 students per course is admitted.
Credits recognition: 3 ECTS for courses of 24 hours and 2 ECTS for courses of 16 hours.
NB: During the enrolment process, you will read that you have to pay 50 euro. Please ignore this information and confirm your online enrollment: the course is free for C3A PhD students. CLA will afterwards change the wording to "free".
For any further query you can contact directly CLA.
Research 2 Business
Edition 2025 to be defined - Summary
Referent: MIlena Bigatto milena.bigatto@trentinoinnovation.eu
N hours: 25
ECTS: 3
THIRD EDITION - on Sustainability, Health, Food and Lifestyle
The course aims to provide PhD students with the fundamental concepts for helping PhD create impact from their research.
In particular Students will be driven to think about the value of their research work in the market.
They will explore mega-trends and markets and how to leverage the potential of innovation inside the research. They will investigate with experts the concepts of value proposition and customer, legacies and opportunities related to the IP strategies and protection. Public and private financing strategies and opportunities will be presented.
Main Learning Outcomes
At the end of the classes participants will be able to:
- Understanding differences when planning and developing a new entre/intra-preneurial project in different contexts
- Ability to understand, create, capture value of the research project in a market
- Ability to integrate the strategic role of IP and other intangible assets into the research project and future professional scenarios."
Teaching and Learning Methods
Teaching and learning methods are primarily based on applied lectures, testimonials and real case studies from researchers, entrepreneurs, local and/or international business managers. They combine lectures, testimonials from professionals, discussions, individual and group work, hands-on activities and games. Participants will be evaluated with group exercise, and individual reports. Participants will be asked to reflect on their entrepreneurial skills (working in an interdisciplinary team and communicate effectively) and choose one entrepreneurial competence among the ENTRECOMP European framework to improve during the course (self-direct learning).
Topics and skills of R2B 2023 edition
● Fundamental of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
● From research to innovation
● Put your research idea in business context
● Building a product value proposition
● Building a technology proposition and Basics of technology disclosure and patenting
● Research integrity introduction
● Introduction to the market and business models
● How to make profit from technologies with companies
● How to make profit from technologies START UP
● How to find a Product-Market fit
● How to push forward your research results: opportunities and tips from public funding
● Private financing for innovation ventures
● Sessions with testimonials
● Working in a team
● Communicate effectively
● Taking the initiative
● Spotting opportunities
● Entrepreneurial competences
the other 2 available editions of the course for 2025 are:
FIRST EDITION - If your research is mainly focused on Smart Industry (all fields)
SECOND EDITION - If your research is mainly focused on ICT and Digital Transformation (all fields)
If you are interested in one of the above editions and would like to know when they will be held in 2025, please contact directly milena.bigatto@trentinoinnovation.eu