The institution
The University of Pavia, founded in 1361, is one of the world’s oldest academic institutions. Today almost 24,000 students, from both Italy and overseas, study at our University. Pavia, as a city-campus, offers students a unique experience in Italy and rare in Europe: to stay at one of 20 University colleges. Pavia is a city in northern Italy with 70,000 inhabitants located 30 km south of Milan, connected by regional and suburban trains every 10 minutes. Life in Pavia is both pleasant and affordable, particularly in comparison with much higher housing and living costs in Milan and other urban centres in Lombardy. Pavia’s campus offers a unique university experience to students who can enjoy countless events, festivals, exhibitions, concerts and sport activities, at all levels.
The program
The PhD covers a highly interdisciplinary scientific area that requires the convergence of different scientific fields, ranging from engineering and computer science to biology and medicine. The PhD program aims at training students to achieve high standard in bioengineering knowledge and skills from both the methodological and technological viewpoints. It is also designed to strengthen the students’ personal creativity, especially through the practice of scientific research in several leading sectors.
The PhD activities are led by academic personnel belonging to groups that are very active in research at the national and international level. The student’s research activities are focused on an independent research project, original and scientifically significant. It is conducted in close and continuous contact with one of the research groups of the involved departments. During the second year, typically students spend 4-8 months abroad, in a lab where same or similar research lines are conducted. It lasts until the end of the third year and concludes with an original thesis on the research performed. The final dissertation is aligned with the highest international standards. This is reflected by the high number of qualified scientific results and publications delivered each year. The Faculty also promotes useful initiatives to establish collaborative relationships with private companies in the sector, many of which have shown interest in the Bioengineering PhD course at the University of Pavia. Also thanks to these links, our PhD training has been shown to be adequate for a successful job placement in prestigious R&D laboratories, both in Italy and abroad.
Coordinator of the PhD program: Prof. Silvana Quaglini