The PhD in “Logistics, Transport and Territory”: the PhD which began at the end of 2006 (22nd cycle) is composed of lessons and seminars for doctoral students and researchers with forms of collaboration and exchange with other national and foreign universities. The PhD aims to promote and strengthen advanced research and is a laboratory where young researchers are trained in the field of logistics and transport.

Teaching staff at CIELI also participate in the Committee of Doctoral/PhD course Teachers organised both nationally and internationally.

The Doctoral course awarded (totally) self-financing scholarships in the different years of the Youth Project (former DM 198/03), or financed by external institutions/companies; for the 25th cycle moreover, a scholarship made available by the Liguria Region with ESF funds from 2007-2013 (Axis 4 “Human capital specific objective i/4, i/5”) was awarded. Even doctoral posts without scholarships were awarded.

The Research Doctoral course in “Logistics, transport and territory” is the only course with strong interdisciplinary characteristics that enables admission to graduates from different disciplines such as, law, economics-management and engineering.

The training objectives were formulated so that at the end of the doctoral course students acquire:

knowledge of the basic instruments with specific reference to the transport and logistics sector;

specialised skills in one of the three disciplinary areas mentioned acquired prevalently through study and research, with possible work experience in institutions/companies as well as through participation in international conferences and seminars.

knowledge of the state of the art and ongoing trends in the sector of reference.

The qualities of this doctorate, which make it stand out nationally, are congruent with the characteristics of CIELI and enable defining the doctorate not only as a laboratory where young researchers are trained in the fields of logistics and transport, but also a crucial instrument of work and growth for CIELI.

The Centre needs young researchers that are trained for interdisciplinary research to maintain the innovative character that has distinguished it from the beginning.

The success of the doctorate is certified by, inter alia, the professional outcomes of the participants currently employed in institutions and companies that specialise in transport and logistics, which are not just integrated into Genoese academic environments.

Once they attained their doctoral degree some researchers have continued to work on research projects at CIELI thus broadening their knowledge and at the same time entering the labour market. 

Description and objectives of the course

The PhD in “Logistics and transport” aims to train and guide Master’s holders in technical, legal and economic disciplines to undertake interdisciplinary research.

During the first year the doctoral course provides teaching activities that are aimed at training students’ scientific-cultural skills and knowledge in line with their chosen or background scientific area (economics, law or technical).

Multidisciplinary skills derive from attendance of the first year of one or two courses in scientific areas different to the one chosen and from participation in a cycle of seminars held in the Centre.

Teaching activities in the first year may be held in English (on account of it being the language of teachers and doctoral candidates).

During the second year doctoral candidates will go abroad for a period of between 6 months and 1 year to work in an institute that CIELI collaborates with scientifically and in terms of research or in the institution where the doctoral candidate’s co-tutor works. Thus the second year is primarily taken up with research activities and some teaching-training activities to be agreed upon on a case-by-case basis.

The third year of the doctorate is dedicated to drafting a thesis with the supervision of a tutor belonging to the teaching committee and a co-tutor, preferably from a foreign university.

At the end of the second and half way through the third year, each doctoral candidate must hold a seminar for the teaching committee.

Employment and professional opportunities

PhD graduates can find employment in several fields and sectors.

In the private sector, they can be employed with management functions in companies that deal with transport services (e.g. railway and shipping companies) and in logistics companies (e.g. shipping agencies, dispatchers, logistics companies, intermodal plant management companies).

In the public sector, possibile employment outlets are agencies that preside over the sector such as the Authority for Transport Regulation, Port System Authority, international, national (and local) agencies that deal with mobility.

Finally, the world of scientific research is an important employment outlet as are the different observatories of mobility and logistics nationally as well as the professional consultancy sector.