PhD track
The PhD track will be based on, in addition to partners’ national and institutional criteria, the achievement of 60 ECTS credits per year (a total amount of 180 ECTS along the course). Credits assignment will depend on three different criteria:
- Skills: stages, R&D projects, patents, seminars participation to conferences, etc…;
- Capabilities: written and oral description of activities according to learning outcomes of the course;
- Knowledge: participation and successful overtaking of advanced teaching modules.
More in detail (see Table 1), each student will have to attend two modules concerning his research interests and activities delivered by one of the partner universities (at least one in his primary institution). At the end of the module an oral presentation of a research topic related to the courses will state the level of knowledge acquired by the student and will be evaluated by the lecturer. This activity will score 10 ECTS credits (5 for each course).
| Table 1 – Credits Assignment (1 year) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Criterion | Activity | Type of exam | N° ECTS Credits |
| Knowledge | Following at least two teaching modules offered by the five partners | Oral presentation of a research topic related to the courses evaluated by the lecturer | 10 (5+5) |
| Capability | Research report (in the form of a conference or journal paper) | Review of the paper (performed by supervisors and one tutor) | 15 |
| Capability | thirty minutes oral presentation to show and describe activities (at Summer School) | The capability of managing this task in a brilliant way, under the evaluation of his SB and of the PSC | 15 |
| Skill | stage period spent working in a partner industry on the development of innovative solutions and technologies | Evaluation by the SBs with the contribution of the industrial external tutor. | 20* |
| Skill | active involvement in tasks concerning R&D projects | Evaluation by the SBs with the contribution of the industrial external tutor. | 20* |
| * some skill activities contribute to the obtainment of a total amount of 20 ECTS | |||
At the end of each year of course each student should prepare a research report (summing up all activities done during the year) and a paper (in the form of a conference (first year) or journal paper (second and third year)) describing his research activities from a technical/scientific point of view. The research paper will be reviewed by the supervisors and the tutor in the first two years while it must be related with the final dissertation at the third year. The good quality of the report and the evidence of having pursued a brilliant research activity will score 15 ECTS credits.
Another evaluation criterion will be represented by a thirty minutes oral presentation where each student will have to show and describe his activities in fluent English (which is the official language of the course) to all the attendants. The presentation will be open to question coming from attendants or from boards’ members in order also to evaluate the acquired argument capabilities of the student. Generally, this presentation will be performed at the Summer School. The capability of managing this task in a brilliant way, under the evaluation of his SB and of the PSC, will score 15 ECTS.
Finally, industry-related activities, seminars, participation to international conferences as speaker of accepted papers, etc…, being a relevant aspect of the course, will score up to 20 ECTS. In particular, a stage period spent working in a partner industry on the development of innovative solutions and technologies as well as the active involvement in tasks concerning R&D projects (e.g. FP7 projects) are two instances of industry-related commitments which will be evaluated by the SBs with the contribution of the industrial external tutor. The list of activities that will contribute to the global score and related credits will be made available each year. Each student will have to present a proposed plan of activities to cover necessary credits as well as describing research lines to be pursued at the beginning of each year. The plan will have to be updated, presented and approved by the ICE consortium each year.
