ICST > ICT > IT: Research Education Strategies at Udine University (ITALY) Furio Honsell

1. KOPAONIK 2nd-5th March 2009 XV CONFERENCE DEVELOPMENT TRENDS TREND 2009 Doctoral Studies in Serbia, region & EU ICST > ICT > IT: Research Education Strategies at Udine University (ITALY) Furio Honsell

2. From LISBON 2000 agenda to Lisbon Strategy • OBJECTIVE: make EU the most competitive economy in the world together with full employment by 2110 • 3 PILLARS • knowledge based economy • education and social inclusion policies • economic growth decoupled from exploitation of natural resources

3. From LISBON 2000 agenda to Lisbon Strategy • Knowledge is a highly obsolescent resource • Provides very volatile competitive advantages if it is not renovated continuously • first cycle: methodology, teach how to learn continuousloy • research must not be geared just to academic careers • innovation radical vs incremental • pervasive R&D in everyone’s agenda and every activity • simultaneously work, learn, play (one of the most creative activities)

4. Bergen Declaration 2005 • EHEA is structured along 3 cycles – each level has the function to prepare the student for the labour market • Efforts to improve quality of teaching should not detract from efforts to strengthen research and innovation • Enhance quality of ativities through structuring and quality assurance, both external and internal (student= semi-manufatured valuable good) • Promote interdisciplinary training and transferable skills • Increase the number of doctoral students and reserach careers within EHEA • students/researchers

5. Bergen Declaration 2005 • core component of doctoral training is the advancement of knowledge through original research • qualifications determined on the basis of the outcomes based approach (indicators and determinants) • 3 or 4 years full time work • 1 ECTS = 25-30 hrs • 1 year = 60 ECTS = 1500 – 1800 hrs

6. UDINE UNIVERSITY • founded in 1978 after Friuli 1976 earthquake • 3 missions: higher education, research, service to community and regional develoment factory • 18,000 students (500 PhD students) – 250 full professors, 250 associate professors, 300 researchers • 10 (soft) Faculties • 18 PhD schools (in Italy flexible National Law for doctoral programmes) • Internationalizations • Science & Technology Park

7. Doctoral Studies • ITALY • 3 years (180 ECTS) • entrance by a competitive exam • number of positions without fellowship cannot exceed those with fellowship • National PhD “Summer Schools” • Board of supervisors, at least 12 for each PhD Course (Collegio docenti) • UDINE UNIVERSITY • 18 doctoral schools at least one for each faculty • at least 120 ECTS for original thesis

8. Doctoral Studies in Computer Science in Udine • 4 positions + 1foreign student • 30 ECTCS for coursework • Special courses (including visiting professors) • National PhD “Summer Schools” • max 30-40 hrs of undergraduate teaching activity • tutor/thesis supervisor throughout the research period • yearly presentation of activities to Collegio Docenti • thesis proposal presented during second years • 2 internal examiners from Collegio docenti • 2 external examiners/referees international stature (possibly non belonging to italian system) • 1 year extension (without fellowship) can be granted

9. Recommendations • Active involvement in European Research projects • Preparation/publication (possibly joint) conference or journal papers • one semester of reserach activity in foreign universities • joint supervisions enocouraged (Nancy,Valencia…) • joint collaborations with industries and local authorities • IP • Interdisciplinary research ( preservation of cultural heritage, sequencing of plant genomes) • Spin offs (20 via incubator)

10. Good Practices • Internationalization projects, possibly leading to Erasmus Mundus joint programmes • Hyderabad (India), INRIA, Nancy, Nice, Valencia, Novi Sad, Yaoundé, … • Siena, Pisa, • promote • awareness in IP issues • communication skills • entrepreneurial skills (Business Plan Competition, Incubator, Seed capital for spin-offs programmes)

11. Good Practices • promote • science dissemination skills for coping with (vocational crisis in science, women in computing) • science popularization skills for knowledge citizenship (lack of scientific education at all levels in equal proportions) • multidisciplinary skills (lingua franca for cross disciplinary dialogue) • multisectorial skills • strategic planning and project preparation and management skills

12. Conclusions • flexibility in order to promote bottom up creativity • incentives in order to enforce top down strategies • PROVOCATIVE REMARK: do not speak of “doctoral studies”, probably this is a contradiction in terms • IT < ICT < ICST • Science awareness is necessary to fight informatics consumerism • green computing to reduce carbon footprint requires new computational paradigms for new distributed hardware and algorithms

13. Short term Perspectives • Turn current DEUKS Tempus project into practice by establishing an Erasmus Mundus joint programme at postgraduate level with the same consortium

14. Long Terms Perspectives • Turn cientific Method in Politics