Welcome to the Doctoral School of Politecnico di Torino or -in short- ScuDo. I am currently the Head of this School.
ScuDo is the official body through which Politecnico di Torino plans, implements and promotes training at the doctoral level (PhD or "third level"). This is the highest level of university education after the Bachelor's and Master's degrees, aimed at training figures who are highly specialized scientists and technicians, capable of implementing and managing research, development and innovation both in the university, in the private sector, and in public administration. The declared objective of Politecnico is to contribute to training the future managerial class at local, national and international level, transferring a rich set of skills that are instrumental to the advancement of science and technology, for a continuous improvement of the life and daily experience of the society at large.
These goals are ambitious: for this reason Politecnico di Torino deploys significant resources, both financial and personnel, to support the doctoral activities. The departments, the interdepartmental centers, the advanced research laboratories and various administrative structures are available to professors and doctoral students to conduct their activities efficiently and effectively and achieve the objectives of their training path. ScuDo contributes to managing these resources, defining and applying a set of common rules for quality assurance of the doctorate at all levels.
Currently, ScuDo manages 18 PhD programmes, in practically all areas of Engineering and Architecture, including the Postgraduate School in Architectural and Landscape Heritage which, together with a few other nationally recognized schools, completes and enriches the training offer. Thanks also to the recent propulsive thrust of the PNRR and important public and private initiatives at European, national and local level, the number of active PhD students at the University has almost reached 1500 units. Each PhD student works under the guidance of at least two supervisors, who are professors of Politecnico possibly supported by young researchers, research staff from affiliated institutions (such as CNR, IIT, InRIM, INFN), and company researchers. In fact, the PhD has changed profoundly in recent years, moving from a school attended almost exclusively by future university professors to a multidisciplinary and intersectoral reality in which both academia and industry participate, each with its own role.
By vocation, the PhD at Politecnico di Torino has an international scope, through countless collaborations with universities, institutions and leading industries at a global level. PhD students are called to spend secondment periods of study and research abroad, in order to enrich their skills and be exposed to realities that are possibly very different from their own national/local setting. Many PhD students come from foreign countries, contributing to the construction of a rich and diverse scientific community.
ScuDo manages all of this at 360 degrees: from the procurement and distribution of resources, to the definition of training plans for PhD students, to final assessments and exams. We are very proud of the results we help achieve through ScuDo: the community of former students boasts prominent figures in various national and international public and private entities. The number of PhD students who choose an entrepreneurial career, founding Spinoffs and Startups and contributing to their growth, is also increasing rapidly. The Politecnico also supports this process through its award-winning Incubator for Innovative Companies (I3P).
ScuDo, as our motto says, is the best partner for the development of your talent (“what you are”) and to project you into a path of personal, professional and social growth (“takes you far”)!
Stefano Grivet Talocia