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PhD Course in Management (XLII Cycle)

  • Description

    The Ph.D. program aims to contribute to the advanced training of young people by developing the knowledge and skills necessary to address the complexity of today's economic, social, and technological landscape. The program offers a diverse range of educational opportunities designed to facilitate qualified entry into the workforce, research, and innovation sectors.

    Building a knowledge-based economy and society requires the dissemination of new, interdisciplinary, and innovation-oriented skills. This need is reinforced by the rapid development of emerging technologies—Artificial Intelligence, generative AI, agentic AI, social and service robotics, and data analytics—and by the acceleration of socio-economic, cultural, and geopolitical phenomena, such as global crises, digital and environmental transitions, and the transformations and emergence of new configurations of economic activities and markets. These changes require interpretive models of complexity and flexible, agile, and responsible decision-making, strategic, and organizational approaches.

    In line with the University's strategic plan, the PhD program addresses the need to train researchers capable of engaging with the economic and entrepreneurial system, equipping them with tools to identify emerging skill requirements, promote knowledge transfer, and support innovative processes in corporate and institutional contexts.

    The topics covered will address both the theoretical foundations and cutting-edge issues in management, including: business and governance models, digital transformation, sustainability, entrepreneurship and startups, service innovation and open innovation, organizational learning, knowledge management, and data valorization.

    The predominantly theoretical nature of university education has at times represented a barrier to the recruitment of young talent by Italian companies. The innovative nature and specificity of this doctoral program aim to overcome this limitation by addressing the needs of the most dynamic and innovative businesses. There is, in fact, a growing demand for professionals with cross-cutting skills—technical, digital, and managerial—combined with problem-solving, team-building, communication, and adaptability skills. The proposed training, focused on technological and organizational transformations, will facilitate the placement of doctoral students in public and private companies interested in addressing contemporary challenges with appropriate tools.

    The research project will enable doctoral students to acquire essential skills to build a solid professional career and integrate effectively into professional environments. The skills developed will include:

    • technical-professional: specific operational skills relevant to the researcher's profile in the managerial and economic fields; instrumental: mastery of methods, techniques, tools, and systems, including software for data analysis and processing;
    • organizational: activity planning, time management, effective communication, coordination, and teamwork.

    Interdisciplinarity and the ability to leverage and transfer knowledge and applications from an ecosystemic perspective make the doctoral student a strategic asset for universities as well, which are called upon to play a key role in the economic and social development of the region, particularly within the scope of the Third Mission.

    The training program is structured around teaching and project-based activities, including:

    • in-depth study of the fundamental elements of the scientific and disciplinary fields relevant to the Ph.D.;
    • acquisition of skills in the most advanced quantitative and qualitative research methodologies;
    • analysis of cutting-edge topics from a multidisciplinary perspective and with reference to various operational contexts;
    • understanding of data analysis processes and the formulation of results;
    • development of projects, research outputs, and project management skills.

    Specific courses and seminars, including those of international significance, are planned, as well as research initiatives that directly involve PhD students, with individual responsibilities and periodic and final evaluations. Additional specialized training is also planned, aimed at acquiring the skills necessary to carry out the research activity covered by the PhD program, including through in-depth studies led by experts from outside the academic world and participation in conferences, workshops, and other scientific initiatives.

  • Cycle:

     XLII

  • Board committee:
    PhD Course Coordinator
    • RUSSO SPENA Tiziana (Coordinatore)

    Member of the Board

    • ALLINI Alessandra
    • ARENA Claudia
    • BIFULCO Francesco
    • CANONICO Paolo
    • CANTONE Luigi
    • CAPALDO Antonio
    • CAPUTO Francesco
    • CURCIO Domenico
    • DI PAOLA Nadia
    • FERRI Luca
    • GINESTI Gianluca
    • MAFFEI Marco
    • MAGLIO Roberto
    • MANES ROSSI Francesca
    • MANGIA Gianluigi
    • MEGLIO Olimpia
    • MELE Cristina
    • MUSSOLINO Donata
    • SAGGESE Sara
    • SARNACCHIARO Pasquale
    • SARTO Fabrizia
    • SCIARELLI Mauro
    • SPANÒ Rosanna
    • TANI Mario
    • TREGUA Marco
    • VIGANO' Riccardo
    • VONA Roberto

     

    Members of the Board (Not in Higher Education, working for Italian or Foreign Institutions, and Professor in Foreign Universities)
    • CAVICCHIA Carlo (ERASMUS SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS - Paesi Bassi)
    • HEINONEN Kristina (HANKEN UNIVERSITY - Finlandia)
    • NENONEN Suvi (THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND - Nuova Zelanda)
    • ODERKEKEN Gaby (UNIVERSITY OF MAASTRICHT - Paesi Bassi)
    • STORBACKA Kaj (HANKEN BUSINESS - Nuova Zelanda)

  • Organization of courses and educational activities:
  • Admission test:

    The admission exam will assess the following:

    • Qualifications
    • Language
    • Research Project

    An oral exam is required
  • Admissions exam topics:
    • Governo ed Etica d'impresa
    • Governance e Strategia Aziendale
    • Marketing
    • Economia aziendale
    • Economia e gestione delle imprese
    • Strategie di impresa
    • Valutazione della performance aziendale
    • Economia e gestione dell'innovazione
    • Creazione d'impresa
     
    Per maggiori informazioni si rimanda al bando.
     
  • Course length: 3 years
  • Credits: 180
  • Contacts:

    The call is open to anyone, regardless of age or nationality, who holds one of the following degrees: 

    • Master's degree obtained in accordance with Ministerial Decree 509/1999 and subsequent amendments and/or additions;
    • Bachelor's degree obtained in accordance with previous academic regulations (where the standard duration of the program is at least four years);
    • Equivalent academic qualification obtained from a foreign university.

    The competition is also open to those who will obtain one of the degrees listed above by October 31, 2026; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of admission to the program.

    The eligibility of the degree obtained from a foreign university is assessed, solely for the purposes of admission to the selection process, by the selection committee. In such cases, the following must be submitted, in accordance with the procedures outlined in Article 4 below: the degree certificate, indicating the exams taken and the curriculum followed, as well as any additional documents deemed useful for evaluating the eligibility of the degree. All documents must be translated if not submitted in English.
  • Course affiliation: Dipartimento di Economia, Management, Istituzioni

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