PhD Programme in Management of Mountain Environment – (Ph.D.)

Contents

The research activity of Ph.D. students will be full-time. The official language of the Ph.D. study program is English. The thesis will be written in English with extended abstracts in Italian and German. Students will benefit from the unique multi-lingual environment at the Free University of Bozen.

The program includes teaching and research activities to be carried out at the Free University of Bozen and abroad. The activity abroad can be accomplished at one of the foreign partner universities or in other recognized universities or research institutes.

The formalized study part within the Ph.D. program is comprised of the following milestones, the achievement of which requires from students to:

* develop the concepts and schedules of their research plans within the first 6 months together with their supervisors and co-supervisors and, by the end of the 6th month, students have to defend their plans in the Course Committee (Collegio Docenti) of the faculty;
* participate at least in one international conference during their three-year programs and present a scientific contribution either orally or as a poster;
* spend at least three months at a scientific research institution abroad;
* attend seminars or courses on scientific paper analysis and writing;
* prepare and present a seminar on the state-of-the-art in the topic of their research fields;
* prove, before they are eligible to be admitted to the final exam, that they wrote at least one scientific paper in which they are listed as first author and which was submitted for publication to an international peer-reviewed journal.

Supervisor and co-supervisors

Within two months after the end of the selection process, the Course Committee (Collegio Docenti) shall appoint out of its members one supervisor for each Ph.D. student. Within one year from the beginning of the activity, the Committee will also appoint two co-supervisors: one other member of the Course Committee and one expert on the specific research topic to be covered by the student, coming from the joint university collaboration or another university or research institute.

Phases of the Ph.D. research project

The Ph.D. research program is divided into five phases with defined milestones after 2, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. At the end of each phase, Ph.D. students will meet the Course Committee to present their plans and/or their work. The Committee will evaluate the progress and suggest potential improvements regarding the research methodology.

* First phase (first 2 months): the Course Committee will meet the students and indicate their future supervisor(s). Ph.D. students will meet their designated supervisor(s) to decide the topic of their research and the specific subject within the topic and start to interact with their supervisors in order to elaborate their research plans. Within this phase, students will develop their study plans to a level at which these can be approved.
* Second phase (2nd–6th month): Ph.D. students, after a thorough literature analysis on their respective research questions, will elaborate the research program to be presented to the Course Committee for approval. In this phase, students will start attending specific courses.
* Third phase (6th–12th month): students will start their practical Ph.D. work, including laboratory and/or field activities. Students will attend additional didactic activities while also presenting a public seminar at the Free University of Bozen. During this phase, students present to the Course Committee a proposal for their research activities during their study stages abroad and the students’ external supervisors will be accepted.
* Fourth phase (12th–24th month): Ph.D. students will carry out their research work. It is expected that Ph.D. students attend an international conference and present their preliminary results while also starting with the preparation of manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. This phase will likely include their study stages abroad. In addition, students may take part in other didactic activities.
* Fifth phase (24th–36th month): Ph.D. students finalize their research activities which provide answers to the scientific questions behind their research. This phase will possibly include their study stages abroad. Students will write and submit manuscript(s) to peer-reviewed journals. They will write their Ph.D. theses and get the approval from the Course Committee for the admission to the final exam.

Other duties of Ph.D. students

Ph.D. students attend courses, seminars and other didactic activities that enable them to prepare for their research careers and to acquire academic skills. Additional credit points from other duties will be achieved by students through:

* compulsory seminars to be attended by the end of the first year;
* presentations at national and/or international conferences, symposia and workshops, related to the Ph.D. research;
* study stage (work placement) in universities and research centers abroad;
* seminars on their Ph.D. topics to be presented by the students at the Free University of Bozen or in other scientific institutions.

Study Plan

The teaching offer within the Ph.D. program includes courses which aim to deepen the theoretical, technical and methodological skills of students. These courses could be attended at the Free University of Bozen as well as at other universities/institutes/companies in Italy or abroad. The successful participation in these courses will be proved by a successful written or oral examination or by a certificate from the course organizer.

The study plan lists the subjects given above and will be presented by students to the Course Committee at the end of the second phase of their Ph.D. programs; changes in the study plan are possible after authorization by the Course Committee. Students have to insert in their study plans one course of advanced statistics, at least one course of advanced science theory and methodology and at least one course of advanced scientific English language studies.
In addition to these courses, Ph.D. students may select and propose other courses at university level in those areas that are needed to achieve and to complete their preparations for their thesis work. This could be achieved through summer schools, laboratories, courses in other universities/institutions/companies, also abroad.

Research Program

The research program describes the research topic and schedule of the Ph.D. project and will be organized as follows:

* title of Ph.D. project;
* abstract;
* introduction into the topic by stating the most relevant literature which reflects the state-of-the-art;
* aims and hypotheses (rationale of the project);
* general description of the experimental workflow (brief description of the materials and methods and of the investigated territories in the case of field studies);
* expected results and outcomes with relevance for science and/or practice;
* description of the results obtained by the Ph.D. student so far (only for students of the 2nd and 3rd year of the Ph.D. program);
* list of presentations of the Ph.D. work on conferences, workshops etc.;
* preliminary or final titles of papers which have been or will be submitted by a Ph.D. student to international peer-reviewed journals;
* reference list.

The research program should not exceed 8 pages in total. An updated program will be presented during the annual meetings with the Course Committee.

International work placement

A study period abroad as part of the Ph.D. research work is obligatory and may last between 3 and 12 months, not necessarily in succession. This placement can be at universities, and/or public or private research institutions, administrations or private-sector enterprises. The specific relevance of the placement to the Ph.D. project needs to be demonstrated. The financial support of the placement has to be organized in advance. The placement abroad has to be approved and evaluated by the Course Committee.

Admission to the Ph.D. defence

To be admitted to the final exam, students should have written at least one scientific paper in which they are listed as first author and which was submitted for publication to an international peer-reviewed journal (students should provide proof of the submission).

The thesis has to be introduced by an abstract written in English, German and Italian. The thesis will provide an introduction written in form of a scientific review, the scientific articles related to the Ph.D. topic produced by the students during their research work (published, in press or even forthcoming papers), a conclusion chapter and the list of the references. The thesis may contain also the list of all the publications, book chapters, meeting abstracts, scientific collaborations etc. related or not related to the topic of the Ph.D. project produced by the students during their scientific careers.

Faculty

The research at the Faculty of Science and Technology is characterized by an inter- to transdisciplinary spectrum of topics, focusing on natural (e.g. forests, grasslands, rivers, high-mountain environments) and anthropogenic environments (e.g. urban–industrial spaces, agricultural land, vineyards and orchards) and related patterns and processes.

Our faculty is particularly specialized on mountain environments such as the Alps or similar ecosystems and landscapes. Main research topics are:

1. management of biotic and abiotic resources;
2. energy efficiency and renewable energy sources;
3. quality of life.

Management of biotic and abiotic resources: this area aims at improving the ability of the alpine environment to provide ecosystem services when subjected to human management like agriculture or forestry. More specifically, studies are devoted to the development of a sustainable management framework of native resources such as natural biodiversity, water, air and soil. The ultimate objective is to provide scientific understanding of the ecological processes and the dynamics behind the ecosystem functions which represent the prerequisite for the development of innovative, environmentally-friendly agricultural and forestry systems.

Energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy sources: this research area focuses on some aspects of human activities that take place in the alpine environment and which directly or indirectly affect the quality of life and the availability of biotic and abiotic resources. These include: (1) enhancing energetic efficiency; (2) monitoring and reducing net greenhouse gas emissions; and (3) developing alternative energy production systems. The ultimate research objective is to ameliorate the efficiency of the process of energy production through the use of more sustainable and ecological sources of energy (biomass, urban wastes, mud from wastewater plants etc.), applicable to agriculture, urban environments and human activities.

Quality of life: this topic refers to the development of a type of resource management which leads to an improved and reorganized overall quality of life for both humans and other living organisms. This objective can be achieved through a careful coordination of resource management and energetic efficiency. The research area is specifically devoted to improving landscape healthiness, recovering soil, water and air quality, minimizing pollution and increasing food quality.

Faculty laboratories

The Faculty of Science and Technology has eight laboratories dedicated to

• Applied Environmental Physics
• Biochemistry and Soil Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Mass Spectrometry

The following instruments are available:

• Varian High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) System with UV Detector.
• Agilent Capillary Gaschromatography system coupled with a Mass spectrometer (GC/MS) equipped with a Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) device.
• Thermo Fisher Continuous Flow Isotopic Ratio Mass Spectrometry (CFIRMS) for analysis of stable isotopes such as C, N, O and H, equipped with an Elemental Analyzer for solid and liquid samples and Gas Bench.
• Äkta Purifier FPLC System.
• Hitachi Spectrophotometer.
• Tecan Fluorometer.
• Labconco FreeZone 12 L Freeze Dry System.
• Incubators, centrifuges, shakers, thermal mixers, sterile flow chamber.
• Refrigerators and freezers.
• Snijders Scientific Climate Cabinet for plant growth.
• Equipment dedicated to biomolecular analyses: 96-wells PCR thermal cycler; Fire-Reader Xs-D55-26MX system for the acquisition of electrophoresis gels; D-Code for Denaturing Gel Electrophoresis, SSCP and protein separation.
• Equipment dedicated to biological observations: Olympus Biological/System Microscopes and Olympus Stereo Zoom Microscopes.
• Equipment dedicated to field analyses and data collection: field equipment for quantifying water and sediment budget in mountain basins; equipment for Eddy Covariance analysis (CO2 gas analyzer, sonic anemometer, radiometer); Li-8100 Soil CO2 Flux System used as a portable survey measurement system (Infrared Gas Analyzer to measure CO2 and H2O Concentrations) or in conjunction with the LI-8150 Multiplexer for multiple chamber measurements; Li-3000C Portable Leaf Area Meter equipped with a conveyor belt; WhinRhizo Root scanner; rhizotrons; Delta AP4 Porometer; tensiometers; Scholander bomb.
• Equipments dedicated to the determination of qualitative characteristics of fruits: colorimeter Cr400 Minolta, Digital Pal-1 and Pal-3 pocket refractometers; Penetrometer with test position; titrators; pH meters; Minolta Spad-502 Chlorophyll meter.
• LintabTM Station for Dendrochronological Analysis; gimlets for soft and hard woods; hypsometers.
• Software dedicated to statistical and informatics analyses: MATLAB package for statistical analysis and modeling; MAPLE package for simulations and modeling; FORTRAN package for computer programming; ARCGIS package for GS applications.
• Double Climatic chamber for Building Structure and Material Performance Evaluation.
• Wind Tunnel.
• Equipment for in situ Building Monitoring.

Partner Universities and Institutions

List of foreign Partner Universities and Research Institutions where the Ph.D. student may, under specific research programs, spend her/his research period abroad:

• University of Innsbruck, Faculty of Biology (Austria)
• University of Tromsø (Norway)
• University of New Hampshire (USA)
• Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) (Switzerland)
• University of Göttingen (Germany)
• State University of Santa Catarina (Santa Catarina, Brasil)
• Federal University of Santa Maria (Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil)

National

Partner Research Institutions, that under specific research programs, may host part of the activity of the Ph.D. student:

• The European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano (Eurac)
• Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Laimburg, Ora (Bz)
• University of Milan, Faculty of Agriculture