Periodic Reporting for period 1 - UNIPhD (UNIPhD - Eight century legacy of multidisciplinary research and training for the next-generation talents)
Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-08-31
The UNIPhD Programme welcomes the most promising Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) coming to the University of Padua from all over the world to pursue a brand new International, Intersectoral, Interdisciplinary and Innovative “training through research” experience.
UNIPhD seeks to train a highly-skilled and versatile future generation of researchers to become successful, responsible and innovative leaders in their community and excellent in collaborating with colleagues from different fields. The Programme aims at enhancing the researchers’ capacity to respond to urgent challenges emerging around us, while boosting their employability in academia and non-academia worldwide.
UNIPhD seeks to train a highly-skilled and versatile future generation of researchers to become successful, responsible and innovative leaders in their community and excellent in collaborating with colleagues from different fields. The Programme aims at enhancing the researchers’ capacity to respond to urgent challenges emerging around us, while boosting their employability in academia and non-academia worldwide.
The project envisaged a Call for proposals for 50 fellowships, published in January 2022, however only 39 fellowships were granted. A second Call for proposals was published in December 2022, offering the remaining 11 vacant positions. Each fellowship was associated to a research topic, a framework within which every applicant had to propose an original research project. At the end of the second Call, all 50 fellowships have been allocated and are now hosted by 25 PhD Courses at the University of Padua, covering all scientific domains: 8 in Life Sciences (LS), 10 in Physical Sciences and Engineering (PE), 5 in Social Sciences and Humanities (SH), 2 cross-domain PE-LS.
Within the first month of contract, each Fellow had to prepare a Career Development Plan in accordance with their Supervisor. This document, which may be updated if necessary, highlights short-term objectives (1-2 years), long-term career objectives (over 5 years) and major expected accomplishments, set by the researcher and the Supervisor at the beginning of the fellowship.
Two welcome events, one for each batch of UNIPhD Fellows, were organised and throughout their PhD course all ESRs accessed an extensive research training, complemented with an attractive transversal skills package. Two PhD Training weeks were organised for both Academic Years, giving all UNIPhD Fellows the opportunity to participate. The first training focused on research communication, dissemination and exploitation, while the second addressed research integrity, Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and Big Data Science. Both events were open to the general Unipd PhD community and featured academic and non-academic professionals as speakers.
To encourage doctoral students' implementation of skills acquired during the PhD Training weeks, two Annual Network Meetings have been organised, the first focused on research communication and dissemination while the second aimed at giving the Fellows tools and perspectives on career development. The meetings hosted international keynote speakers and representatives from the academic and non-academic sectors.
Within the first month of contract, each Fellow had to prepare a Career Development Plan in accordance with their Supervisor. This document, which may be updated if necessary, highlights short-term objectives (1-2 years), long-term career objectives (over 5 years) and major expected accomplishments, set by the researcher and the Supervisor at the beginning of the fellowship.
Two welcome events, one for each batch of UNIPhD Fellows, were organised and throughout their PhD course all ESRs accessed an extensive research training, complemented with an attractive transversal skills package. Two PhD Training weeks were organised for both Academic Years, giving all UNIPhD Fellows the opportunity to participate. The first training focused on research communication, dissemination and exploitation, while the second addressed research integrity, Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and Big Data Science. Both events were open to the general Unipd PhD community and featured academic and non-academic professionals as speakers.
To encourage doctoral students' implementation of skills acquired during the PhD Training weeks, two Annual Network Meetings have been organised, the first focused on research communication and dissemination while the second aimed at giving the Fellows tools and perspectives on career development. The meetings hosted international keynote speakers and representatives from the academic and non-academic sectors.
Fellows have been recruited to work on research topics that have been selected based on their excellence, impact, and future perspectives, giving them the opportunity to be familiar with the state-of-the-art in their research field.
The secondment experiences carried out by each ESR, together with Annual Network Meetings and the various events and conferences organised in each Department, expose UNIPhD Fellows to intersectoral, intercultural and interdisciplinary opportunities, making them familiar with carrying out research in different settings as well as building their confidence.
The UNIPhD Programme is designed to have an impact on various levels, in particular at the Institutional level of the University of Padua.
The Trusted Intermediary, one of the Managing Bodies within the UNIPhD project, has been very effective and efficient in mediating relationship conflicts between some Fellows and their Supervisors. The management and resolution of these difficulties has emphasized the importance of this role, thus fostering the permanent appointment of a professor in this role within each Unipd doctoral course.
The unified training programme on transferable and soft-skills organised by the UNIPhD Programme has fostered the introduction of “micro-credentials” for the A.Y. 2024/2025, as well as increased the educational offer available to all Unipd doctoral students, thereby improving the quality of training.
The recruitment of 50 international ESRs through the UNIPhD project significantly favoured the increase of enrolled foreign doctoral students at the University of Padua. Before the publication of the UNIPhD Calls for proposals, in the period 2016-2020, the number of international PhD students at the University of Padua was lower than desired. The UNIPhD Programme contributed in the increase of internationality in Doctoral Courses, with almost 35% more of foreign PhDs enrolled at the University between 2020 and 2024.
The secondment experiences carried out by each ESR, together with Annual Network Meetings and the various events and conferences organised in each Department, expose UNIPhD Fellows to intersectoral, intercultural and interdisciplinary opportunities, making them familiar with carrying out research in different settings as well as building their confidence.
The UNIPhD Programme is designed to have an impact on various levels, in particular at the Institutional level of the University of Padua.
The Trusted Intermediary, one of the Managing Bodies within the UNIPhD project, has been very effective and efficient in mediating relationship conflicts between some Fellows and their Supervisors. The management and resolution of these difficulties has emphasized the importance of this role, thus fostering the permanent appointment of a professor in this role within each Unipd doctoral course.
The unified training programme on transferable and soft-skills organised by the UNIPhD Programme has fostered the introduction of “micro-credentials” for the A.Y. 2024/2025, as well as increased the educational offer available to all Unipd doctoral students, thereby improving the quality of training.
The recruitment of 50 international ESRs through the UNIPhD project significantly favoured the increase of enrolled foreign doctoral students at the University of Padua. Before the publication of the UNIPhD Calls for proposals, in the period 2016-2020, the number of international PhD students at the University of Padua was lower than desired. The UNIPhD Programme contributed in the increase of internationality in Doctoral Courses, with almost 35% more of foreign PhDs enrolled at the University between 2020 and 2024.