X year of activation of the PhD course in Life Sciences at UMG in Catanzaro

The Life Sciences PhD programme at the Università Magna Græcia of Catanzaro reaches its tenth edition, maintaining the original name that has characterized it from the XXIX cycle to today. The PhD Board is based on qualified professors and researchers who work in the most significant multi-disciplinary sectors of the Life Sciences. Over the years, they have allowed the graduation of more than seventy master’s students to obtain the title of PhD in the first six cycles already completed. This year the curricular remodeling accredited and validated by ANVUR is based on two alternatives. The “basic” curriculum is dedicated to those who prefer to concentrate their training on “hard” Life Sciences (Physics, Chemistry and Biology). The other, called “applied”, is more dedicated to the formation of researchers in clinical and medical fields. In both cases, the knowledge transferred by the forty members of the PhD Board, two of which belong to prestigious foreign universities, are based on a high level of interdisciplinarity, which constitutes a first strong added value of the course. A second, no less important, concerns internationalization, which from this year will benefit from an agreement stipulated between the Università Magna Græcia of Catanzaro and the Joint Research Center of the European Commission on the topic “Artificial Intelligence as a tool for the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals”, promoted by the PhD course coordinator. This new element offers PhD students in the Life Sciences course innovative international paths, in addition to those already successfully implemented in previous years. These include the “Paul Ehrlich Euro-PhD award”, a specific label for doctoral students in the Medicinal Chemisty sector granted to those who have achieved certain specific requirements recognized by the homonymous network consisting of sixty European universities, and the “Doctor Europaeus” based on specifications defined by the Confederation of Rectors’ Conferences of EU countries and implemented by the European University Association (EUA). The PhD course in Life Sciences in the new cycle offers industry-specific scholarships according to the laws DM 351/22 and 352/22 based on “Next Generation EU” funding and allows doctoral students a considerable range of training opportunities: 22 core courses and 21 optional teaching activities, which include linguistic and IT improvement, knowledge on dissemination of results and intellectual property, research management and knowledge of European and international research systems, bioethics and respect for diversity. Registrations for the Life Science PhD programme, including the choice of curriculum and training project, are open until 8 August 2022. Additional information at the website http://web.unicz.it/it/news/97122/bando-di-selezione-per-l-assegnazione-di-borse-di-studio-di-dottorato-di-ricerca-a-a-2022-2023-area-biomedica-farmacologica.