The main objective of the doctoral training project is to train high-level professionals with strong "problem solving" skills. Through the provision of academic and specialist courses, seminars, schools and guided research activities, doctoral students are trained to become proactive professionals able to "tune" their skills with the increasingly complex demands of the market, linked to the search for constant and challenging technological innovations. The doctoral course aims to satisfy the demand for achieving the new research and high-level training objectives necessary to respond to the needs outlined in the System Priorities and the Research and Innovation Areas identified in the National Research Program 2021-2027 (PNR) and in the Missions underlying the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). Reference is made in particular to Industry 4.0, enabling technologies (advanced robotics, additive manufacturing, augmented reality, horizontal/vertical integration, simulation, Industrial Internet or Internet of Things applied to industry, etc.) and more generally to the so-called 4.0 paradigm with particular attention to the green revolution and ecological transition (circular economy, renewable energy, hydrogen, energy efficiency, etc.) as well as to the redevelopment of the urban fabric and buildings up to the issues of land protection and water resources at the basis of Mission 2 of the PNRR, without neglecting the issues specific to Mission 3: infrastructure and sustainable mobility. In fact, the doctoral course aims to train highly qualified professionals, able to fit into the renewed industrial and professional context and of public administrations, current and future, as well as to meet the technological challenges posed by the transition to Industry 4.0 and the digitalization and innovation of the PA. The set of training activities aims to allow the achievement of adequate knowledge of innovative design methodologies, technical/economic and energy/environmental analysis, management and control of complex systems, and related technologies.
The doctoral course also focuses part of the training and research activity on Cyber Physical Systems and all related technologies, such as Cloud computing, digital security, the Internet of Things, sensors, electronic devices and communication techniques (at all protocol levels), also taking care of focusing on the related design, development and evaluation techniques, both from a theoretical and practical point of view, so that these provide adequate support to industrial applications and environments as well as to the common user. The goal is to train researchers and experts able to work at an infrastructural level, as well as in the development of services, considering smart cities, industrial environments and the entire territory as application areas of interest. The design approach will strictly follow engineering principles and particular attention will be paid to strengthening the interaction with the industrial world, territorial bodies and PA structures. The organization of the training plan is intended as a highly qualified complement to the training courses of the previous levels (Master's Degrees), already active or in planning, at the University of Messina, thus completing a training paradigm of exceptional quality and strong characterization. The interaction, already broad, with the world of production activities is intended to be strengthened not only in order to train up-to-date and highly attractive professional figures, but also in order to create that synergy and interaction that is fundamental to guaranteeing a training course that is always at the forefront.