45 PhD positions at IMT Lucca, Italy

Competitions for admission are open in the following PhD Programs at
IMT:

Computer Science and Engineering

Theories developed within computer science have been, and still are,
remarkably relevant not only for developing devices and tools which
are commonly used in today society, but also for facing new
theoretical problems of wide perspective.

In particular, the study of models, algorithms and verification
methods of distributed systems with shared resources, with attention
to the problems of security, concurrency, real time, “open endness”,
distributed decisions, etc. has fostered the development of the
informatics of the new wide area networks. Students acquire
extensive knowledge of the fundamentals and applications of
architectures and languages for global and grid computing, web
systems and services, in particular for business applications,
embedded systems, web data mining, wired and wireless networks, and
mobile systems. In addition to offering broad scope for basic
research, these domains define a professional area where all the
needs of computer applications on wide are networks can find their
fulfilment.

Economics, Markets, Institutions

The program aims at dealing with issues in political economy,
applied public economics, the functioning of industries and markets,
the impact of macroeconomics on productivity and growth. A
distinctive feature of the PhD program is the strong integration of
theoretical, technical and practical expertise, aimed to educate
highly qualified professionals, who analyze, plan, and manage
concrete interventions of political economy.

Theoretical methodologies and models are tested through the
methodical/systematic investigation of real world cases. At the end
of the program, students are able to identify commonalities as well
as distinctive characters of economies, markets, and industries.

Political Systems and Institutional Change

The PhD Program aims to make students familiar with analytical tools
and methodologies of investigation elaborated within different
contemporary traditions in social sciences, thereby providing the
theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to both evaluate
comparatively the performance of institutional systems, and
elaborate proposals for structural reforms. The courses will
especially focus on the historical, political, institutional and
economic dynamics that have been characterising the development of
European and ex Soviet countries after the Second Word War. They
will then consider among other topics: the institutional and
decisional dynamics of European countries and the European Union
including the trends towards multilevel governance both at the
European and at the domestic level (federalisation, independent
regulatory authorities, etc.); transatlantic relations EU-US;
relations between politics, social processes and political economy
decisions; paths of economic and political development; the
institutional workings of international organisations; the
characters of some geographical areas of special relevance.

Duration: 3 years

Language: Courses and seminars are held in English. Foreign PhD
students are required to attend an Italian Language and Culture
Course.

Classes begin in March 2009.

Deadline
The deadline for applications is December 5, 2008 at 6:00pm (Italian
time).
http://www.imtlucca.it/phd_programs/call_for_applications/index.php