Agro-Food System

The Doctoral School for the study of the Agri-food System was inaugurated in 2006 thanks also to the decisive contribution of the Foundation of Piacenza and Vigevano.

The School, promoted by the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and Economics and Law of the Piacenza campus of Università Cattolica, was born from the conviction that today the complexity of the current agri-food system requires that economic and legal aspects are inseparable from scientific-productive aspects.

Coordinated by Prof. Paolo Ajmone Marsan, the School should be understood not only as a third level of postgraduate university education, but also as a place for the elaboration of knowledge, the exchange of information and the promotion of innovative ideas.

The strengths of the School

• Multisectorality: 2 scientific-disciplinary areas and 8 research paths;
• Interdisciplinarity: in the training and opportunities for interaction between PhD students and researchers from two different faculties;
• Internationalization: with reference to access, teaching, the compulsory nature of a period of study abroad of at least 6 months (extendable up to 18) and the network of consolidated high-level collaboration relationships with universities and international research centers.

To date, the School has 237 PhDs and 127 PhD students in progress

The Industrial Doctorate

The Doctoral School activates doctoral programmes in collaboration with companies and third parties that intend to develop specific research projects and at the same time invest in the professional growth of their employees, on the basis of specific agreements. When submitting the application for participation in the competition, the candidate must indicate his/her intention to compete for a place reserved for the industrial doctorate and attach the employer's expression of interest. Enrolment in the School is, however, subject to passing the competition and signing the agreement.

The Doctorate in Higher Education Apprenticeship

The Doctoral School also offers doctoral courses in advanced training apprenticeships. Enrolment in the School is, however, subject to passing the competition. Companies can activate higher education apprenticeship contracts only with young people under the age of 29. The doctoral student in the performance of the PhD will be hired by the company with an apprenticeship contract in advanced training in compliance with the specific regional regulations in force on the subject.