PhD Program in EECE:Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
XXXIV Cycle – Welcome meeting6 November 2018, Maxwell Room, DET, Politecnico di Torino
PhD: what?
It is the 3rd level in the university curricula
the highest degree in current education system
It aims at training students to become researchers
In academia
In industry
PhD students are a crucial resource in all research
universities worldwide
POLITO is investing significant resources to support
its PhD programs
Becoming a Researcher
At the end of the curriculum, a PhD student should be able to
autonomously perform research. This means:
• Identifying promising research areas
• Acquiring deep skills in the area
• Devising, developing and evaluating innovative ideas and
solutions
• Disseminating them in the worldwide research community
(writing papers, presenting his/her work at conferences)
• Interacting with other researchers from industry or
academia
• Attracting resources (i.e., preparing successful research
projects)
• Tutoring students
• …
PhD Life…
Each PhD student
• is followed by a supervisor
• works on a specific research project
• is integrated and works in a research group
• participates in research projects
• with companies
• within National or European projects
• studies the literature and state-of-the-art in his/her
area of interest• prepares and publishes papers
• follows some ad hoc courses (on specialized or
interdisciplinary topics)
• may also be involved in some active teaching activities
(e.g., following labs).
PhD Goals
The goal of a PhD student is to make research
Hence, He/She is expected to
• become aware of the status of the art in his/her research
area
• develop new ideas
• prove their effectiveness/limitations (normally in an
experimental manner)
• submit papers to conferences and journals
• present papers at conferences and interact with the
worldwide research community in his/her field
PhD students are also typically involved in research projects
• with companies
• funded by public bodies (e.g., the European Commission)
PhD candidates are both students and early stage researchers
The PhD Program is aimed at
acquiring competences and training…
…necessary to carry out research activities…
…not only in academic environment……but also in companies looking for professionals who are able
to manage the innovation process and interface with both
academic environment and productive system.
The Doctoral Candidate
Facts & Figures About PhD @ PoliTo
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49
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ARCHITECTURE, HISTORY AND PROJECT
ARCHITECTURAL AND LANDSCAPE HERITAGE
BIOENGINEERING AND MEDICAL-SURGICAL SCIENCES
ENERGETICS
PHYSICS
MANAGEMENT, PRODUCTION AND DESIGN
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
CIVIL AND ENVIROMENTAL ENGINEERING
ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING
COMPUTER AND CONTROL ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
METROLOGY
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
URBAN AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PURE AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS
PhD Candidates by program
EECE: Some Numbers
XXX cycle:
46 Students (7 lost, 3 active, 36 completed)
XXXI cycle:
34 Students (2 lost, 32 active)
XXXII cycle:
35 Students (4 lost, 31 active)
XXXIII cycle:
57 Students (2 lost, 55 active)
XXXIV cycle:
52 Students (temp)
General Organization
EECE Doctorate
Academic Board Committees
Tutors Students
CoordinatorVice-CoordinatorStudent representative
EECE Organization: Academic Board
Members (49):
Marco G. AJMONE MARSAN
Francesco Paolo ANDRIULLI
Andrea BIANCO
Iustin Radu BOJOI
Ettore Francesco BOMPARD
Fabrizio BONANI
Gabriella BOSCO
Giuseppe Carlo CALAFIORE
Aldo CANOVA
Andrea CAVAGNINO
Marcello CHIABERGE
Carla Fabiana CHIASSERINI
Gianfranco CHICCO
Emiliano DESCROVI
Fabio DOVIS
Sergio FERRERO
Franco FIORI
Roberto GARELLO
Giovanni GHIONE
Michele GOANO
Roberto GRAGLIA
Paolo GUGLIELMI
Luciano LAVAGNO
Emilio LEONARDI
Enrico MAGLI
Guido MASERA
Ladislau MATEKOVITS
Marco MELLIA
Michela MEO
Guido MONTORSI
Gian Mario PELLEGRINO
Paola PIRINOLI
Candido PIRRI
Pierluigi POGGIOLINI
Carlo Stefano RAGUSA
Maurizio REPETTO
Alessandro RIZZO
Luciano SCALTRITO
Gianluca SETTI
Filippo SPERTINO
Alberto TAGLIAFERRO
Giorgio TARICCO
Alberto TENCONI
Elena Maria TRESSO
Giuseppe VECCHI
Francesca VIPIANA
Gianni MAZZA - I.N.F.N.
Angelo RIVETTI - I.N.F.N.
Amedeo STAIANO - I.N.F.N.
EECE Organization: Who’s Who
Coordinator
– Stefano Grivet Talocia
Vice-coordinator
– Roberto Gaudino
Secretary
– Emilio Leonardi
Administration
– Vanna Leoncini
Students representative
– Vincenzo Randazzo
Executive board
– Stefano Grivet Talocia
– Roberto Gaudino
– Maurizio Zamboni
– Michele Goano
– Radu Bojoi
– Giuseppe Vecchi
EECE Organization: Who’s Who
Teaching activities committee
– Carlo Ragusa
– Franco Fiori
– Stefano Grivet Talocia
– Michele Goano
– Emilio Leonardi
– Giuseppe Vecchi
Awards committee
– Fabrizio Bonani
– Gabriella Bosco
– Gianfranco Chicco
Poster Day committee
– Paolo Bardella
– Paolo Giaccone
– Patrizia Savi
http://dottorato.polito.it
http://dottorato.polito.it/en/legislation
http://dottorato.polito.it/eet/en/overview
Just updated
Some Basic Rules…
Duration
The PhD program lasts 3 years
1 Nov 2018 – 31 Oct 2021
Max 6 months extension*
To graduate
Training requirements
Publication requirements
Write a PhD thesis
Pass the final examination
EECE
EECE
+
+
*only duration, not scolarship
PhD Candidate Path
INDIVIDUAL PATH
COURSES
PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PROJECT
ACTIVITIES ABROAD
PATENTS
TEACHING
COLLABORATIONS
CONFERENCES
RESEARCH
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
PhD Candidate Path
Day 0PhD starts
Year 1Evaluation
Year 2Evaluation
Year 3Evaluation
Final Exam
Selectionand
Admission
A point-system is in place for all PhD activities
1. Education
2. External research activity
3. Scientific production
PhD Activities
Training Activities
Two types of training
Hard skill: specialized technical courses
Soft skill: transversal courses
How to write a research proposal
How to exploit IP
How to speak in public
Ethics, …
Which courses to attend and how to choose
Official courses from Scudo + EECE
External training activities
PhD Summer Schools
Tutorials at conferences
Seminars at prestigious institutions
…
Soft Skill Courses: Handled by
Some courses can be attended on line
http://dottorato.polito.it/it/elenco_corsi_trasversali
Hard Skill Courses: Official Catalogue
Managed by
Collecting catalogues from all polito PhD programs
List of official courses
http://dottorato.polito.it/en/courses
maintains its own list of courses
Some courses are offered every 2 years
this is not visible on the ScuDo official catalog
see attachment (will be posted online shortly)
EECE
Hard Skill Courses: External Training
allows attending external courses
These must be approved by the Coordinator
has its own guidelines for course approval
Official courseware from Universities or Institutions (YES)
Participation to conferences or workshops (NO)
Tutorials and short courses at conferences (YES)
Software training (NO, except if requested by tutor)
Seminars at prestigious Universities/institutions (YES)
Online courses (NO, except if requested by tutor)
Must provide a certificate of attendance
reporting your name and the number of course hours
No certificate ⇒ No approval
EECE
Approval Process of External Courses
The following steps in the EXACT ORDER please
1. Courses must be inserted in the «cruscotto»
Course description (must be clear!)
Number of course hours
Course dates
2. Submit the certificate for approval (as part of step 1)
A new procedure is in place since few days
Upload directly the certificate in the «cruscotto»
as part of application submission
3. The Coordinator or its delegate (Prof. Gaudino) will approve
Hours will be verified, as well as exam marks and
course level (B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.)
Training Activities: Accounting
All activities MUST be inserted in the «cruscotto»
Definitions
– 𝐻𝑠,𝑖 , 𝐻ℎ,𝑖: hours of course 𝑖 (𝑠: soft, ℎ: hard)• Phd hard skill course hours are counted in full
• M.Sc. hard skill course hours count only 1/2
• B.Sc. hard skill course hours count only 1/3
– 𝐸𝑠,𝑖 , 𝐸ℎ,𝑖: weight that accounts for examination result• 1 if no exam
• 4/3 if «pass» (18-24)
• 5/3 if «pass with merit» (25-30)
– 𝐷𝑠,𝑖 , 𝐷ℎ,𝑖: training points
𝐷ℎ,𝑖 = 𝐸ℎ,𝑖 ⋅ 𝐻ℎ,𝑖 , 𝐷ℎ =
𝑖
𝐷ℎ,𝑖 , 𝐻ℎ =
𝑖
𝐻ℎ,𝑖
𝐷𝑠,𝑖 = 𝐸𝑠,𝑖 ⋅ 𝐻𝑠,𝑖 , 𝐷𝑠 =
𝑖
𝐷𝑠,𝑖 , 𝐻𝑠 =
𝑖
𝐻𝑠,𝑖
Research Activities and Publications
Research results should be published
Journal publications
Conference publications
Other (book chapters, patents, etc…)
All publications must be inserted in IRIS database
https://iris.polito.it
Automatically copied to the «cruscotto»
Publication metrics are used to evaluate faculty…
…and PhD Students too!
No publications ⇒ No graduation
Publications: Accounting
Publication metrics that are relevant for your PhD
– 𝑁 : total number of exclusive journal publications• Only indexed journals in SCOPUS* or WOS** (VQR-approved)
• If 𝑘 authors are polito PhD students, then 𝑁 = 1/𝑘• (other non-PhD-Student Authors do not count)
– 𝑅: cumulative indicator of all publications• Includes also conferences
– 𝑃𝑖: score of 𝑖-th publication according to polito rules• Journals in 4 quartiles (A: 1.0, B: 0.8, C: 0.5, D: 0.0)
• Conferences: standard score 0.5
– 𝑓𝑖: weight accounting for number of authors 𝑛
𝑓𝑖 =1
𝑛
𝑛−1
𝑛if 𝑛 ≤ 10, 𝑓𝑖 = 0.1 if 𝑛 > 10
𝑅 = 50𝑁 + 𝛼σ𝑖 𝑃𝑖 𝑓𝑖 𝛼 = 60
0 5 10
n
0
0.5
1
fi
EECE
*www.scopus.com **www.webofknowledge.com
External Research Activities
All PhD students are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to
spend a research period abroad
Up to 18 months: if you have a scolarship
amount will be augmented by 50%
approved this augmentation
for any research-related stay abroad
including short stays for conferences
All external research activities
must be logged in your «cruscotto»
EECE
External Research Activities
All PhD students are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to
spend a research period abroad
Plenty of opportunities
Usually, the Tutor plans your research stay
There are various calls for proposal that can
be used to retrieve funding
(Erasmus+, etc..)
To be discussed in a later ScuDo meeting
External Research Activities: Accounting
1. Request authorization BEFORE departure!!
There is a special section in your «cruscotto»
2. When you return
Upload in your «cruscotto» a final PDF report
Short letter from your host
confirming the dates of your stay
No report ⇒ No accounting
3. External research stay indicator: 𝑅𝑒 = 𝑑/5
where 𝑑 is the number of days of your stay
delegate for external research stay approval
EECE
Traveling
When you travel (officially, i.e., paid by polito)
1. You MUST request authorization BEFORE departure
https://polito.u-web.cineca.it/
Include an estimate of your expenses
MUST select a responsible for the funds to be used
should be your supervisor, not you!
2. Approval process
Tutor first, then Coordinator (no delegates here)
Tutor does not click ⇒ Coordinator will not approve
3. When back
Submit travel report including receipts on the web portal
Keep all original receipts (may have to deliver those too)
Research funds for traveling available, for each of you
Usually in 2°, 3° year, but can be anticipated to 1° year
– Admission to final exam (hours and not points)• 𝑁 ≥ 1, 𝑅 ≥ 50, 𝐻𝑠 ≥ 40, 𝐻ℎ ≥ 100
– Admission to second and third year• No specific requirement: each board decides
– All above SCUDO requirements, plus:
– Admission to final exam (points and not hours)• 𝑁 ≥ 1, 𝑅 ≥ 100, 𝐷𝑠 ≥ 40, 𝐷ℎ ≥ 200
– Admission to 3° year:• 𝑇 = 𝑅 + 𝑅𝑒 + 𝐷𝑠 + 𝐷ℎ ≥ 220 + good marks at poster day
– Admission to 2° year:• 𝑇 = 𝑅 + 𝑅𝑒 + 𝐷𝑠 + 𝐷ℎ ≥ 100 + good marks at poster day
PhD Regulations
EECE
EECE PhD Poster Day
Main event for all EECE PhD Students
Takes place yearly (October)
Only for 1° and 2° year students
Last Poster Day: 1 October 2018
See attached report
All students must participate
Posters discussed with faculty and visitors
Review of posters based on an online system
Results used for admission to 2° and 3° year
Awards
The best PhD students are awarded $$$
Students who completed 2° and 3° year
Each academic year
Evaluation based on a 2-step process
Dedicated EECE committee
1. Preselection based on points
Your «cruscotto» must be up to date!
2. Shortlisted candidates
Prepare a 5-minute video…
…guidelines will be provided
Videos are ranked by Reviewers
Last year: 9 total awardees
The Final Exam
Your PhD Thesis must be completed in 3 years!
XXXIV cycle: by October 31, 2021
The final exam starts ONLY…
…if minimum requirements are met
The academic board votes admission to final exam
can grant short extensions
BY LAW, no more than 6 months
Common critical cases:
… no journal publication
… did not update my «cruscotto»
… still have to complete my thesis (this is ok)
Minimum requirements not met ⇒ Drop from PhD
The Final Exam
Procedure
http://dottorato.polito.it/en/final_examination
1. Admission from academic board
Make sure your «cruscotto» is always updated!
2. Enroll online
3. Evaluation of the PhD thesis by external referees
Two from a list of at least 4 (in order to apply for awards)
May require revisions and resubmissions
Thesis must be first checked for anti-plegiarism
dedicated software available
4. Thesis defense
Examination board: 2 referees + 3 other membes
Presentation (about 40 min), in English, Q&A
5. Approved Thesis document upload to IRIS
Student or Researcher?
You have 2 different Email accounts
Make sure to select one main account
setup automated redirection from the other
Read your Email!
the only official means of communication
keep your Email clients (PC, phone) in sync!
Respond to requests from Tutor and Coordinator
promptly, do not wait for days before replying
SERVIZI PER LA RICERCA SERVIZI PER GLI STUDENTI
ID NUMBER D111222 s333444
MAIL ADDRESS [email protected] [email protected]
General Recommendations
Training activities
• Try to complete your education during the first
two years of your PhD program
Research activities
• Year 1: Identification of a research problem, in
accordance with your tutor and following an
intensive literature survey
• Year 2: full-time research work, including stays
abroad, establish publication plan ASAP, present
your work in public (conferences, seminars)!
• Year 3: complete your PhD thesis, finalize
publications
General Recommendations
Never loose contact with your Tutor!
Your Supervisor is the ultimate responsible for your
PhD activities
You must collaborate closely with your Tutor
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be
executed, starting with this XXXIV cycle
Establishes mutually agreed expectations from Tutor
and Student
Official document, which will be used by
Coordinator to verify compliance (both from Tutor
and Student) in the course of the 3 PhD years
See attachment
If Anything Goes Wrong
S**t happens…
Most problems occur because of
• Poor communication between Tutor and Student
• Bad planning
• «I still have 2 years, no worries»
• Ignorance of rules and regulations
• Both Tutor and Student
Problems must be identified as early as possible
• Contact your student representative
• Contact the Coordinator – immediately!!!
• The Coordinator is here to help you, not yo judge you• The Coordinator has the responsibility of applying
current regulations
Getting Help
Coordinator
In case anything else fails…
Your Tutor should always be the first contact
Administrative office
DET: Vanna Leoncini ([email protected])
DENERG: MariaPia Martino ([email protected])
DISAT: Tiziana Marangoni ([email protected])
The Student Representative
Vincenzo Randazzo ([email protected])
Your senior colleagues
ELT, ELN, ELM, TLC, DIS, AUT: need volunteers!
PhD Mailing List: to be established (social? WhtsApp?)