National Interest PhD Program in Design for Made in Italy: Identity, Innovation, and Sustainability

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Coordinator: prof. Arch. Alessandra Cirafici

PhD School: Politecnica e delle Scienze di base

Administrative seat: Dipartimento di Architettura e Disegno Industriale

Term: 3 years

Scientific-disciplinary fields:

ICAR13 - ICAR17 - ICAR18 - ICAR/09 - ICAR/10 - ING-IND/11 - ING-IND/22 - ING-IND/35 - SECS-P/02 - SECS-P/07 - SECS-P/08 - IUS/02 - IUS/10 - M-PSI/05 - CHIM/02 - CHIM/04 - CHIM/06 - AGR/01 - MAT/07 - SPS/07 - L-ART/03

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What is a National Interest PhD Program?

The recent reform of PhD programs aims to align Italian doctoral education with European policies by promoting innovative PhD programs through partnerships between various institutions and research infrastructures. Funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the reform seeks to address the challenges of higher education and meet the needs of businesses, including the cultural sectors, by developing advanced scientific and professional skills and enhancing human capital as a driver of change in productive sectors.

Particular attention is given to National Interest PhDs, established through agreements between universities and research centers, which provide doctoral candidates with access to a network of universities and research centers, infrastructures, and laboratories across Italy, as well as a research budget twice that of local PhD programs. Among the first accredited is the PhD in "Design for Made in Italy: Identity, Innovation, and Sustainability," coordinated by the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, which aims to meet the demand for advanced training in Design for Made in Italy through a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach.

The National Interest PhD allows doctoral candidates to develop innovative and sustainable skills, engage with businesses, institutions, and local communities, and foster global competitiveness while continuously acquiring new knowledge and technologies. It also strengthens the link between research and the cultural and productive fabric, enhancing the role of the Research Manager, who acts as a mediator between technological innovation, businesses, and cultural institutions, and develops inclusive co-creative models, contributing to social change and the ecological transition.

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Presentation

The National Interest PhD Program in "Design for Made in Italy: Identity, Innovation, and Sustainability" aligns with the objectives set by the European framework (UN-SDGs, NGEU, Green Deal), the National Research Plan (PNR), and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) 2021-2027. It responds to the current demand for advanced training in the scientific fields of Made in Italy, an area that requires the integration of complex knowledge and the development of multidisciplinary and multisectoral research topics.

The cultural and productive sectors that define this field—considered a key economic and social driver of the Italian system—are strongly characterized by an ecosystem of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that require value chain strengthening through essential research areas to support competitiveness and guide economic and social impact. The traditional Made in Italy sectors, identified by the "four A’s" (furniture, agri-food, fashion-clothing, and automation), represent core aspects of both tangible and intangible culture, combining creativity, artisanal expertise, and technological innovation. These elements embody Italian identity, which emerges strongly from local, natural, cultural, and social specificities, generating crossover dynamics with adjacent economic sectors such as tourism, cultural heritage, and the creative industries.

The development of cross-sectoral strategies is a key factor in unlocking untapped economic growth potential by fostering connections between research, territories, stakeholders, enterprises, and human capital. Within this framework, design and creativity act as drivers of innovation, representing Italy’s ability to transfer research and knowledge into products, fully embracing the paradigm of open innovation. The predominance of SMEs in Italy’s design-driven production and service landscape underscores the need to facilitate knowledge exchange and skill development, promoting the widespread implementation of innovation dynamics. In this regard, the demand from the productive system stimulates new research methods and approaches, creating a favorable environment for continuous updates inspired by emerging challenges, particularly the digital and green transitions.

This renewed commitment to cooperation and interaction between demand and supply, developed within a framework of reciprocity and circularity, will enhance responsiveness to innovation needs, fostering significant advancements in processes, products, and services in line with international strategic objectives.

Training objectives

In reference to international strategic objectives (UN-SDGs), European goals (Europe 2020 Strategy, Green Deal), and national priorities (PNR), as well as the strengthening of connections between research and the productive sector and the definition of the emerging role of the Research Manager (PNR), the relevance of these themes is reflected in the objectives of the PhD program "Design for Made in Italy: Identity, Innovation, and Sustainability," which aims to:

Train expert researchers capable of designing and implementing processes, products, and product-service systems that are innovative and sustainable, engaging with businesses and local communities to enhance global competitiveness and facilitate the continuous acquisition of new knowledge and technologies. In alignment with international, European, and national strategic objectives, the training of researchers who can rethink the scientific, cultural, and technological system of Made in Italy is essential (in accordance with DM 351, Art. 7, adopting an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and cross-sectoral perspective, following the principles of horizontal integration set by the PNRR).
Promote the knowledge system in relation to the productive fabric of Made in Italy. The complexity of contemporary challenges drives the continuous evolution of knowledge in design, which serves as a medium between emerging needs and societal demands. Design-driven research is a key enabler for acquiring new knowledge and ensuring open innovation processes through continuous representation, dissemination, and updating of knowledge, as well as the formation of new researcher profiles (in accordance with DM 352, Art. 6, expanding disciplinary areas and research topics in line with national and regional needs to address business innovation demands).
Expand the Made in Italy project. Design for Made in Italy extends beyond education to industry and the social sphere; as a mediator between technological and digital innovation, the business system, and society, it fosters co-creative models aimed at inclusivity, playing a key role in connecting with social change and the ecological transition (in accordance with DM 351, Art. 6, on digital and ecological transitions).
Strengthen the territorial identity of Made in Italy. Design in production sectors linked to Made in Italy promotes research in education that effectively engages with local stakeholders, fostering circularity and complementarity to enhance distributed creativity, protect intellectual property, and support diverse cultural and social identities (in accordance with DM 351, Art. 8, adopting a multidisciplinary approach oriented toward public administrations to facilitate the simplification of organizational models).
Integrate Made in Italy into a continuous process of open innovation through the support of green technologies, digital technologies, and collaborative solutions (in accordance with DM 351, Art. 6, on digital and ecological transitions).

The program's curricula—"Design for Inclusion," "Sustainable Innovation of Product, Service, and Process Systems for Made in Italy," "Made in Italy and Technological and Digital Transition," "Made in Italy: Manufacturing and New Economic and Business Models," and "Cultural Heritage of Made in Italy"—embrace and expand these objectives, shaping an innovative vision for a strategic sector of national importance.

Job Opportunities

Thanks to the coordinated articulation of research objectives within Design for Made in Italy, the PhD program will train researchers and experts in the role of Research Managers, specializing in key applied sectors and adopting an integrated and complex vision of the human-centered technology and innovation ecosystem. The goal is to prepare professionals capable of addressing the challenges of the digital and green transition through a systemic and multidisciplinary approach.

Leading national and international economic observatories highlight a growing interest in the Made in Italy sector; the demand for specialists who can operate systemically, contribute to research, and develop innovations through a circular and inclusive approach is closely linked to the advancement of key production sectors. The field of Design, in its various dimensions, is focused on the generation of theoretical, instrumental, and project-based knowledge. The application of digital methods, tools, and intelligent systems—both in product, service, and communication research and across the different Made in Italy domains—enhances the distinctive qualities of Italian places and territories.

The PhD in Design for Made in Italy aims to bridge the gap of specialists with these competencies, particularly concerning Italy’s labor market and the productive sectors that define the country’s international standing.

These competencies translate into several expert profiles, as outlined in the following non-exhaustive list:

Expert researcher capable of designing and implementing processes, products, and product-service systems that are innovative and sustainable, engaging with businesses and local communities in the Made in Italy ecosystem while promoting global competitiveness and continuous knowledge and technology acquisition.
Consultant-mediator for the promotion and development of knowledge systems and communication strategies related to Made in Italy productive landscapes.
Designer-mediator between technological and digital innovation and the business and social systems, developing co-creative models aimed at inclusivity.
Designer of goods and services in the core Made in Italy sectors, defined by the four A’s: furniture, agri-food, fashion-clothing, and automation, seamlessly integrating creativity, artisanal expertise, and technological innovation.
Coordinator-designer of production linked to Made in Italy territories, capable of engaging local stakeholders through a circular and complementary approach.
Consultant for the management and promotion of Made in Italy identity, applying a multidisciplinary approach to support public administrations in simplifying organizational models.
Research Manager for the continuous process of open innovation in Made in Italy, leveraging green technologies, digital solutions, and collaborative technologies.
Research Manager at universities and public or private research institutions, both in fundamental research and in highly interdisciplinary areas related to Made in Italy.
Research Manager for national and European research projects.

The program’s curricula—"Design for Inclusion," "Sustainable Innovation of Product, Service, and Process Systems for Made in Italy," "Made in Italy and Technological and Digital Transition," "Made in Italy: Manufacturing and New Economic and Business Models," and "Cultural Heritage of Made in Italy"—embrace and expand upon these objectives, shaping an innovative vision for a sector of strategic importance to Italy.

Training curricula

Phd regulation and Guidelines

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