Ph.D. in Legal and Social Sciences for Innovation

The Doctorate in Legal and Social Sciences for Innovation has a strong interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary vocation and is in continuity with the most relevant and innovative lines of research of the Department of Political Science, in which it is incardinated, as well as in coherence with the University Strategic Plan. This methodological approach, combined with a strong vocation for internationalization, provides doctoral students with the most modern and up-to-date tools, in terms of knowledge and skills, for the analysis and interpretation of the phenomena under investigation, also allowing them to carry out original research activities, formulate hypotheses and applicative projects sharing the results in adherence to the principles of Open Science. Particular attention is dedicated, in the legal field, to the themes of innovation, the relationship between person and institutions, the theory of sources and interpretation of civil and administrative relations and the circulation of legal models, business innovation and technological innovation in the regulation of financial markets. With regard to innovation in public administration, the research focuses on forms of management that enable the PA to reach the standards of effectiveness and efficiency that characterize other European countries with particular regard to the different forms of digital citizenship, the digitization of processes, procedures and the life cycle of public contracts and the realization, also in digital forms, of services to citizens.
Specific emphasis is also given to the close relationship between the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage and the impulse of tourism, declined and interpreted as an existential experience that involves not only the discovery of places but the full knowledge of socio-cultural realities also through the most modern digital technologies. In the field of economics, comparative analysis of economic systems related to innovation, institutions and economic development are investigated; financialization and corporate governance in order to the impact of Fintech and new forms of asset management; the new frontier of sustainable development for companies in order to design and measurement. In the field of political science, issues related to the languages of politics are investigated, between social science philosophy, communication and political symbolism; political institutions between crisis and innovation; the future of democracy between public ethics and critical theory of society; and the symbolic-political hermeneutics of the work of art. In the field of sociology, topics related to the sociological study of innovation and reflections on collective conducts; new frontiers of social control with specific regard to conflict and deviance are examined.

The course is divided into two curricula, indicated below, both of which focus on the theme of innovation and the declinations it takes on the fields of research related to the different areas:

1. Administration, markets and public policy;

2. Person, society and culture.

The Ph.D. course has a duration of 3 years, the first one characterized by a common training path and the following ones marked by a "specialization" of training and research culminating in the elaboration of the final thesis. The teaching, also delivered in English, consists of lectures, seminars, laboratory and research activities, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary in nature, specifically designed and organized, possibly also in online mode.

Objectives of the PhD course

Innovation, as a radical transformation of a previous set of values and principles, is a natural driver for the development of the institutional and social context in which it takes place. Research on this topic represents an indispensable tool for devising new models and theoretical approaches, as well as advanced products and services that contribute to improving the quality of life and social relations.
With this in mind, the PhD in Legal and Social Sciences for Innovation aims to train researchers and experts qualified in the study and governance of innovation and development processes connected to the phenomena of digitalisation and globalisation. Attention is also paid to sustainability profiles according to a methodological approach functional to the understanding of legal, economic, political, social and historical dynamics, aimed, in the modern multicultural society, at the realisation of inclusive models.
PhD students acquire a solid and advanced theoretical basis to measure themselves with the applicative effects of the research conducted, paying attention to the interactions between the internal and supranational dimensions, as well as to the synergy with other scientific and disciplinary areas.
At the end of the training course, PhD graduates will have acquired, also through the writing of their doctoral thesis, the aptitude to carry out original research with a rigorous method, as well as, among other things, the skills and ability to to work in a team, collaborating with researchers, lecturers and scholars, both Italian and foreign, also within international institutions; to open a scientific dialogue with the referents of one’s own research; to participate in the organisation and holding of conferences, seminars and meetings supported and hosted by the PhD Course; to contribute to the advancement of studies in the fields of interest, experiencing an interdisciplinary dialogue between the different fields of knowledge, with the acquisition of original critical methodologies.
During the first year, the common theoretical foundations are provided in order to acquire the skills and tools necessary to adopt a research method on innovation to be applied to specific areas of interest. In the period dedicated to specialisation, the peculiarities of the individual scientific-cultural area are deepened through training programmes and thematic seminars that can be chosen by the doctoral student to build his specific study and research path. Also of considerable importance is the profile connected with the internationalisation of the training pathway, which translates into periods abroad to implement and strengthen one’s skills in scientific research.
In addition to participating in conferences, seminars and workshops, also of international importance, in Italy and abroad, PhD students will be involved in the organisation of scientific and popular activities, including self-training. Particular importance is also given to the involvement of final-year PhD students in supplementary teaching, tutoring and third mission activities.
The objectives of the course are also achieved through the performance of transversal activities aimed at attaining linguistic and computer skills as well as knowledge of European and international research systems, the exploitation and dissemination of results, also through open access to data and research products. The course therefore creates a strong link between research and the world of work, by training scholars whose profile and skills can be employed not only in academic careers, but also in public administrations, companies and the liberal professions.

Occupational and professional outcomes

The PhD programme provides the theoretical and practical tools for starting a career as a researcher at universities and organisations, in the disciplinary fields covered by the course. The course also trains highly qualified professionals who can find employment in both public and private institutions and organisations or embark on independent professional or entrepreneurial paths, especially in the innovative enterprise sector.
The acquisition of advanced skills in analysis, research, interpretation and management also provides employment opportunities in the fields of institutional and economic governance, consultancy, social research, business networks, fund raising and social media.
More specifically, the privileged fields of employment for PhDs are public administrations at local, regional and national level, European and international institutions, governmental and non-governmental organisations, public and private bodies, and third sector organisations. Further job opportunities are those of institutional communication and public relations, especially in advanced specialisation roles, aimed at the redesign and simplification of organisational models as well as at the processes of selection and adoption of enabling technologies and solutions, in order to ensure greater effectiveness, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of action, especially in the public but also in the private sector.
Another possible occupational outcome is the performance of highly qualified professional and research activities in the financial-insurance sector, in the protection and enhancement of heritage and cultural assets, in territorial policies, tourism and local development.
In view of the interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary preparation acquired during the course, PhDs can also aspire to a job position as experts: in human resources, in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of organisational systems, in digitalisation and sustainable innovation, in the analysis of new cultural and social models, in the field of publishing and journalism as well as in political communication.

Doctoral curriculum related to the PhD course

The course consists of two curriculums: 1. Administration, markets and public policies; 2. Person, society and culture.

1. Administration, markets and public policies.

The interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary vocation that characterises the PhD programme is expressed in the "Administration, markets and public policies" curriculum with reference to the thematic focus on innovation, applied to public administration, markets and business and to public policies in their broadest sense.
With regard to the processes of innovation in the public administration, the curriculum focuses the lines of research and in-depth study on the dynamics relating to standards of effectiveness and management efficiency, in comparison with the best practices of other European countries; on the different articulations of digital citizenship; on the digitisation of processes and procedures; on the contractual activity of administrations, with a specific focus on procurement for innovation.
With regard to market innovation processes, the curriculum proposes transversal lines of research for understanding the general framework for regulating and conducting economic activities. The curriculum also aims to enable students to acquire the ability to develop autonomous and original research, as well as the necessary methodological tools for carrying out research activities, also through a critical view of the areas under analysis.

2. Person, society and culture.

The interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary vocation, which characterises the PhD programme, is declined in the "Person, society and culture" curriculum with regard to the theme of innovation, applied to the legal, social, economic, historical, political and sociological condition of the person, society and culture. The teaching and research activity moves from the concept of innovation and its definition and focuses on how the disciplines in the curriculum interact with it.
The curriculum aims to train doctoral students who can seize the opportunities provided by Ho-rizon Europe 2021-2027 and by national and international policies in favour of the NextGenerationEU, in coherence with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030-SDGs, in the areas investigated. Particular emphasis is given to the most recent perspectives of investigation offered by the contemporary world and globality, both in terms of the recognition of new rights and freedoms of the individual, inside and outside constitutional boundaries, and of new forms of relationship between the individual and institutions, with particular attention to the challenges posed by multiculturalism, biopolitics and artificial intelligence, as well as in terms of the evolution of historical processes and interconnection at the international level. The curriculum also investigates the potential arising from the application of technical innovation to the historical-cultural heritage, to be understood as a means for the creation of sustainable development and enhancement of the territory, the construction of collective identities and the creation of new production chains, starting with the renewal of tourism.

Educational project

Class schedule

PhD Director

Self-evaluation Commitee

Academic board

Call for application XXXIX ciclo - A.A. 2023/24