The new Ph.D. programme “Future Earth, climate change and societal challenges” has officially started at the University of Bologna. It is the first Italian Ph.D. programme offering a multidisciplinary approach to the interplay between the scientific aspects of climate change and its social implications.
The opening ceremony, last Monday 18 November, saw the participation of Alma Mater’s Vice Rector for Research, Antonino Rotolo, of Simona Masina, Director of CMCC Foundation’s Ocean Modelling and Data Assimilation Division, and of Valentina Porceddu (Mario Cucinella Architects). Masina gave a speech about how the ocean is actually signalling the existence of climate change from the poles to the equator, whereas Porceddu talked about innovation in the field of urban planning.
“This new Ph.D. programme – underlined prof. Nadia Pinardi, coordinator of the doctoral programme – is able to produce wide-spectrum knowledge about the challenges posed by climate change, ranging from legal and social consequences to monitoring and forecast activities through production engineering”. The aim of the programme is clear: seeking solutions to one of the most difficult challenges of our age.
This is the first Italian doctoral programme focusing on the comprehension of the Earth system, of natural and man-made dangers, of climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as on the understanding of socio-economical challenges which are very relevant in this day and age. All these issues need to be faced with a multidisciplinary approach and a farsighted mind.
Several institution put their effort into the realization of this programme, among these: the University of Bologna, the CMCC, the National Research Centre, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the CINECA (a non-profit consortium of 70 Italian Universities) and La Spezia NATO Centre. Moreover, 15 departments, 30 Alma Mater Professors and 10 external ones covering several disciplines, such as physics, engineering, chemistry, economics and social sciences, all contribute to this new exciting Ph.D. course.
Professors will hold multidisciplinary courses in turns of six months each, with a twofold aim. On the one hand, they will train prospective scientists and professionals in a variety of fields around climate change; on the other hand, they will prepare new interpreters of scientific communication. Thus, this Ph.D. programme poses the following challenge: understanding the Earth system, finding viable solutions towards a sustainable development of all human activities for a more informed, and innovative society.