The overall objective of the training program is to enable excellent graduate students from Civil Engineering and other related disciplines to acquire both academic and personal skills including

• Intellectual, academic and technical skills
• Relational skills
• Self management skills
• Leadership and management

The Doctoral Programme is guided by the following principles:

• Conversely to other engineering teaching programs, an engineering PhD training programme is research-oriented. PhD candidates undertake, as their core training, a research study guided by a supervisor and an advisory committee.
• Formal and informal teaching via seminars, workshops and other course components complement the scientific work on the individual research project. PhD candidates should participate in activities such as seminars, poster presentations, courses and summer schools.
• Balance and flexibility is guaranteed via a set of elective courses that the candidate can tailor to his/her research and personal needs.

• research ability and capacity to manage and present information
• ability to conduct interdisciplinary research and use of different research
• method.
• achievement of a common ground of knowledge through a common track of
• taught courses
• ability to teach and to communicate with target groups, as part of the skill set
• required for the personal career development
• independent thinking and ability to apply the own experience, expertise and
• knowledge to solve problems.

The Doctoral Programme requires all PhD candidates to actively participate in knowledge, skills and competence-building training, which is seen as complementary to the individual
supervision and mentoring provided by the PhD advisor and his/her research team.

The doctoral candidates are required to obtain a minimum of 20 ECTS credit points of training modules. Candidates who are not able to acquire the 20 required credit points can be awarded a doctorate but will not obtain a diploma supplement. The acquired credit points will be distributed on the following training categories:

• Category 1 - Scientific competences, thematic training related to research: at least 10 ECTS
• Category 2 - Inter/cross-disciplinary competences, common academic and scientific modules: at least 3 ECTS (including a compulsory course on good scientific practice or ethics, such as the one organised at University level)
• Category 3 - Transferable skills training and development: at least 3 ECTS

ECTS in Category 2 and 3 must sum to at least 10 ECTS.

Typical disciplinary training activities are (not all are assignable for ECTS):

• publish research results in the proceedings of renowned international journals, conferences and colloquia;
• regularly attend seminars;
• attend advanced courses to complement their scientific knowledge (at UL or partner institutions);
• present yearly a written progress report to their PhD Advisory Committee;
• joint book and paper examinations;
• attend courses from associated Engineering Master programmes or from other suitable curricula at UL, or partnering universities and institutions;
• attend summer- or winter-school-type courses organised by UL, other universities or scientific institutions

Typical transferable skills training activities are (not all are assignable for ECTS):

• self management: planning and organisation independent working;
• writing a scientific publication or a grant application;
• presentation of scientific results (“Giving a scientific talk”);
• entrepreneurship workshops, visits of companies;
• career development (presentation of a CV, preparation of a job application interview etc.);
• language courses.

Please refer to the statutes of the DP CIVE and to the Admin team of the DSSE for further rules of ECTS acquisition

ECTS training modules can be found on Moodle

Doctoral candidates are strongly encouraged to participate in courses, summer schools, scientific missions and internships, etc. offered by foreign institutions or by companies.

The Doctoral Programme will support these activities logistically and, if possible, financially.