Call for Admission

The Call for Admission to the XLII cycle of the three-year PhD Programme starting in October 2026 will be available soon.

Study Plan and Courses

The XLII cycle includes advanced PhD-level courses covering several areas of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. PhD students are required to acquire at least 15 ECTS during the first two years and pass examinations corresponding to at least 8 ECTS.

Course Hours Year
Sustainable and Secure AI

The course introduces principles and methodologies for building robust, trustworthy, and sustainable AI systems. Topics include adversarial learning, Data-Centric AI, robustness to distribution shifts, data quality, and responsible deployment of machine learning systems in critical domains.

Schedule: TBD

16 First year
Graph-Based Techniques for Context-Aware AI

The course explores graph-based methodologies for designing context-aware AI systems, including knowledge graphs, graph neural networks, graph embeddings, link prediction, and multimodal graph learning for relational and structured data.

Schedule: TBD

23 First year
Emotion Recognition Using Non-Invasive Biometrics

The course focuses on affective computing and emotion recognition using non-invasive biometric sensors. It covers sensor-based emotion analysis, feature extraction, supervised learning techniques, and applications in human-computer interaction and collaborative environments.

Schedule: TBD

16 First year
Few-shot Learning for Deep Learning

The course presents advanced methods for learning from limited labeled data, including meta-learning, metric-based approaches, foundation models, self-supervised learning, and prompt-based adaptation techniques across vision, language, and multimodal domains.

Schedule: TBD

23 First year
Heterogeneous Computation for Modern Applications

The course introduces heterogeneous computational architectures combining HPC, GPU acceleration, and hybrid classical–quantum workflows. Particular attention is devoted to intelligent interactive systems and adaptive AI-driven applications.

Schedule: TBD

24 First year
Advanced Interpolation for Image Processing

The course presents interpolation techniques for structured and scattered data, including spline methods, subdivision schemes, edge-guided interpolation, Lanczos interpolation, and thin-plate splines, with applications in image, medical, and geospatial processing.

Schedule: TBD

8 First year
Human-Centered Cyber Security

The course investigates cybersecurity from a human-centered perspective, covering usable security, phishing, social engineering, authentication, mental models of cyber threats, and user-centered methodologies for secure system design.

Schedule: TBD

31 First year
Advanced Topics in AI: Machine Learning and Behavioral Biometrics

The course examines AI and machine learning approaches for analyzing neurodegenerative diseases through imaging, behavioral biometrics, and multimodal data, with applications to diagnosis, prediction, and healthcare decision support.

Schedule: TBD

8 First year
Symbiotic AI for Natural Language Understanding and Knowledge Representation

The course introduces Symbiotic AI approaches combining natural language processing, knowledge representation, ontologies, knowledge graphs, reasoning systems, and large language models for interpretable and knowledge-driven AI.

Schedule: TBD

31 First year
Serious Games for Healthcare: Design, Validation, and Biomarker Analysis

The course explores serious games as computational systems for healthcare, rehabilitation, and assessment. Topics include digital biomarkers, adaptive interventions, usability evaluation, and validation methodologies for interactive health technologies.

Schedule: TBD

16 First year
Metaheuristics Optimization for Swarm Intelligence

The course introduces deterministic and swarm-intelligence optimization methods, including Particle Swarm Optimization and nature-inspired metaheuristics for search, path planning, and optimization problems in complex environments.

Schedule: TBD

8 Second year
Learning Settings for Big Data

The course explores machine learning paradigms for large-scale and streaming data, including ensemble learning, stream learning, transfer learning, model reuse, scalability, and data heterogeneity in Big Data environments.

Schedule: TBD

31 Second year
Scientific Research Writing

The course develops advanced scientific communication skills, including paper structure, academic writing, bibliography styles, reviewer response, research ethics, and the responsible use of AI tools in scientific publishing.

Schedule: TBD

23 First and second year

Additional Training Activities

The programme includes several transversal and interdisciplinary activities, including:

  • scientific seminars and workshops;
  • PhD Days and public engagement initiatives;
  • conferences, doctoral consortia, and schools;
  • research project management and European funding systems;
  • open science and intellectual property training;
  • technology transfer and dissemination activities;
  • psychological counseling services for PhD students.

Students are encouraged to participate actively in the scientific life of the department and in international research networks.

Teaching Board

Coordinator

Prof. Giovanna Castellano

Members

Name Role SSD
Giuseppina AndresiniAssistant ProfessorINFO-01/A
Annalisa AppiceFull ProfessorIINF-05/A
M. Teresa BaldassarreAssociate ProfessorIINF-05/A
Pierpaolo BasileAssociate ProfessorIINF-05/A
Paolo BuonoAssociate ProfessorINFO-01/A
Danilo CaivanoFull ProfessorIINF-05/A
Fabio CalefatoAssociate ProfessorINFO-01/A
Michelangelo CeciFull ProfessorINFO-01/A
Claudia d'AmatoAssociate ProfessorINFO-01/A
Marco de GemmisAssociate ProfessorINFO-01/A
Vincenzo DentamaroAssistant ProfessorIINF-05/A
Giuseppe DesoldaAssociate ProfessorINFO-01/A
Antonella FaliniAssistant ProfessorMATH/08
Nicola FanizziAssociate ProfessorINFO-01/A
Stefano FerilliFull ProfessorINFO-01/A
Donato ImpedovoAssociate ProfessorIINF-05/A
Corrado LoglisciAssociate ProfessorIINF-05/A
Pasquale LopsFull ProfessorINFO-01/A
Donato MalerbaFull ProfessorIINF-05/A
Corrado MencarAssociate ProfessorINFO-01/A
Cataldo MustoAssociate ProfessorINFO-01/A
Nicole NovielliFull ProfessorINFO-01/A
Antonio PiccinnoAssociate ProfessorINFO-01/A
Gianvito PioAssociate ProfessorINFO-01/A
Giovanni SemeraroFull ProfessorINFO-01/A
Gennaro VessioAssistant ProfessorIINF-05/A