Luiss Guido Carli and Sapienza University of Rome join forces for a PhD program in Cybersecurity

To train researchers capable of working in academia and in public and private institutions to develop new technologies, as well as professionals with engineering and management skills who specialize in innovation and digital technology. But also to encourage the creation of startups based on sophisticated products stemming from the most advanced research.

These are the main objectives of the new PhD program in “Cybersecurity” that Luiss Guido Carli and Sapienza University of Rome have agreed upon, following the signing of the “National Cybersecurity Strategy 2022-2026” by the Draghi government. The program, set to begin in November 2022, will fund five scholarships each academic year, with three from Sapienza and two from Luiss.

The PhD program, which will award a joint degree, will be highly interdisciplinary. It will combine the traditional pillars of information security with other areas to identify threats in the digital arena, including the security of cyber-physical infrastructures, data and systems, software and hardware, data governance, business resilience, cryptography, and disinformation. These and other topics will be addressed within specific macro-sectors: from finance to telecommunications, from cloud services to e-government, as well as in healthcare and manufacturing.

Future PhD graduates will be able to offer their skills and abilities not only to academia but also to public administration or companies that are increasingly seeking personnel in the field of cybersecurity.

The new doctoral program, led by Prof. Leonardo Querzoni (Coordinator and Associate Professor of Information Processing Systems) from Sapienza and Prof. Paolo Spagnoletti (Associate Professor of Business Organization) from Luiss, aligns with the strategic vision of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which allocates a substantial 623 million euros to cybersecurity.

The program will be aligned with Mission 4 on “Education and Research,” which also includes reforming and strengthening innovative doctoral programs and integrating content for developing STEM skills into the curricula of all educational levels. Furthermore, advancing research in the cyber field will also help achieve the goals of Mission 1, “Digitalization,” by fostering the development of advanced skills to protect the digital infrastructures that enable the delivery of essential services such as energy, transportation, social care, and healthcare (within Missions 2, 3, 5, and 6).

“The agreement we’ve signed with Luiss provides a fruitful platform for discussion, including the development and exploration of emerging and innovative topics like cybersecurity and sustainability—strategic sectors for the development of the country’s society and economy.” - says the Rector of Sapienza, Antonella Polimeni. "In these fields, our university has developed scientific expertise over the years through transdisciplinary research, strengthened by close dialogue with all public and private stakeholders, as well as through initiatives aimed at training and nurturing new talent, such as the Cyber Challenge, the degree program in Cybersecurity, and the recent national doctorate in Artificial Intelligence."

For the University named after Guido Carli, the new PhD program represents just the latest piece in a new disciplinary mosaic where the study and research of cyber issues have gained increasing importance. In fact, last March, the University signed a collaboration agreement with the Italian Cybersecurity Agency for the exchange of scientific knowledge and the possibility of developing joint training programs. This coincided with the launch of the fifth edition of the Master’s program in “Cybersecurity,” which originated from an idea of Luiss Vice President Paola Severino and is organized by the University’s four postgraduate schools.

“This is an important collaboration between our university and Sapienza University, aimed at training researchers and professionals with strong expertise in cybersecurity and digital innovation,” said Luiss President Andrea Prencipe. He continued: “The PNRR has allocated significant funds to this area, and we need to build interdisciplinary research pathways that cover the full spectrum of activities to ensure information security and systems for protecting and preventing threats to our digital infrastructure.”