Intangible Heritage in Socio-Cultural Innovation

The three-year course aims to carry out anthropological, artistic, pedagogical, psychological, and economic research projects with a strong interdisciplinary slant, in full adherence to local realities, and with a clear national and international focus.

The research will contribute to:

(a) increase the recovery, reworking and intergenerational transmission of knowledge and techniques;

b) devise, from intangible heritage, practices of inclusion, accessibility and civic participation that respond to the socio-economic and demographic evolution of territories;

c) accompany institutional and civic processes through which new intangible assets emerge from contemporary cultural creativity and renewed forms of participation, identity and belonging;

(d) implement public policies aimed at maintaining dialogue between local, regional, national perspectives and international openings to enhance dynamics of sharing and participation;

(e) monitor and document preservation and enhancement practices implemented by local communities and practitioners, with a focus on mediation and facilitation functions;

f) increase the conscious and participatory use of digital technologies useful to ensure processes of sharing, communication and dissemination of research on intangible heritages;

(g) develop research activities as a function of public administrations that refer to the organizational system of the MIC, with multidisciplinary paths for the enhancement of management and communication skills applied to organizational practices and policies for the preservation and enhancement of intangible heritages. A central role will be played by the Central Institute for Intangible Heritage, where doctoral students will carry out periods of study and research (min 6, max 12 months);

(h) improve the administrative capacity of public bodies and institutes dealing with cultural heritage, contributing to the implementation of diagnostic tools and for the coordination of public policies and identifying strategies for decision-making, implementation and evaluation in the organization of the Cultural Institutes of the MIC.

Employment outlets 

This Ph.D. course trains flexible professionals intended to work in the field of safeguarding and promoting intangible heritage at:

• Enterprises active in the field of cultural heritage and its promotion/enhancement;
• Administrative and technical levels of the MIC (Ministry of Culture), in both central and peripheral structures;
• Museums and other public facilities in charge of cataloguing, protection, conservation, restoration, management, enhancement and exhibition of tangible and intangible cultural heritage;
• Public and private structures having organizational, cultural, publishing and research functions and purposes;
• Private organizations, foundations, NGOs, national and international bodies working in the field of cultural heritage;
• Companies and public bodies (municipalities, regions, consortia, etc.) working in the field of tourism and in the areas of research, critical knowledge, cataloguing, education and teaching, accessibility, innovation and cultural creativity;
• Companies and digital enterprises active in the field of cultural heritage, tangible and intangible heritage and their communication/promotion/valorization;
• Universities, Research Institutions, Local Authorities, Superintendencies, Service Companies, Businesses, Professional Studies, Museums;
• Communities active in the area for the preservation and enhancement of the elements of their intangible cultural heritage;
• Publishing houses, communication companies, third sector companies active in the safeguarding and valorization of intangible heritage.

The Ph.D. in Intangible Heritage in Socio-Cultural Innovation provides for the realization, in three years, of a research project, under the guidance of a faculty member of the Doctoral College (tutor) and possibly one or more supervisors, including foreigners, who guarantee the quality of the project and guide the doctoral student in the construction of his or her scientific profile, placing him or her in a research group and scientific community consistent with his or her interests.

To support the development of the multiple and complex skills required of a researcher today, the doctoral student is offered a training course structured in disciplinary courses, seminars, transversal courses offered by the doctoral school, seminars and monitoring meetings, and intermediate and final evaluation moments for each year of the course.

In addition to the courses, the doctoral student is required to actively participate in the scientific, cultural and educational life of the Departments, regular meetings with the mentor/supervisor and the coordination group, and formative verification activities aimed at ensuring the quality and progress of the research project.

Attendance at curricular courses organized by the doctoral program is mandatory as indicated in the teaching plan.

Attendance at cross-curricular courses provided by the Doctoral School, as indicated in the teaching plan, is also mandatory.

The doctoral program is bilingual: Italian and English. Courses delivered as part of disciplinary teaching will be delivered in Italian or English.