Summary
The National Ph.D. program in Artificial Intelligence for Society is inviting applications for its 2026-2029 cycle (42nd cycle). This multi-disciplinary program focuses on cutting-edge fundamental and applied research in Human-centered Artificial Intelligence and its profound impacts on society. The program values candidates from diverse backgrounds who possess a strong motivation for AI research and innovation.
Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence for Society (42nd Cycle, 2026-2029) University of Pisa, Italy
Designation
- Position: Ph.D. Student / Researcher
- Duration: 3-year Ph.D. program (Starting 1st November 2026)
Eligibility & Qualification
- Candidates must have completed a Master’s degree program by 31st October 2026.
- Open to candidates with diverse backgrounds possessing a strong propensity for Human-centered AI research.
- Selection is strictly based on the candidate’s curriculum vitae, a research project proposal, and an interview.
Financial Benefits & Job Description
- Monthly Stipend: Approximately 1,200 euros net per month.
- Research Budget: Approximately 11,000 euros allocated over the three-year period.
- Duties: Selected candidates will carry out dedicated research on the specific topic and at the work location assigned to their scholarship. They will also participate in structured training activities and hit milestones according to the Ph.D. timeline.
Scholarships & Research Areas Overview
Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence and its socio-economic, ethical, and legal impacts on society.
The call includes 36 open positions and 1 reserved position, broken down by selection codes and thematic groups:
| Selection Code | Number of Scholarships | Core Research Focus / Industry Partner |
| DIN01_B (Group A) | 9 Scholarships | Trustworthy, human-centered, and responsible AI |
| DIN01_B (Group B) | 11 Scholarships | Architectures, models, and applications of AI |
| DIN01_B (Group C) | 9 Scholarships | Human-centered AI for health, well-being, and learning |
| DIN01_B (Group D) | 3 Scholarships | AI for scientific research in physics |
| DIN01_B (Group E) | 2 Scholarships | AI regulation and governance |
| DIN02_B | 1 Scholarship | Geospatial Intelligence & B2B2X (In collaboration with FiberCop S.p.A.) |
| DIN03_B | 1 Scholarship | Agentic RAG in Banking & Finance (In collaboration with Sadas) |
| DIN04_B | 1 Reserved Scholarship | Social Agents modeling (Reserved for employees of Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri) |
Specific Research Areas & Locations
Group A: Trustworthy, Human-Centered, and Responsible AI
- Next generation human-centered AI | Location: Pisa (Università di Pisa)
- Reliability and learning to defer in agentic AI frameworks | Location: Pisa (ISTI-CNR)
- Social Digital Twins: Modeling Synthetic Societies | Location: Pisa (ISTI-CNR)
- Explainable AI and Hybrid Decision-Making Systems | Location: Pisa (Scuola Normale Superiore)
- AI & Data Science driven by Big Data in Economics, Management, and Law | Location: Pisa (Scuola Superiore S. Anna)
- Ethical and Social Challenges of Agentic AI | Location: L’Aquila (Gran Sasso Science Institute)
- Explainable Neuro-Symbolic Agents | Location: L’Aquila (Università dell’Aquila)
- Novel Algorithms, Methodologies and Theoretical Foundations (Deep Learning) | Location: Perugia (Università di Perugia)
Group B: Architectures, Models, and Applications of AI
- Green, Continual, and Decentralized AI | Location: Pisa (IIT-CNR)
- Causal AI & Pervasive Computing | Location: Pisa (IIT-CNR)
- Learning Aesthetic on 3D objects | Location: Pisa (ISTI-CNR)
- Large Multimodal Models for Symbiotic AI in Earth Observation | Location: Bari (Università di Bari and Planetek)
- Civic Digital Twins: Fair and Compliant AI | Location: Bologna and Trento (Università di Bologna and FBK)
- Robust and Compliant AI for Environmental Pollution Sciences | Location: Bologna and Trento (Università di Bologna and FBK)
- Advanced Machine Learning algorithms in the Cloud and at the Edge | Location: Messina (Università di Messina)
- Next-generation Multimodal Foundation Models | Location: Modena (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia)
- Model merging task arithmetic and incremental training | Location: Modena (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia)
- Terminology-Aware Language Models for Specialized Texts | Location: Napoli (Università di Napoli L’Orientale)
- Distributed and Human-Centered AI Ecosystems (Precision Medicine to 6G) | Location: Palermo (Università di Palermo)
Group C: Human-Centered AI for Health, Well-Being, and Learning
- Biomarker Discovery from Multi-Omics Data in Oncology | Location: Pisa (Fondazione Pisana per la Scienza)
- AI for Next-Generation Mobile Health Solutions | Location: Pisa (IIT-CNR)
- AI & education – Learning Technologies and Pedagogical Innovation | Location: Pisa (ISTI-CNR)
- Wearable Emotion AI for Knowledge Workers | Location: Bari (Università di Bari)
- Chatbot for Caregiver Support (Socio-communicative/emotional aspects) | Location: Milano (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)
- Cognitive Dynamics of Human–AI Interaction | Location: Milano (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)
- Multimodal Predictive Modeling in Digital Health and Rehabilitation | Location: Pisa (Università di Pisa)
- AI-Based Multimodal Approaches for Cardiovascular Health | Location: Pisa (Università di Pisa)
- Advanced Vascular Modeling performed from Cardiovascular Physiological Signals | Location: Pisa (Università di Pisa)
Group D: AI for Scientific Research in Physics
- Accelerating Physics Research using AI (Big-data Phase) | Location: Italian INFN sites (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)
- Scientific Machine Learning for Computational Physics | Location: Pisa (Scuola Superiore S. Anna)
Group E: AI Regulation and Governance
- Digital Assistants in Consumer Contexts: A Legal Analysis | Location: Napoli (Università di Napoli L’Orientale)
- Governing AI in Practice: Implementing the AI Act | Location: Trento (Fondazione Bruno Kessler)
How to Apply
Candidates must review the official call details and submit their applications online.
- Review the Italian version of the call “Bando B” for structural submission requirements (the English version will be available on the portal soon).
- Research Project Requirement: For Selection DIN01_B, candidates must use the designated extra page in their research project description to explicitly illustrate the relevance of their project to one or more of the specific thematic groups/topics listed above.
Last Date for Apply
- Deadline: 10 August 2026 at 13:00 (Italian time)
