Graduate Program in Computer Science and Engineering Call for Applications Academic Year 2013-2014 Art. 1 Description and Objectives 1. The University of Trento (hereafter UniTN ) and the Scuola Superiore Sant Anna (hereafter SSSA ) offer a two-year H igh Quality Program (132 ECTS), entitled Graduate Program in Computer Science and Engineering. 2. The purpose of the Program is to educate high-profile professionals and researchers in Information and Communcation Technologies. The perfect candidates for this course are strongly motivated young students wishing to pursue a higher educational path that will lead them to either industrial or academic research positions. The program aims to train students in emerging research domains with a high potential to shape the future of applied computer science disciplines. It prepares students for employment in such multidisciplinary domains and/or to continue their studies within PhD programs. Students will acquire knowledge in both theoretical and applied Computer Science and Computer Engineering, which will allow them to adapt quickly to the changes in this constantly evolving field, and specific competencies necessary to operate in the chosen area of specialisation. During their studies, students will work within the research groups of two leading European universities, and will interact with professors, researchers and scholars working in advanced research in computer science and associated enabling technologies. 3. All courses are taught in English. Non-Italian students will also undertake courses in Italian culture and language. The program is residential. 4. The program will start in September 2013 with a duration equal to two academic years. Roughly half of the admitted students will spend their first year at UniTN (located in Trento) and their second year at SSSA (located in Pisa). The other half of the students will spend their first year in Pisa and the second year in Trento. Work towards the thesis will be jointly supervised and evaluated by two professors, one from each partner institution. At the end of the program, students who will have complied with all the requirements described in Art. 7 Requirements for completing the program, will be awarded with: a. The Master of Science Degree in Computer Science (Laurea Magistrale in Informatica, LM-18) issued by UniTN; b. The Diploma of Training to Research in Computer Engineering (Diploma di Formazione alla Ricerca in Computer Engineering) issued by SSSA.
Art. 2 Selection of Applicants 5. Candidates are admitted to the program through a public competition. The competition is articulated in the following two sessions: a. A first session reserved to citizens of countries outside the European Union and not resident in Italy (hereafter non-eu candidates ). At most 4 positions are reserved to non-eu citizens, depending on the number of candidates and the results of the selection process. b. A second session reserved to European Union citizens (hereafter EU candidates ). At most 4 positions are reserved to EU citizens, depending on the number of candidates and the results of the selection process. 6. The procedure for the selection process of both non-eu and EU candidates is described in Art. 6 - Selection Process. At most 8 students will be selected within the public competition. If fewer than 4 students are selected in any of the two sessions, the number of positions available for the other session can be increased by the equivalent number of remaining positions. The selection aims to evaluate the candidates background and education, assessing their potential skills and attitude to attend an interdisciplinary and innovative educational program. 7. The Selection Committee, the same for both sessions of selection, will be jointly nominated by the Director of the Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science (DISI) of UniTN and the Director of the Institute of Communication, Information and Perception Technologies (TeCIP) of SSSA. 8. Students of SSSA ( allievi ordinari ) are allowed to access the program through a special selection process, according to the internal SSSA regulation. Art. 3 Tuition Fees and Scholarships 1. The tuition fee depends on the family income of the applicant, according to the rules of the University of Trento (please consult the website http://www.unitn.it/en/incoming/21516/tuition-fees-two-year-masterscourses-english). Scholarships and/or tuition waiver provided by Opera Universitaria of Trento will be available according to the rules set in the annual call for contributions, available at http://www.unitn.it/en/incoming/21525/grants-and-scholarships. The amount of the scholarship will be the same of the students attending the Master Degree (standard track) at UniTN for both years. In case the total amount of the scholarship issued by Opera is lower than 2.500 euro, UniTN and SSSA will pay the remaining part up to 2.500 euro. 2. In addition admitted students will be offered: a) A yearly lump sum of 2.500 euro to cover meal expenses for students considered as non eligible for Opera scholarship due to their economic status when attending at UniTN or at SSSA. The full amount will be split in two parts: 50% at the beginning of the academic year and 50% at the end of the academic year after the fulfillment of the program academic requirements; b) accommodation at UniTN premises when attending at Trento (accommodation costs at UniTN for 1 year are up to 3000 euros); c) accommodation at SSSA premises when attending at Pisa (accommodation costs at SSSA for 1 year are up to 4500 euros). 3. Benefits listed in point 2 are only assignable to students who do not hold a Degree equivalent to an Italian second cycle university degree, e.g. a Master of Science. The Selection Committee can however, for specific reasons, assign benefits listed in point 2 to candidates holding a second cycle degree.
4. SSSA and UniTN cover the National Health System registration fees of non-eu students for the entire length of the Graduate Program (2 years). Art. 4 Admission Requirements 1. Applicants must hold a first level degree (Bachelor of at least three years, or Laurea di I livello ). Applicants who have not yet completed their first degree, but who expect to graduate before October 31 st, 2013, are allowed to apply sub-condicio. If selected, their admission will be conditioned to the awarding of their previous degree before October 31 st, 2013. 2. Applicants must hold one of the following degrees: a. Laurea di I livello (Bachelor of Science First Level Degree) awarded by an Italian University in one of the following subjects: i. Computer Science (corresponding to Classe 26 - Scienze e Tecnologie Informatiche, according to the Italian system of first cycle degrees classes as per DM 509/99); ii. Computer Science (corresponding to Classe L-31 - Scienze e Tecnologie Informatiche, according to the Italian system of first cycle degrees classes as per DM 270/04); iii. Information Engineering (corresponding to Classe 9 - Ingegneria dell Informazione, according to the Italian system of first cycle degrees classes as per DM 509/99); iv. Information Engineering (corresponding to Classe L-8 Ingegneria dell Informazione, according to the Italian system of first cycle degrees classes as per DM 270/04). b. Laurea di I livello (Bachelor of Science - First Cycle Degree) awarded by an Italian University in other subjects will be also accepted only in case of completion of at least the following Courses: i. 12 CFU overall in one or more of the following scientific-disciplinar sectors: MAT/01, MAT/02, MAT/03, MAT/04, MAT/05, MAT/06, MAT/07, MAT/08, MAT/09, FIS/01, FIS/02, FIS/03; ii. 60 CFU overall in one or more of the following scientific-disciplinar sectors: INF/01, ING-INF/03, ING-INF/05. c. Bachelor of Science or equivalent first cycle degree awarded by a foreign University after the completion of at least a three-year course of study, in one of the subjects previously listed in a) and b) or equivalent (Bachelor in Computer Science or Computer Engineering, or Information Technology, etc.). 3. In addition to the academic degree, applicants must also have a good command of the English language, at least corresponding to the intermediate level (B2 Level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). Art. 5 Application submission 1. Candidates are requested to apply online at www.unitn-sssa.org/science (see Art. 6 for the deadlines of the two sessions). In the application form candidates must state (self-declaration): a. family name, first name, place and date of birth, and nationality; b. academic degree equivalent to at least a three-year Bachelor program (as described in Art. 4 Admission Requirements); c. English knowledge level specifying the certification obtained; d. Grade Point Average (exams average score) of the Bachelor Degree;
e. Bachelor Degree awarding Institution; f. permanent address and mailing address (if different), where applicants wish to receive paper communications concerning the application. As the program secretariat will mostly contact applicants through email, the indication of an email address is compulsory for the purposes of this application. Applicants shall immediately contact the graduate program secretariat (infoist@sssup.it) in case of any changes in the emailing or mailing addresses. g. skype account, compulsory for the interview in case of selection. h. passport details. 2. During the online application the following documents need to be uploaded: a. curriculum Vitae et Studiorum mentioning the education program, cultural and professional experiences and all other information that might help in the evaluation of the candidate; b. academic transcript with the full list of courses and grades (in English, or Italian). This list should contain information regarding the number of university credits received, grades received for each class taken, and the date of the final examination (if possible); c. Academic degree certificates (i.e. Bachelor Degree or equivalent) or other postgraduate degrees/academic qualifications (if applicable). Please note that if the degree is not in English or Italian, an English translation is needed, made by an officially recognised translator, or by the issuing University. d. Non-EU candidates shall upload a list of the technical courses taken, specifying for each subject the name of the course, the number of hours, a list of the topics and the number of hours for each topic. A template will be provided in the application system. e. copy of the English Language Certification as required in point 3 of the Art. 4 Admission Requirements. If not available the candidate can provide a self-declaration on his/her knowledge of the English language. Level of proficiency in the English language will be evaluated during the selection process and each candidate will be assigned a specific score. The score will be proportional to the level of knowledge of the English language as reported in the English Language Certification. Please be aware that self declarations will be considered with a lower score; f. copy of any other document or certification which might be required or considered relevant during the evaluation process. All documents need to be written in English or Italian. If not they must be combined with a translation and/or a summary in one of the above mentioned languages; g. copy of valid passport. Art 6: Selection process 1. The selection process is divided in two sessions. The first session is reserved to non-eu students, whereas the second session is reserved to EU students. In both cases, the selection of candidates will be based on the submitted documents and on an interview. 2. First session schedule : a. Deadline for online application submission: March 25th b. Evaluation of curricula: April 12th c. Publication of the ranking list: April 19th 3. The calendar for the second session is as follows: a. Deadline for online application submission: June 14th
b. Evaluation of curricula: July 5th c. Publication of the ranking list: July 19h 4. In each session, the Commission will evaluate the documents of all candidates. Each candidate will be assigned a score between 0 and 70. The candidates scoring at least 50 points will be considered as eligible. 5. Eligible candidates will be further examined with a video interview, through webconferencing tools (e.g. using skype). Candidate must provide the proper settings to carry out the video interview and exhibit the ID submitted in the online application. The candidates have to be available for the whole interview day until their respective interviews have been completed. Any software, internet or communication difficulties cannot be related to the Selection Committee responsibility. In case the colloquium will not be held within the selected period, candidate will automatically be considered a "no show" and he/she will be excluded from the final ranking. After the interview the selection committee will assign a score between 0 and 30, which will be counted together with the score obtained during the documents evaluation session. 6. Results will be published in two different ranking lists: one for non-eu students at the end of the first session, and one for EU students at the end of the second session. The candidates will be listed by score in decreasing order. Candidates with a total score between 70 and 100 will be considered as eligible. 7. For the first session, the first 4 candidates in the ranking list will be selected to participate in the program. In case the number of eligible candidates is lower than 4, extra positions will become available in the second session. If a candidate declines his/her participation, the next candidate in the ranking list will be invited, until 4 candidates will be accepted, or there will be no more eligible candidates in the list. 8. For the second session, the first 4 candidates in the ranking list will be selected to participate in the program. If the number of candidates admitted during the first session is lower than 4, additional candidates will be invited from the ranking list mentioned in point 7, until the number of 8 is reached, or there will be no more eligible candidates in the list. 9. Selected candidates will be requested to send their written assent along with the documentation required for the enrollment. 10. Selected candidates will have to pay a non-refundable acceptance fee of 100 Euros by bank transfer or by credit card (as detailed in the letter of admission). The receipt of the payment has to be sent together with the written assent. Art. 7 Requirements for completing the program 1. In order to complete the program successfully, all students must comply with the following special rules: a. The student must complete all exams in due time; b. The student must pass every exam with a mark not lower than 24/30; c. The student must achieve an average mark at the end of every year not lower than 27/30. 2. Except for special cases listed in internal official regulation of the program, a student not complying with the rules listed in point 1 will not be allowed to complete the program and will lose all the benefits connected to it (lodging, free meals and/or lump sum). 3. Student who does not comply with the rules listed in point 1 can complete her/his education at UniTN through the Master in Computer Science (LM18 - Laurea Magistrale in Informatica) standard track. The University of Trento will acknowledge all exams already passed within the Graduate Program. However, she/he will not be awarded the Diploma di Formazione alla Ricerca in Computer Engineering by SSSA.
Art. 8 Treatment of personal data 1. The personal data supplied by the applicants will be mainly processed SSSA in an automatic procedure in accordance with Art. 11 of the Legislative Decree No. 196/2003 ( Code concerning the Protection of Personal Data ), for the management of competition procedures. The data - made anonymous - may also be used for statistical processing purposes. To participate in the call the data have to be disclosed to SSSA. 2. Any interested person can, at any time, exercise the rights provided for by Art. 7 of the above-mentioned Legislative Decree, in writing to Scuola Superiore Sant Anna - Sevizi di Supporto agli Istituti - Via Santa Cecilia, 3 56127 Pisa - tel. 050/883528. Art. 9 Person in charge of the procedure 1. The person in charge of the competition procedure, as per this Announcement, is the Responsible of the Graduate Programs Unit of Scuola Superiore Sant Anna, D.ssa. Silvia Marcacci, Via Santa Cecilia, 3 56127 Pisa tel. 050/883528 - fax 050/883519 - e-mail: silvia.marcacci@sssup.it