The University of Padua is one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious seats of learning. As a multi-disciplinary institute of higher education, the University aims to provide its students with professional training and a solid cultural background. The qualification received from the University of Padua act as a symbol of the ambitious objectives respected and coveted by both students and employers alike.
Founded in 1222, Padua’s Studium Patavinum was a place of study that readily welcomed Italian students and scholars, as well as those from various European countries searching for cultural freedom and expression. This freedom continues to define and express the essence of the University through its motto as Universa universis patavina libertas.
Intertwined within the story of the University of Padua are the many illustrious figures who lived, studied and taught in this city. Such famous names included those who have changed the cultural and scientific history of humanity, from Copernicus to Vesalius, Galileo, to William Harvey, to the more modern Tullio Levi-Civita, Concetto Marchesi, Giuseppe ‘Bepi’ Colombo and many others.
The University of Padua has been a proud pioneer of several endeavours, including the first university botanical garden in the world founded in 1545 that now holds its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1594, the first permanent anatomical theatre was inaugurated, and in 1678, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro becomes the first woman in the world to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Still today, the University of Padua holds some impressive numbers. With over 65,000 students and 2,200 educators within its 32 departments, the University also employees over 2,300 technical administrators. Accrediting more than 13,000 graduates each year, awarding 5,000 scholarships, and brandishing over 2 million books available throughout its 29 libraries. The University continues to transform its level of excellence in education by offering a vast range of degree programs. Including over 100 bachelor and master degree programs, 10 single-cycle degree programs, almost 100 master degree programs, more than 20 advanced programs, and over 10 specialized training courses. The University includes over 60 specialization schools and 40 PhD schools.
For some time now, The University of Padua has enjoyed a high-ranking position in both Italian and international ranking agencies for its quality of teaching, research activities and student services. Confirming results include the number of works held in its scientific research archive, a cutting-edge sector that added 13,000 publications and hundreds of active projects during the 2020/2021 academic year alone.
A degree from The University of Padua is a reflection on today’s needs to safeguard both the environment with courses in Environmental Sciences and Technology (Agriculture Sciences) and consumers with Safety and Hygiene of Food Products (Veterinary Medicine). Research into pharmaceuticals are also covered with Pharmaceutical Biotechnologies (Pharmacy), as is research into hi-tech products with a course in Materials Science (Sciences). Great emphasis is also placed on Humanities, such as History and Conservation of Artistic and Cultural Heritage (Arts and Philosophy), and on teacher training with a course in Primary Education (Education). The University’s traditional courses for pursuing professions in Law, Economics, and Business Management run alongside courses that analyse complex social systems such as Sociological Sciences (Political Sciences) and Statistics, Population and Society (Statistical Sciences).
Furthermore, highly motivated University students may also apply for admission to the Galilean School of Higher Education. Its demanding selection process admits only 30 students each year to attend the School’s high-level in-house courses and to use its special services.
Presentation of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering
The Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering (ICEA) follows the traditional training of technicians wishing to work in the field of transport systems, hydraulics and civil architecture, and their related cultural heritage, instituted in the early years of the 18th century and developed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. This basic training is rooted in the contributions made by scientists of European stature, such as Giovanni Poleni, who worked during the times of the Serenissima Republic of Venice (18th century) and Simone Stratico, who worked in Padova between the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Department protects this scientific heritage which now spans three centuries, enhancing its memory and conserving its past work. It is not only a collection of cultures and resources, but also an opportunity to optimise and enhance them.
The Department aims at being one of the leading institutions in Italy for research in the fields of civil, construction and environmental engineering, with particular focus also on interdisciplinary aspects and the applications of these disciplines, sometimes in fields which differ from the classic ones. The shared aims of those working in the new structure concern the following strategic fields: the territory, knowledge of computer science, and technological innovation.
The Department, instituted as a collection of several specialised fields, also promotes multidisciplinary perspectives in developing teaching and research initiatives, in order to offer the new market of knowledge an ample range of prospects. It also constitutes an authoritative point of reference for various territorial situations and can offer support not only in decision-making but also in research.
“Territory” is understood here as the field in which the Department, at the level of research, is working on the knowledge, conservation, management and requalification of the entire cultural heritage of the territory, whether it is composed of land, stretches of water, urbanised areas, infrastructures, architectural features, or natural and man-made environments.
The Department is open to international collaboration, mobility of teaching personnel, researchers, graduates and students, and to prospects of collaboration on research projects on an international and particularly European scale. With this aim, it organises and coordinates advanced courses for master degrees, conferences, seminars, and collaboration agreements with international research groups.
