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30 January 2026
A Structural Milestone for Research
On 26 and 27 January, the premises of Via Beato Pellegrino hosted the annual PhD Discussions of the Doctoral Programme in Pedagogical, Educational and Training Sciences. The event represents a key milestone in the doctoral training pathway, aimed not only at the formal evaluation of research progress (Assessment), but above all at verifying the scientific robustness of ongoing projects.
Under the coordination of Professors Simone Visentin and Sara Serbatti, and with the support of doctoral representatives Chang Li, Filippo Marcato and Alessia Fontana, the two-day event reviewed the state of research carried out by candidates from cycles XXXIX and XXXX. The central objective was to foster a critical revision (Redesign) of research hypotheses through direct dialogue between doctoral candidates and faculty members.
Official poster of the PhD Discussions 2026 – Full Programme
The session structure followed a rigorous time framework designed to ensure adequate space for feedback: 25 minutes of presentation followed by structured interventions. Alongside the role of the Faculty Discussant, the format reaffirmed the importance of the Peer Discussant. This role requires doctoral candidates to analyse their peers’ work, exercising the critical competencies essential to academic review while strengthening research practices within the scholarly community.
Presentations covered both programme curricula: Pedagogical Sciences and Research on Inclusion, Well-being and Sustainability in Education, reflecting the Department’s bilingual and international character.
PhD candidate Sarah Schmidt presenting the state of the art of her research on GenAI and the codebook for the literature review
The sessions held on 26 January highlighted a strong focus on methodological aspects. Presentations addressed contemporary topics, including the impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on personalised learning processes. In this context, discussion centred on research instruments such as the development of codebooks for Systematic Literature Reviews, opening technical debates on source selection and data analysis.
The discussion following the presentations shifted attention from descriptive dimensions to structural considerations. Interventions by the Discussants stimulated reflection on the adopted research paradigms, examining the coherence between research questions and methodological choices. This dialectical exchange represents a fundamental exercise in validating the robustness of research projects.
Peer Discussant Filippo Marcato raises a methodological question during the discussion session
The event confirmed the importance of maintaining in-person discussion moments to monitor research trajectories. The integrated use of Italian and English ensured full participation of all doctoral candidates, fostering cross-disciplinary exchange of competencies and feedback necessary for the continuation of research activities in the coming semester.
Finally, the Book of Abstract with the research discussed by each participant is coming: take a look and engage with the PhD researchers!
Article prepared by the Steering Committee of the PhD Day
Edited by Juliana Raffaghelli
