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This year’s Welcome Day for new doctoral students took place at the FISPPA department in Via Beato Pellegrino. The venue was chosen so that incoming candidates could immediately get to know the doctoral spaces: the meeting room, the PhD students’ hall, the informal coffee and tea area, and the internal courtyard.The event was coordinated by PhD coordinator Prof. Juliana Raffaghelli, online tutor Dr. Beatrice Doria, and the Welcome Day working group: Charaf El Bouhali, Filippo Marcato, Manwesha Priya Baishistha, Sarah Schmidt, Giorgia Slaviero, and Paola Zoroaster.
Who are the new students
Welcome Day was designed as a first point of contact for the new doctoral students of the XLI cycle, both in terms of people and programme structure.
The new cohort – Veronica Bettio, Gabriela Bravo-Vargas, Alessia Fontana, Annamaria Mattioni, Federica Montalto, and Giorgia Todeschin – introduced themselves and their research interests to the group. They spoke about where they come from, what they have worked on so far, and what they hope to explore during the doctorate.
The two SPEF curricula
The SPEF PhD offers two curricula: one in Italian (“Scienze Pedagogiche”) and one in English, each with its own structure and training offer.
The curriculum in “Scienze Pedagogiche” (Pedagogical Sciences) is organised into seven training modules, all taught in Italian. Each module comprises credit-bearing courses and in-depth seminars or workshops, with one credit equivalent to seven hours of instruction. In addition to these modules, doctoral students can take part in cross-disciplinary training activities and select “free credits”, for example, from PhD courses offered at the university level. The training programme is coordinated and supported by online tutor Dr. Beatrice Doria. Introducing the training paths, Prof. Elisabetta Ghedin briefly referred to her own doctoral experience to highlight the kind of continuity and commitment that a PhD requires. She then presented the English curriculum, explaining that it is organised around three main ideas: inclusion, sustainability, and well-being. These themes are intended to orient how students frame their questions and design their projects. Together, the two presentations provided an overview of the programme’s structure and expectations.
Promoting well-being in the doctorate
In addition to the well-structured curricula, the department’s commitment to promoting well-being throughout the doctoral journey was introduced. A central point of the Welcome Day was the role of supervision. Supervision was discussed as a key factor for orientation in the programme and for both academic and personal development. Emphasis was placed on relationships characterised by clarity, mutual respect, and regular communication.
To support new PhD candidates in building these foundations, Dr. Simone Visentin serves as a dedicated contact person for well-being and supervision matters, offering guidance as students settle into their doctoral path. This clear reference point was noted and appreciated by both new and continuing students.
Collaboration with the University of Trieste
A major development presented during the day was the start of a structured partnership between the University of Padua and the University of Trieste for the joint delivery of the PhD programme. This collaboration follows a period of dialogue and planning between the two institutions, during which they compared approaches, needs, and long-term objectives. As a result, the doctoral programme is now included in the formal educational offer of the University of Trieste as well. For the XLI cycle, two positions were reserved for Trieste, supported by two thematic scholarships funded by that university. This edition functions as a pilot phase, during which the operational and organisational aspects of the partnership are being tested and refined. During the Welcome Day, participants met the PhD candidates affiliated with Trieste and several faculty members who are part of the joint board. The presentations allowed students to learn more about the research areas represented and the perspectives each institution brings. The discussions during the day indicated a shared interest in developing this collaboration further, both in teaching and in research activities.
The PhD Goose Game – SPEF edition
The programme closed with the “PhD Goose Game – SPEF Edition”, a short collective activity designed by the Welcome Day working group. Mixed teams of new and senior doctoral students worked through questions and small challenges related to everyday PhD life, while also being introduced to the main working groups that support the programme (Welcome Day, Language Support, PhD Discussion Steering Committee, PhD Day, Training Programme & Paper Club, Storytelling). A small prize for the winning team was shared among all participants, and the moment was also used to mark the appointment of Dr. Juliana Raffaghelli as official PhD Coordinator, acknowledging her role within the doctoral community.
This playful and celebratory finale not only brought joy to the participants but also reinforced the collaborative spirit that defines the PhD community at SPEF.
Jointly written by Charaf El Bouhali, Filippo Marcato, Giorgia Slaviero, Manwesha Priya Baishistha, Paola Zoroaster, Sarah Schmidt
Edited by Bakhtawar Khosa
