IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca

The IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca is a public international doctoral school and a center for research and higher education which focuses on the analysis of economic, societal, technological and cultural systems.

Since its foundation in 2005, the School has distinguished itself for the quality and innovativeness of its research and doctoral programs and its interdisciplinary nature, where different methodologies drawn from economics, engineering, computer science, applied mathematics, physics, archaeology, art history and the analysis and management of cultural heritage.

The interdisciplinary nature of the School translates into the various research areas, articulated in Research Units: 

• AXES - Laboratory for the Analysis of compleX Economic Systems 
• DYSCO - Dynamical Systems, Control, and Optimization 
• LYNX - Center for the interdisciplinary Analysis of Images 
• MOMILAB - Molecular Mind Laboratory 
• MUSAM - Multi-scale Analysis of Materials 
• NETWORKS - Network Theory, Theory of Modern Statistical Physics, Economic and Financial Systems 
• PhiBor - Philosophy on the Border of Civilizations and Intellectual Endeavours 
• SYSMA – Systems Security Modelling and Analysis 

Most RUs are led by a prominent senior researcher, include a small group of junior faculty members, and involve doctoral students actively contributing to the research as part of their studies. Other RUs instead are structured in a multipolar fashion, with highly specialized research centered on thematic nuclei and the contribution of diverse methodologies. 

The research carried out within the RUs is closely connected to the School’s PhD programs. In fact, every PhD student is affiliated with a Research Unit and contributes to the research and projects carried out therein. Several RUs are affiliated with highly specialized laboratories, and the entire School relies on very high level computer infrastructures.

Student selection relies exclusively on merit and there is a strong intertwining of teaching, research, and community life. The campus is located principally in the San Francesco Complex, a 13th-century convent recently restored, sustainable, and fully accessible. The entire campus is within the historic city center of Lucca, which is completely surrounded by fully intact Renaissance-era walls. As classrooms, laboratories, and student offices are located in the San Francesco Complex, next to the residential and leisure spaces, students may benefit from daily interactions and cultural and intellectual exchanges with other students, faculty, researchers and staff.

The campus is completed by the IMT Library, which offers a plethora of resources and additional working and research areas for the IMT community and the city of Lucca in general.