Without prejudice to the general objectives of second cycle Degree Programmes in class LM-54, the second cycle Degree Programme in Chemical Innovation and Regulation – ChIR trains Chemists in charge of regulation problems and Chemists in charge of research and development and analytical activities, able to work in chemical regulatory and control bodies, public and private companies in a technical and scientific or managerial position, laboratories, research bodies and organisations, higher training institutions, in the following fields:
(i) both mandatory and voluntary regional, national and international regulations governing the production, use and disposal of chemical substances and the evaluation of their compliance;
(ii) innovation in design, production processes, intended uses of chemical substances, based on the principles of Green Chemistry;
(iii) evaluation and prediction of the properties of chemical substances in terms of their environmental, toxicological, eco-toxicological effects, as well as their chemical and physical hazardousness, also using modelling methods;
(iv) prediction and evaluation of risks, environmental impacts, environmental fate and transformations in the environment, social impacts and their perception, in the production and use of chemical substances;
(v) problems linked to the end of life of chemical substances, incentives for reuse and recycling of substances, promoting a circular economy strategy, prediction and evaluation of the impact of chemical substances on global and climate changes;
(vi) economic evaluation, preparation of business plans, protection and enhancement of intellectual property, management of the quality of products and processes, implementation and dissemination of good practices.
In these areas, students acquire the ability to assess the risks that the production and use of chemical substances have on human health and in relation to environmental protection. They know the key aspects of European and international protection laws in the chemical field, attentive to the problems and restrictions these laws pose on the chemical industry; they know the basic aspects of marketing and the social impacts of chemistry. They acquire knowledge of toxicology and eco-toxicology used to assess the hazardousness of chemical substances. They acquire the notions that allow them to master economic aspects, including market analysis, preparation of business plans and the bases of entrepreneurship. They are highly motivated towards the implementation of the circular economy, through the reuse and recycling of substances and products, knowing the problems linked to the global and climate changes of the anthropogenic era.
Knowledge of the laws and sensitivity to the problems of safety and protection are the bases for making sustainability a central focus for chemists. second cycle graduates respond to these needs through innovation in both the chemical substances to be put at the disposal of society and the technologies used for their production. Knowledge of the design of alternative chemical substances, the relationship between activity and structure, green synthesis methods, catalysis techniques and organocatalysis, the use of alternative solvents, are the scientific foundations on which the second cycle graduates base research and innovation proposals, which are one of the major aspects of their profession.
The studies are completed by a consistent period of research, also for the preparation of the dissertation, at a university in a partner country other than that in which the students began their studies. The programme also includes an internship.
In addition to knowledge of the English language, required to attend the course, students have the optional opportunity to learn another EU language in addition to Italian, as well as the related culture, during the period spent at the University of Bologna or other partner university.