The environment, both built and natural, constitutes the field of action of the Department, which makes use of science and technology to propose adequate solutions for the design, monitoring, intervention and management of infrastructural systems and architectural and urban planning complexes, guaranteeing their safety, sustainability and functionality.
The ICEA approach is based on technological innovation and the development of theoretical, experimental and computational knowledge, oriented in recent years towards the following axes: Smart Production, production of eco-sustainable materials; Smart Service, integrated and interoperable management of the design and management phases of civil works; Smart Energy, development of systems for the environmental sustainability of infrastructures; Industry 4.0, with particular reference to Advanced/Additive Manufacturing, Augmented/Virtual Reality, 3D Modeling, Big Data & Analytics.
SEI ICEA represents an extraordinary opportunity to express scientific and technological competitiveness in the SEI sector, starting from consolidated academic conditions and the following strengths:
- high scientific profile, demonstrated by the VQR and academic rankings. According to URAP, Unipd is 2nd in Italy for Environmental Engineering; according to the QS University Rankings it is 7th for Civil Engineering. The 2019 Stanford University ranking certifies that 9 ICEA teachers are present in the 2% of the best researchers in the world, of which 6 are also positioned in the ranking referring to the entire career span;
- qualified research laboratories that play a central role in scientific activity and interconnection with the territory;
- 25 SSDs in the sectors of Civil, Construction-Architectural and Environmental Engineering and in transversal sectors, which guarantee multidisciplinarity in teaching and research initiatives;
- PTA renewed in the sectors dedicated to teaching, research, web services and other functions, for efficient management of ICEA activities;
- effective strategies to attract national and international resources. ICEA has achieved in the last 6 years: 1 ERC project, 3 H2020 (1 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action), 2 Horizon Europe (1 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action), 1 PRIMA, 5 INTERREG, 4 PRIN, 1 FISR, 2 ministerial projects (MATTM, MAECI), 9 projects with Italian and foreign universities and research institutes;
- dense network of external collaborations, resulting from the intense third mission activity. In the last 5 years ICEA has joined 3 RIRs (Venetian Green Building Cluster, Veneto Clima ed Energia, Veneto Green Cluster) and promoted 2 study centers: “Mobility & Behavior” and “Circular Economy – Waste, Materials & Sustainability”. ICEA researchers have activated 6 spin-offs. In the three-year period 2019-21, 3 patents were filed and financing from third-party activities exceeded 5.5 million euros with an increase of 52% compared to the previous three-year period;
- important collaborations with foreign universities and activation of 24 agreements since 2017. ICEA has activated 6 double degree programs with the University of Cameroon. He is also involved in 3 other double degree programs and from 2022/23 he will have 7 active agreements for the Top International Managers in Engineering project. The European Commission also financed Erasmus Mundus in 2022 for the international ICEA LM “Climate Change & Diversity: Sustainable Territorial Development”;
- interdisciplinarity and presence of foreign teachers in the Doctorate in Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Sciences, organized into 2 curricula, with 88 teachers, of which 26 belong to foreign universities or international research bodies, and 46 doctoral students, of which 14 with a foreign LM qualification.
