IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca

IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca (Italian: Scuola IMT Alti Studi Lucca) is a public research institution and a graduate school located in Lucca, Italy. It was founded in 2005 under the name of IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, where the acronym IMT stands for "Institutions, Markets, Technologies”. The School is part of the Italian superior graduate school system and its main Campus is located in the San Francesco Complex within the historic city walls of Lucca.

As an institution for advanced studies, IMT School hosts researchers who carry out methodological research, held to high scientific standards, leading to the development of new knowledge.

Its international advisory board includes a number of prominent scientists, including Giulio Tononi, Alfio Quarteroni and Adina L. Roskies.

History

The desire of Lucca to have its own university dates back to 1369, when Emperor Charles IV gave an official dispensation to the Republic of Lucca to establish a "Studium Generale" in the city. In 1387 this concession was countersigned and confirmed by Pope Urban VI, yet despite these attempts, the university never succeeded and eventually failed. A second attempt to establish a University of Lucca was made in 1785 and was slightly more successful offering courses in Law, Medicine, Mathematics, Engineering and Philosophy. This university was reformed during the Duchy of Maria Luisa of Spain, where it became the "Real Liceo" however the history of the Real Liceo was interrupted in 1847, following the incorporation of the Duchy of Lucca into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1847, disappearing definitively in 1867 shortly before the completion of the Risorgimento. IMT School thus represents the third attempt to found a university in Lucca.

Academics

The multidisciplinary PhD programs of IMT School, integrates scientific competences of economics, engineering, computer science, physics, applied mathematics, statistics, history and sciences of cultural heritage. It offers a characteristic patrimony of competences within the broad framework of the analysis and management of a plurality of systems. Originally envisaged as three-year programmes, since 2019 the programmes are articulated in curricula of four years. The 4 curricula currently offered are field-specific, although in many instances they share a common scientific background. Candidates can apply for one (or more) of the following curricula:

Economics, Management Science and Complex Systems

Computer Science and System Engineering

Neuroscience

Cultural Heritage

IMT School concentrates its activities within a limited number of key areas. Moreover, the School recruits its faculty on a competitive international scale, evaluating, among other elements, their capacity to publish work in top level international peer-reviewed and high-impact journals.

The IMT School also offers a master degree in Bionic Engineering, in collaboration with University of Pisa and Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, a doctoral program in Data Science together with Scuola Normale Superiore, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, University of Pisa and the National Research Council-CNR. The School offers also a Master Program in Data Science and Statistical Learning, together with the Florence Center for Data Science (University of Florence).

Moreover, during the academic year the school organizes seminars, workshops, summer and winter schools.

Research

IMT School scientific activity is organized in thematic research units that carry out interdisciplinary projects. Currently, the research units of the School are:

AXES - Laboratory for the Analysis of Complex Economic Systems

DYSCO - Dynamical Systems, Control, and Optimization

LYNX - Center for the interdisciplinary Analysis of Images

MUSAM - Multi-scale Analysis of Materials

NETWORKS - Network Theory, Theory of Modern Statistical Physics, Economic and Financial Systems

MOMILAB - Molecular Mind Laboratory

SysMA - System Modelling and Analysis

The IMT School also houses a research unit of the National Institute of High Mathematics - INdAM, with which it collaborates for the promotion of scientific research and higher education in mathematical disciplines.

Student and Alumni Association

Since 2016 IMT School’s graduates can join the Alumni Association. The association was founded in the aim of fostering relationships between students and alumni and promoting the values of the IMT School in the world. External members can also be admitted for their professional and scientific merits or as financial backers.

Campus and facilities

San Francesco Complex

IMT School residential Campus is located in the San Francesco Complex, a former Franciscan convent built around the 13th century. The building, in its current configuration, was inaugurated in 2013 after an important restoration work accomplished by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca. The modern complex houses the students’ rooms, a guesthouse for external guests, offices of teachers and researchers, classrooms for teaching and the canteen of the IMT School. Some of the old spaces – such as the Church of San Francesco, the Guinigi Chapel and the sacristy of the former Convent – are still used to host events, seminars and meetings.

San Ponziano Complex

The IMT School headquarter is located in the Complex of San Ponziano, a former music conservatory named after the Lucca musician Luigi Boccherini. The Complex houses the administrative offices, a library, two meeting rooms and a multidisciplinary laboratory equipped to carry out cognitive-behavioral experiments.

Library

The IMT School Library is located next to the San Ponziano Complex. The access to the Library, as well as its loan and consultation services, are free not only for professors, researchers and PhD students, but also for the external public. The building has undergone a recent restoration by the architect Stefano Dini, whose project won the Jury Prize at the 2007 European Aluminum Awards.