PhD Computer Science

This is the unofficial website of the Sapienza University's PhD in Computer Science.  We will update this page from time to time with answers to frequently asked questions, so check it in the future if you have any doubts!

Official information can be found at: https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/INFORMATICA_nD3507.aspx

PhD FAQs

Some general questions are already answered in the PhD FAQs, please check it out if you don't find an answer to your question.

Useful Contacts

• PhD Coordinator: Maurizio Mancini.

• Student Representatives: Robert Adrian Minut, Vincenzo Imperati.

Institutional and Departmental Emails

You are entitled to two addresses: lastname@di.uniroma1.it (departmental) and name.lastname@uniroma1.it (institutional). You are required to activate both, since you need them for all the official communication and other extras (described below).

• for lastname@di.uniroma1.it, fill out and submit the Institutional Email Request form.

• for name.lastname@uniroma1.it, fill out and submit the Department Email Request form.

Student Duties

As a PhD student in our department, your primary responsibilities include:

• Attending seminars. Some seminars are mandatory, and participation is strongly encouraged for academic and professional development.

• Completing coursework. You must complete at least 10 hours of lectures from courses offered by our department each year of the PhD program.

Additionally, you are encouraged to:

• Present your research at conferences. Engage with the broader academic community and gain valuable feedback.

• Attend summer schools. Enhance your knowledge through specialized training programs.

• Pursue internships or research visits. Gain industry experience at a company or research center, or collaborate with other universities.

• Publish in research journals. Contribute to the scientific community and strengthen your academic profile.

• Collaborate with other researchers. Engage in interdisciplinary projects or co-author papers with peers and faculty.

• Apply for research grants and scholarships. Seek funding opportunities to support your research and travel expenses.

• Engage in teaching or mentoring. Assist in courses, supervise undergraduate students, or mentor junior researchers.

• Contribute to open-source projects. If applicable to your field, contributing to open-source initiatives can enhance your coding and research skills.

• Network with industry professionals. Attend AI or domain-specific meetups, participate in hackathons, and explore industry-academia collaborations.

• Develop soft skills. Improve scientific communication, grant writing, and project management skills.

These activities will help you develop a well-rounded research career and expand your professional network.

Next Year Enrollment

To proceed with enrollment for the following academic year, you must first fulfill a set of requirements based on your current year of study:

•  First-year students must submit a research activity report to the PhD Coordinator, detailing all work carried out during the year.

• Second-year students are required to give a 15-minute presentation with slides summarizing their research progress. In addition, their supervisors must submit a written research activity report to the PhD Coordinator.

This evaluation process is typically completed by the third week of October.

After this step, usually in early to mid November, the PhD Office will send an official email with enrollment instructions. The steps are as follows:

1. Log in to InfoStud and access the PhD Portal.

2. Fill out the questionnaire regarding your attended seminars, courses, and publications.

3. Once the questionnaire is completed, the enrollment section will become visible on the PhD Portal, allowing you to pay related taxes and finalize your enrollment.

We recommend registering your publications on the IRIS platform, as this is required for Graduation.

PhD Defense and Graduation

The PhD defense at Sapienza marks the final stage of your doctoral program. It takes place in one of three yearly sessions:

• January session

• May session

• September session

To graduate you must complete the following steps:

1. Thesis Submission and Presentation to PhD Board
   Upload the final version of your PhD thesis in PDF format to InfoStud. After submission, you must present your work to the PhD board, which will evaluate your admission to the PhD Defense.

2. External Evaluation
   The external reviewers, appointed by the PhD Board, will evaluate your thesis. They may:

   • Approve it for public defense, or

   • Request revisions, granting up to six months of additional time.

3. After this period, the thesis will in any case proceed to public discussion.

4. Public Defense
   Once admitted, you will present and discuss your thesis before an official Examination Committee in a public session. During the defense, you will summarize your research and answer questions from the committee.

5. Degree Conferral
   Upon a successful defense, the title of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is formally awarded by Sapienza University.

Important Notes

• Make sure your publications are registered in the IRIS platform before the final evaluation.

• Carefully check your institutional email for updates on deadlines, instructions, and any documents to be uploaded.

Timetable for PhD Defense Sessions

Missions

Any activity regarding your PhD that you do outside of our University must be documented as a Mission. This is necessary both for official documentation and for any reimbursements of your expenses. Missions must be approved by the Coordinator, the Administration and the Director of the Department. For what students are concerned, the mission approval process is split mainly into 2 phases: Authorization and Refund. You can find some general information at the following links:

• latest Regulation, updated from time to time so always check it before a mission;

• FAQs, only in Italian unfortunately;

• Video Tutorials;

• X-UP Documentation.

Note: only expenses (e.g., attending a conference) that fall within your PhD career (e.g., the conference dates) are refunded.

Authorization

In this phase, you must document the reason (e.g. participation in conferences/summer schools), travel (places, accommodation, departure and return dates, and means of transportation) of your mission, and the Funds you are going to use (you can also do missions without providing this information, but there will be no refund). In this phase you can ask for an advance of your expenses, see Refund Advance for more details.

Refund

In this phase you must submit all bills/invoices (not POS receipts!) for the expenses you are asking a refund for in the Invoices panel. Some examples of invoices are: 

• conference registration under category "Registration for congress/conference (cod.CONGR)."

• apartment rent payment under "Rent apartment (cod.APPAR)."

• residence rent payment under "Accommodation in residence (cod.RESID)."

• train tickets and payment invoice under "Train travel costs (cod.TRENO)."

• public transportation tickets/subscription and payment invoices under "Underground/urban line costs (cod.METRO)."

• meals under "Daily meal costs (cod.PASTG)."

• plane ticket payment and boarding passes under "Air travel costs (cod.AEREO)."

Note that all of these documents must be also submitted in person at the Administration office after you confirm your refund request, you must complete this phase within 6 months from the end of your mission. You should organize receipts/invoices by day and type (e.g. accommodation payments, daily meals, transportation). Invoices must be issued in one of the supported languages (English, German, Spanish, or French). If an invoice is in another language, a translation must be provided in an accompanying expense statement document (a sample form can be provided by the administration).

Refund Advance

For all missions (e.g., summer schools, conferences), you can request an advance refund (“anticipo spese”) for travel, accommodation, and registration expenses (listed as "subscription fee" in the Funds panel).

We recommend submitting your request at least one month before departure. While you may apply up to 15 days before departure, there is a high chance that the funds will not be processed in time and you might get it during or after your mission. The advance covers 75% of the estimated total costs, and the rest is paid after the refund phase.

To apply, you must provide expense estimates as PDF documents. These should include:

• The invoice for your conference / summer school registration.

• A simulated cost breakdown of your trip (e.g., price quotations from platforms like SkyScanner or Booking).

These documents must be attached to your authorization request under the attachment type "Documentazione a supporto della richiesta di anticipo spese".

You can refer to Tables 1 and 2 of the Mission Regulation to check the maximum allowable expenses per night for accommodation and daily meals. In general, your estimated costs should align with the average prices indicated in your simulations.

PhD Summer Schools

To attend a summer school with 10% PhD funds, first, ask for approval from your PhD advisor. Then ask the Coordinator, and finally request a mission authorization via the X-UP Portal (top right -> institutional login with lastname@di.uniroma1.it). Go to "Servizio missioni" / Mission and Travel -> Richieste / My requests and insert a new authorization request. You must specify an estimate of the total cost, if you want to use the 10% PhD Funds select “Fondi dottorato” under “Fondi” / Funds, and “MANCINI MAURIZIO” as “Responsabile dei fondi”.

You will attend the summer school on your own pocket money, and once you are back, you can ask for the refund (“rimborso”). You must keep all the receipts (food, hotel, transportation, etc.); otherwise, the administration will not be able to process your refund. Some of these expenses can be included in the Refund Advance.

Stay in Residence/Apartments

For missions, you may rent a residence or an apartment if you can demonstrate that it is more cost-effective than the average price of a hotel room in the authorization stage.

To proceed, follow these steps:

1. In the General panel, select the option "Accommodation in apartment or similar."

2. Obtain price quotations for both residences/apartments and hotels from platforms like Booking or similar services.
   Note: hotels must be 3* or 4* if the former are not available.

3. Submit these quotations in PDF format and attach them to your authorization request under the attachment type "Dichiarazione vantaggio uso residence/appartamento rispetto ad albergo."

4. In the Funds panel, enter the cost of the residence or apartment you have chosen.

This process ensures that your accommodation choice aligns with cost regulations while remaining eligible for reimbursement.

Sharing an Apartment

Sharing an apartment with other students is a cost-effective option. If you choose this arrangement, all accommodation-related documents must include:

• The names of all occupants.

• Their Codici Fiscali (Italian Fiscal Codes).

• Signatures of all individuals sharing the apartment.

If the service you use does not provide these details on the invoice, you may add them manually. This requirement applies to both the authorization and refund phases.

During the Authorization Phase

If you request an advance, include the following statement in the details section of your advance attachments: 

• "Ricevuta prenotazione appartamento con firma di tutti e N_STUDENTS gli studenti che alloggiano" in Italian.

• "Apartment booking receipt with signatures of all N_STUDENTS that will share it" in English.

During the Refund Phase

• Upload invoices of your payments.

• Enter the total rent cost under "Importo" (Amount).

• Specify the number of students splitting the rent under "N. soggetti" (N. people).

The system will automatically divide the amount by the number of people and calculate your individual refund.

Traveling from a location other than Rome

If, at the time of departure for a mission, you are temporarily based in a different city (e.g., for a visit or internship), and traveling from that location is cheaper than departing from Rome, you may request authorization to depart directly from there.

To do so, you must submit a PDF document that includes a comparison of travel costs:

• One simulation of travel expenses from your current location.

• One simulation from Rome.

Both simulations must refer to the same travel dates as your mission and must be generated from reliable platforms such as Booking.com, Skyscanner, or equivalent.

This allows the administration to verify that your departure from a different city is cost-effective and eligible for reimbursement.

Note: the simulations must be uploaded to XUP, on the mission authorization form, as attachments, under the type "Dichiarazione condizioni economiche più favorevoli per l'acquisto di titoli di viaggio e per le spese di soggiorno (art.14 co.4)."

Internships and Visiting

First and foremost, any internships and visiting should be agreed with your supervisor. If you have their approval, then there are a few possibilities:

• You can pause your PhD career, if the internship / visiting clashes with your PhD studies.

• You must suspend your PhD scholarship, if the internship is paid above 16K EUR (see link).

A typical situation is that you don’t want to pause your PhD career, but you have to suspend your scholarship because the company pays you well. This is perfectly ok; the time you spend at the company will count towards your PhD studies, and once the internship has ended, you can resume getting money from your PhD scholarship.

If the host of your visiting or internship doesn't cover all of your expenses and it doesn't clash with their regulations, you can apply to some funding opportunities for your mobility abroad offered by Sapienza.

Once you have decided, you must get an authorization from the PhD Board by directly asking the Coordinator. After that, you must request a mission authorization via X-UP. It is important to keep in mind that it is your sole responsibility to suspend the PhD scholarship if required, and you are expected to do so by directly contacting the PhD Office.

Research Funds

PhD students have several opportunities to secure research funding through grants or credits. However, these opportunities can be difficult to identify, as there is no centralized service that maintains an up-to-date list. 

10% PhD Research Funds

Sapienza University establishes yearly the PhD budget including 10% of the amount of the fellowship for each PhD student, even if they don't have a fellowship. Students can ask the Coordinator to use this fund for research activities and mobility until the final exam. The yearly funds cumulate and can be used only until the final exam (the expense must have an earlier date than your graduation date). These funds cannot be used for purchasing hardware.

Sapienza Research Grants

Each year, Sapienza offers small grants called "Avvio alla Ricerca" (Initial Research Projects), which are open to all PhD students. These grants are competitive, but historically, our department has maintained a strong success rate. If you are unsure how a winning proposal should look, consider reaching out (kindly) to past recipients for guidance. 

Additional Opportunities

Beyond university grants, occasional funding / compute sources include:

• Google Cloud Research Credits

• NVIDIA Academic Grant Program

• As part of an Italian institution, you can also get compute resources by applying to ISCRA.

Some of these programs are not always available, so staying informed is crucial.

The best way to discover funding opportunities is through collaboration and information exchange. If you come across an opportunity that may benefit fellow PhD students, share it! You can also inform the PhD Coordinator, who can act as a hub for spreading relevant opportunities.

A success for one PhD student is a success for all of us. Each grant obtained enhances the competitiveness, reputation, and funding of our department. This, in turn, creates better opportunities for everyone and increases your chances of securing your dream job in the future.

Software Licenses / Subscriptions

If you have a name.lastname@uniroma1.it account, Sapienza has a licensing system for various software such as Matlab, Microsoft Office, Wolfram Mathematica, and others. Please refer to this page for more information.

In addition, there are other applications for which you can request a free Academic License, and which are not listed in the webpage above. These include, for instance, Autodesk Maya and ZBrush (please inform the Student Representatives if you know others); again, you will need a @uniroma1.it account to request the license. In general, if there is software you are interested in, check if it offers an Academic License: chances are that using your Sapienza account will grant you one.

The PhD Program has purchased an Overleaf Pro license that you can simply access to by logging into overleaf with your lastname@di.uniroma1.it account. Similarly, you are entitled to a  Grammarly Premium license; to activate it, please send an email to the Coordinator asking for an activation link.

If you need another service or software, and you think the need is shared across other PhD students, please contact the Student Representatives or the Coordinator to discuss your request.

Sapienza VPN

There are some resources we can only access from a Sapienza IP address (e.g. Scopus, local servers, etc.). For these cases, you can set up a VPN by following the instructions you can find here  (access the folder with your name.lastname@uniroma1.it account). Once the VPN is set up, you can work from outside Sapienza as if you are sitting in your office. 

Ethernet Internet Access

To get internet access through Ethernet inside our department you must request a static IP address for your device. You can apply by logging into the IPADMIN portal with your: "[Given Name] [Surname]", be careful about putting in the blank spaces, if you have multiple first names then you must put a blank space after each of them. The password is the same one as your name.lastname@uniroma1.it account. Then you must click on "Nuova Richiesta IP" (New IP Request) on the right side of the "Informazioni" (Information) panel.  Then fill out the form:

• Struttura / Building: where are you going to connect from, you can search for the building code here.

• Ruolo / Role: Dottorando.

• Data termine / End Date: expected graduation date.

• Nome e Cognome: Given Name and Surname.

• Email.

• Tipo Apparato / Device Type: Computer Fisso (Desktop PC) / Portatile (Laptop).

• Ubicazione / Room: Room number / name.

• Indirizzo Ethernet / Ethernet Address: your device's ethernet adapter MAC address. On Windows you can find it through "ipconfig /All" usind the command line. On Linux you can use "cat /sys/class/net/eth0/address". The required format needs ":" instead of "-". This field can be changed after authorization, so you can update it yourself when you switch devices.

• Nome Host / Host Name: pick any name for your device.