Careers Service
The Careers Service of the Scuola IMT Alti Studi Lucca accompanies students and alumni in the construction of their career path, offering tools and personalised advice to orient themselves in the labour market. Through career guidance, career counseling, career coaching, and placement activities, it helps to enhance skills and aspirations, in order to positively face professional transitions in the academic and non-academic world of work.
The IMT School's career development and management services are intended to promote the rapid integration into job positions in academia, industry, institutions, and self-employment, which can enhance the PhD degree obtained by students of the School.
The IMT School adopts a multitude of tools to support students’ and alumni’s job placement in different contexts.
Career consultancy is a service that supports PhD students, alumni, post-docs, and young researchers with their career planning and development. It involves guiding people through various career-related decisions, including job searching, career changes, and professional advancement.
What Career Consultancy offers:
Career Assessment: assessment of an individual's skills, interests, values, and experiences to help them understand their strengths and weaknesses.
Goal Setting: assisting in defining clear and achievable career goals.
Job Search Support: guiding resume writing, interviewing, and networking.
Career Transition: helping individuals navigate career changes, including finding new roles or starting a business.
Personal Development: coaching and mentoring to help individuals develop their skills and build confidence.
Advancement: providing advice on how to advance within an organization or explore new career paths.
It is possible to activate individual interventions by appointment with career counsellor Dr. Ornella Bucci.
Interviews take place by appointment, in person, or remotely.
Group activities
The Careers Service also organises group meetings dedicated to:
- Discussion and exchange of experiences among peers;
- In-depth studies on issues related to the PhD and career pathway;
- Practical workshops to develop key competences.
For information and to participate, please contact career counsellor Dr. Ornella Bucci.
About 10% of PhDs pursue an academic career (Istat and ADI sources, 2019). The remaining 90% seek opportunities in other fields.
JobFair: The “job meeting” of Italian schools of excellence is an initiative that aims to create a qualified opportunity for leading companies, organisations and high-potential human resources from Italy's six Higher Education Schools to meet: it is the first event of this type dedicated to the talents of the Scuola IMT Alti Studi Lucca, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Scuola Normale Superiore, Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori di Pavia, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati di Trieste and Gran Sasso Science Institute dell'Aquila. The participation of selected students from the Scuola Superiore di Catania, Scuola Galileiana di Studi Superiori di Padova and the Conference of Italian University Colleges of Merit is also planned.
The IMT School has joined as a partner since the second edition (2014).
Two editions are planned for 2025: the 16th edition will be exclusively online and will be held on Thursday May 22, 2025, while the 15th edition, which will be an in-presence event, is scheduled for Wednesday October 22 and Thursday October 23, 2025, at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna premises. The aim of the initiative is to create a unique opportunity for leading companies and organisations to meet – both in-presence and online – and for human resources with the highest potential, who, after having completed training courses of excellence, will enter the world of work, to the benefit of companies and, more generally, of the national economic system.
Through a dedicated online platform, students can view organisational profiles and internship and job opportunities uploaded by participating companies, institutions and non-profit organisations and request individual interviews with recruiters.
Companies participating in the online edition: Aindo, Aivesp, Alkeria, Amplifon, Chiomenti, Coesia, Co-Robotics, Dab Pumps, Ergo*, EssilorLuxottica, Eurizon Capital SGR, Fluid Wire Robotics, Garmin Italy Technologies, Generali, Gruppo FS, Hyntelo, IBN Savio, I. CO.P.*, Intersos, Legance, Management Solutions Italia, Mate, NTT Data, PagoPA, Portolano Cavallo, Prometeia, RESISK, Saint-Gobain*, Tecno Group*.
Companies participating in the in-presence edition: ADVANT Nctm Studio Legale, Amplifon, Angelini Pharma, Apparound, AYES, Bosch, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Chiomenti, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Cisia, Cleary Gottlieb, Co-Robotics, Deloitte, EssilorLuxottica, Fincantieri, Fluid Wire Robotics, Garmin Italy Technologies, Generali, Heritage Holdings, Hyntelo, IBN Savio, I. CO.P.*, ION Group*, Korian, KPMG, Legance, Lidl, MMI, NTT Data, Oliver Wyman, Omnia Technologies, Overtech Consulting, PagoPA, PwC, Saint-Gobain*, STMicroelectronics, Tecno Group*, White & Case.
For more information: https://www.santannapisa.it/it/terza-missione/jobfair
Email: jobfair@santannapisa.it; career.service@imtlucca.it
National Placement initiatives such as the Placement Exchange (meetings between companies and university Placement contact persons) and forDoc, the first event at a national level – organised by Emblema – specifically for PhD students and PhDs, represent two important opportunities to meet with companies interested in enhancing the value of PhDs.
The School has been participating in the initiatives since the 2017/18 academic year.
The forDoc programme includes the following:
Recruiting Days: online events where PhDs can meet and engage with companies that will tell their story, present open job positions and/or launch a topic for discussion.
The events are continuously updated at https://www.borsadelplacement.it/calendario.
Virtual Fair Doc | 19 June 2025: the online career day of the Placement Exchange, which connects PhD students and PhDs from all over Italy with companies interested in their highly qualified profiles.
Coaching forDoc: a work orientation and self-entrepreneurship initiative, with the contribution of some companies and universities.
To participate:
1. Register on www.borsadelplacement.it
2. Confirm your registration by clicking on the link you will receive by email
3. Open the calendar after logging in and click on the “Subscribe” button on the pages of the events you are interested in.
For more information: www.borsadelplacement.it; info@borsadelplacement.it; career.service@imtlucca.it
In order to learn more about the world of work, to take advantage of opportunities to make contacts and to get involved in new situations, PhD students and PhDs can attend company presentations and consult job offers.
For more information: career.service@imtlucca.it
POSITIVE STRESS ROUTE
This path, with a duration of approximately 1 month, is aimed at increasing well-being, identifying stress factors, transforming distress into eustress and learning coping strategies.
a) 1 group meeting - Wednesday April 16, 2025, from 4:30 to 5:30 PM online
b) individual meetings (to be agreed with career coach Dr. Ornella Bucci)
c) 2 group meeting - Wednesday May 21, 2025, from 4:30 to 5:30 PM online
For more information, please contact career counsellor Dr. Ornella Bucci.
SUCCESSFUL POST-PHD JOB APPLICATIONS WORKSHOP
A workshop on self-guidance strategies for dealing with career transitions was held on Wednesday, April 30. from 5 to 6 PM.
For more information, please contact career counsellor Dr. Ornella Bucci.
TIME AND SELF-MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP
On Wednesday, from 6 to 7 PM, a workshop will be held on strategies for managing time and one's schedule, reducing stress and promoting well-being.
For more information, please contact career counsellor Dr. Ornella Bucci.
The IMT SAA Alumni Association plays a key role in career mentoring activities and in synergy with the Careers Service.
On June 7 and 8, 2019, the IMT School hosted the first Annual Meeting of the SAA, in which a space was created for the exchange of ideas and the promotion of networking and mentoring activities through the collaboration of members of the Association. During these two days, alumni and alumnae had the opportunity to get to know other members of the IMT community, present their projects and career paths, and explore new possibilities for collaboration, realising the goal of developing a network that actively supports placement services by triggering synergies and reinforcing shared values.
In 2022, another Annual Meeting was held on July 1 and 2.
In 2023, the initiative was repeated on July 7.
In 2024, a mentoring session was held on January 15 during the Welcome day - Rooted in Lucca, reaching beyond.
In 2024, the annual meeting was held on July 5.
In 2025, another annual meeting will be held on July 4.
For more information: see SAA; email association@alumni.imtlucca.it; info.alumniassociation@imtlucca.it
PhD students and alumni regularly receive career opportunity offers through various channels:
- Personalised emails: direct delivery of job, internship, or collaboration offers to selected profiles
- JobFair: a joint event organised by the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in collaboration with the IMT School and the other “Special Statute” Schools, featuring one-to-one meetings with recruiters
- ForDoc: a national platform connecting job supply and demand for PhD students and graduates
For more information please contact career.service@imtlucca.it.
The IMT School actively supports the inclusion of traineeships in the training pathway of its doctoral students.
Students are encouraged to independently propose traineeship projects that align with their research path or to take part in opportunities selected and promoted by the School through its official channels.
Twice a year, calls are published for traineeships abroad within the framework of the Erasmus+ for Traineeships programme. This initiative enables students to pursue professional and research experiences at a wide range of universities, research centres, museums, or public and private organisations across Europe. These traineeships are financially supported and formally recognised as part of the doctoral training, in accordance with the provisions of the specific programme.
For further information, or for organisations interested in offering traineeship opportunities, please contact career.service@imtlucca.it.
Placement Data
The Careers Service not only facilitates connections with the academic, research, institutional and industrial sectors, but also regularly monitors the professional success and career development of its PhD graduates.
As of December 31, 2024, a total of 446 students have earned their PhDs since the IMT School’s first doctoral cycle (XX cycle).
Among them, 121 PhD holders (55 male and 66 female) completed their programmes in the past five years.
61% are currently working in universities and research centers, both in Italy and abroad.
Examples:
- In Italy: Fondazione Bruno Kessler, CMCC – Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change, Politecnico di Milano, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Scuola Normale Superiore, and several universities, including those of Turin, Trento, Bologna, Parma, Padua, Perugia, Molise, Marche and Trieste.
- Abroad: CERN, Paris School of Economics, Eindhoven University of Technology, ETH Zurich, University of Vienna, University of Zurich, BBVA Research Madrid, University of Manchester, University of Bath, MIT, UCLA, University of Florida, Boston University, The City College of New York, University of Utah, The Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania), IIT Roorkee, Swinburne University of Technology (Australia).
12% are employed in public institutions in Italy and abroad.
Examples:
- In Italy: Bank of Italy, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Culture, Fondazione Scuola dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali, MUSE – Science Museum, Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History, Ospedale Policlinico di Milano, IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris.
- Abroad: Europa Nostra, Ministry of Culture and Media (Republic of Croatia), OSCE/ODIHR, Museum Fridericianum, Deutsche Bundesbank, De Nederlandsche Bank.
19% are employed in private companies, both in Italy and internationally.
Examples:
- In Italy: Baker Hughes – Nuovo Pignone International, CY4GATE, VHIT Spa, Sony, ETT SpA, AICE Consulting, Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, Prometeia.
- Abroad: Allianz, IFC – International Finance Corporation, Rabobank, Versuni, Skyline Evolution, Adonis Avero, Munich Re, TNG Technology Consulting, Qualcomm.
2% are engaged in entrepreneurial activities.