Program Overview

Program Overview

The Second-level short specialisation degree in Airport Infrastructure Planning, Design, Construction and Management prepares highly-qualified professionals capable of covering executive roles in the airport planning, design, construction, and management sector.

Educational Content

The course units cover the following aspects:

• Training, through diversified teaching subjects, aimed at multidisciplinarity (engineering, economics, environment, law, language, etc.)
• Practical preparation, through the involvement in integrated design activities
• Promotion of relationships with stakeholders already involved in the airport infrastructure sector
• Transfer of expertise

The Short specialisation degree’s Course is organized in partnership with ENAC, Ente Nazionale di Aviazione Civile.

Course Target and Career Opportunities

The Second-level short specialisation degree is addressed to graduates with a Short specialisation degree looking for employment, employees or freelancers with a basic knowledge of this field.

The professional figures trained by the Short specialisation degree include:

• Highly qualified technicians for airport management companies
• Consultants and operators for air flight and airport infrastructure safety and control enterprises
• Engineers specialized in airport infrastructure, superstructure, and system construction
• Experts in airport planning and projects, suitable to cover executive engineering roles

These highly qualified professionals can cover executive roles in public and private institutions, companies, and engineering firms active in the field of airport planning, design, construction, and management.

Course Program

The Second-level short specialisation degree provides training on:

1. AIRPORT AND ENVIRONMENT 1: Noise and atmospheric pollution, airport hydraulics, ecosystems
2. AIRPORT AND ENVIRONMENT 2: Cases of study
3. TERMINALS 1: Terminals, architectural aspects, airport system sizing
4. AIRPORT PLANTS: Technological services, networks and plants, waterworks, sewage system, electric power, telephones and data, heating and cooling, lighting, fire-prevention, purification, fuel
5. PUBLIC WORKS: Public works regulations, project, professional figures involved, work measurement and accounting
6. RISK MANAGEMENT: Aviation limits, obstacle-free surfaces, airport risk plans, risk impact assessments, practical experience, risk in the operative area, mitigation
7. THE AVIATION SYSTEM: OPERATING CONTEXT. REGULATIONS: Regulations, agreements, international treaties and protocols, civil bodies, military, regulatory instruments, international, European and Italian airport regulations
8. AIRPORT, TERRITORY AND ENVIRONMENT: Airport-territory-environment planning and interactions, urban planning, constraints, national transportation plan, national logistics plan, national airport plan, airport development plan
9. AIRSPACE: Airspace, flight and instrument control, airspace classification, future scenarios
10. AIRPORTS: CLASSIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION: Airport classification, certification and manuals, risk prevention and management
11. AVIATION EVENT INVESTIGATION: SAFETY AND SECURITY: Aviation event investigation, the role of ANSV and the airport controller, airport security, national security plan and role of the security management, airport controller auditing, certifications, risk assessment, evolutionary prospective
12. THE HUMAN FACTOR: Individual factors, operating factors, interactions with automated systems, environmental factors, fatigue effects as environmental factors, doctors, operations, practice on concrete cases
13. AIRCRAFTS: Aircrafts, history of flight, flight mechanisms, general construction characteristics
14. TERMINALS 2: Terminals, functional diagrams, sizes and capacity
15. AVL AND AIRPORT SIGNS: Horizontal, vertical, luminous signs and runway lights
16. AIRPORTS: PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Classification, physical characteristics, runways and squares
17. AIRPORT SUPERSTRUCTURES: Types of airport floors and materials, construction and maintenance techniques
18. AIRPORT FLOOR PLANNING: Rigid and flexible floor design with calculation methods and software

General Ranking of Merit

The general ranking of merit for the academic year 2025/26 will be published on the Italian page of this Second-level short specialisation degree according to the timing provided in the Call.

Information

• Thematic area: Scientific innovation
• End of classes: 10/07/2026
• Mandatory attendance: 70%
• Minimum available spots: 8
• Maximum available spots: 20
• First instalment: € 1,722.50
• Second instalment: € 1,100.00

Teaching Method

The course comprises lessons, seminars, stage or project work, and final exam. Lessons will be held remotely in order to facilitate any participants that come from another Region, or professors that are temporarily abroad.

Attendance and Traineeship

• The Short specialisation degree’s attendance is mandatory. The maximum number of absences allowed is 30% of the total hours of lessons.
• The traineeship/stage is not mandatory. Upon the attendee’s request, it can be replaced by a project work (a paper on a specific topic, to be presented as a dissertation) to be agreed with the faculty.

Educational Material

All educational material (presentations, documents, video, etc.) will be provided by the Faculty and made available to the attendees through the Short specialisation degree’s Organizational staff (through the dedicated Moodle platform).

Faculty

The faculty comprises professors from the University of Padua and other Italian Universities, and experts from all over Italy, who work for enterprises, companies, and institutions within the airport sector.

Program Details

• Classes start: 21/11/2025
• Duration: One-year
• Venue: Padua
• Language: Italian
• ECTS: 60
• Teaching method: Distance learning
• Total enrolment fee: € 2,822.50
• Pre-enrolment deadline: 07/10/2025

Management and Administrative Office

• Management: Prof. Marco Pasetto
• Administrative Office: Contact Person: Marco Pasetto