Health, insurance and safety

DURING YOUR PHD
Health, insurance & safety
Make sure that you have appropriate healthcare coverage and complete the insurance, workplace safety and health-surveillance requirements connected with your doctoral activities.
HEALTH · INSURANCE · SAFETY
Essential requirements for your doctoral activity
Healthcare arrangements depend on your citizenship, residence status and individual circumstances. Insurance, workplace safety training and health surveillance are instead connected with your status as a PhD candidate and with the activities and facilities involved in your research.
HEALTHCARE
Check your coverage
Identify the healthcare arrangement appropriate to your citizenship and residence status.
INSURANCE
Know your coverage
UNICAM provides insurance protection connected with authorised doctoral activities.
SAFETY
Complete the training
Complete the general and specific training required for your research environment.
HEALTH SURVEILLANCE
Complete the requirements
Provide the information and occupational-health documentation required for your activity.
01 · HEALTHCARE IN ITALY
Make sure you have appropriate healthcare coverage
The appropriate form of healthcare coverage depends on citizenship, residence status and the reason and duration of your stay in Italy. International PhD candidates should identify the arrangement applying to them when organising their stay.
ITALIAN HEALTH SERVICE
SSN coverage
People entitled to registration with the Italian National Health Service — Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN) — receive healthcare according to the conditions applicable to their individual status.
EU / EEA / SWITZERLAND
Check your existing entitlement
Depending on the type and duration of stay, healthcare may be available through European coordination arrangements, registration with the Italian SSN or another appropriate form of coverage.
NON-EU CANDIDATES
Healthcare and residence status
Valid healthcare coverage is particularly important for residence-permit requirements. Depending on the individual situation, coverage may involve registration with the SSN or another health-insurance arrangement recognised for the purpose of residence in Italy.
VOLUNTARY SSN REGISTRATION FOR STUDY
€700
current annual contribution for voluntary registration on the basis of a study residence permit
Check whether voluntary registration applies to your case
People regularly residing in Italy for study who are not entitled to compulsory SSN registration may, where the relevant conditions are met, register voluntarily by paying the annual contribution applicable to the student category.
The contribution and administrative rules may change. Verify the current requirements with the competent health authority before making a payment.
02 · UNIVERSITY INSURANCE
Insurance protection for authorised PhD activities
UNICAM PhD candidates are covered for civil liability and for accidents connected with the activities of the doctoral Programme, according to the University insurance arrangements and the applicable statutory coverage.
Coverage is subject to the conditions and limits established by the applicable policies. Research activities carried out at external institutions or abroad must therefore be properly planned, authorised and documented.
MOBILITY OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN UNION
Check the healthcare and insurance conditions of the destination
UNICAM has specific insurance arrangements for certain medical expenses connected with extra-EU mobility. These arrangements do not remove the need to check the healthcare conditions of the destination country and any additional insurance required by the host institution or by your individual circumstances.
03 · IN CASE OF ACCIDENT
Report the event as soon as possible
STEP 01
Inform the Office
Contact the Advanced Studies Office promptly so that the appropriate administrative procedure can be activated.
STEP 02
Keep the documents
Retain medical certificates, reports, receipts and any other documentation connected with the event.
STEP 03
Follow the instructions
The competent offices will indicate the documentation and subsequent steps required for the insurance or accident procedure.
04 · WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY
Complete the training required for your activity
PhD candidates must complete the workplace health-and-safety training applicable to the environments and activities in which they carry out their research. The required pathway includes general training followed by specific training according to the relevant risk level.
GENERAL TRAINING
4 hours
The general safety course provides the common foundation of workplace-safety training and is normally delivered online through the UNICAM e-learning environment.
SPECIFIC TRAINING
Risk-based
The duration depends on the risk level of the activity. For many PhD activities carried out in UNICAM laboratories or structures, the specific course is 8 hours and may be delivered online.
HIGHER-RISK ACTIVITIES
Up to 12 hours
Higher-risk environments require the corresponding specific training. Veterinary Medicine activities and work in the University animal facility are examples for which 12-hour in-person specific training may be required.
TRAINING COMPLETED OUTSIDE UNICAM
Ask UNICAM to assess previous safety certificates
If you have already completed workplace-safety training at another university, school, company or institution, the certificates may be assessed by the UNICAM Safety Office to determine whether the corresponding training can be recognised.
The current procedure requires external certificates to be uploaded through your Esse3 career area together with the relevant recognition request. Do not send certificates obtained directly through UNICAM e-learning for recognition.
WORKING AT AN EXTERNAL INSTITUTION
Follow the safety requirements of the host organisation
Where the doctoral activity is carried out at another institution, the host may require its own specific safety training. This is particularly relevant for National PhD Programmes and other arrangements in which the operational research site is outside UNICAM.
05 · HEALTH SURVEILLANCE
Complete the occupational-health requirements connected with your research
UNICAM collects information on the activities performed by PhD candidates in order to determine the occupational-health measures and health-surveillance requirements that apply.
PhD candidates must complete the information requested by UNICAM for this purpose, including candidates whose operational research activity takes place at an external institution.
If health surveillance is carried out by the host organisation, send UNICAM a copy of the certificate of fitness for the activity issued by the host institution’s occupational physician.

servizio.prevenzione@unicam.it →

06 · RESEARCH MOBILITY
Check healthcare, insurance and safety before departure
Before starting a research period abroad or at another institution, make sure that the activity has been properly authorised. Check the healthcare arrangements of the destination country, the insurance protection applicable to the activity and any safety, laboratory-access or occupational-health requirements imposed by the host.
YOUR CHECKLIST
Before starting your research activities
✓ Make sure that you have healthcare coverage appropriate to your citizenship and residence status.
✓ Complete the general workplace-safety training required by UNICAM.
✓ Complete the specific safety training required for your research activity and risk level.
✓ Submit any information required for occupational health surveillance.
✓ If you work at an external institution, comply with the host organisation’s safety and health-surveillance requirements.
✓ Before travelling abroad, check healthcare, insurance, entry and host-institution requirements.
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Rules governing your doctoral activity
PHD
UNICAM PhD Regulations
Consult the regulation applicable to your admission cycle for provisions concerning PhD candidates, insurance and obligations connected with doctoral activities.

PhD Regulations by cycle →

HEALTH & SAFETY
UNICAM Health and Safety Regulations
The University regulation implements the workplace health-and-safety framework and defines the responsibilities and organisational roles applying within UNICAM.

UNICAM Health & Safety Regulations →