The first doctoral course in Polytechnic education has been approved by the Agência de Avaliação e Acreditação do Ensino Superior (A3Es), following the change in the law that now allows Polytechnic Institutes to award doctoral degrees. This doctoral course at the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (IPB), entitled "Engenharia de Sistemas Inteligentes", has been accredited for six years, without any conditions. The approval of this doctoral course is only possible because the IPB has a Research Unit in the scientific area, evaluated by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) with the classification of Excellent (maximum classification on a scale of 0 to 5): Research Centre in Digitalization and Intelligent Robotics (CeDRI).

The PhD in Intelligent Systems Engineering aims to prepare professionals and researchers with high scientific competence according to international quality parameters, with the ability to autonomously carry out research and leadership functions in innovation processes in the multidisciplinary area of Intelligent Systems Engineering, which are pervasive in the themes that make up the scientific universe of the CeDRI, namely electronics, automation and robotics, cyber-physical systems, artificial intelligence, advanced computing and cybersecurity, in line with the principles of Industry 4.0. The cycle of studies is supported by a scientific research infrastructure of international excellence, which takes the form of the CeDRI, housed at the IPB, recognized by the FCT and rated Excellent in the latest evaluation process for R&D units. Carrying out applied research projects with high scientific potential, in close coordination with companies and focusing on the development of innovative solutions to practical and realistic problems, will allow the national technological capacity to be strengthened and will play a dynamic role for the region of Trás-os-Montes, in a favorable and emerging context of digital transformation and energy transition, and its integration into international knowledge networks.