AIAS - the Italian Scientific Society of Mechanical Engineering Design - organizes the Ph.D. Summer School course offering a unique opportunity to have in-depth training on selected topics of mechanical engineering design. The summer school provides an intense, high quality course on specific subject with the valuable contribution of national and international experts in the field. This year, the course is focused on the "design of connections" addressing analyitical, computational and experimental aspects of threaded, welded and bonded joints. The AIAS Ph.D Summer School is intended for Ph.D. students and young researchers active in the field of mechanical design and with particular interest in experimental mechanics and stress analysis. The course is awarded 5 CFU accreditation.