Seasonal School, the new program for autumn 2025: from protecting cultural heritage during situation of emergency to exploring the sea and space, the new topics of the courses organized by the Sant'Anna School
The various topics covered by the six Seasonal Schools that will take place from September to November 2025 include: sea and space exploration, medical simulations techniques, water resources management and much more. Applications are already open on the Seasonal Schools' website, where you can also consult the description of each Seasonal School: PEACE - ProtEcting Art in situations of armed Conflict and Emergency (on site classes from September 15th to 19th), ESEAS - Exploring sea and space: technologies, opportunities and challenges (on site classes from September 15th to 19th); MEDSKILL - Development of MEDical SKILLs by Simulation (on site classes from October 6th to 10th); CESM - Circular Economy and Sustainability Management (on site classes from October 13th to 17th); WAT-CHANGE - Water-related ecosystem services for adapting societies to climate change (on site classes from November 3rd to 7th); SYNC - Sustainable sYnergies & Networked Collaboration, a Systemic Perspective on Sustainable Supply Chain Management (on site classes from November 17th to 21st )
A reduction in the enrolment fee is available based on the applicant’s income certification. A 450€ scholarship provided by Il Talento all’Opera Foundation and EY Foundation will be assigned to the three best performing participants of each course. Students coming from universities or institutions with specific agreements with Sant’Anna School are entitled to reserved places and to a 10% reduction in the enrolment costs. The partner Institutions are: Università di Catania; Università della Tuscia; Università di Trento; Fondazione Onaosi; Università di Messina; Università di Camerino; Università della Calabria; Conferenza dei Collegi Universitari di Merito; Università di Palermo; Università Della Valle D'Aosta; Università Politecnica delle Marche, Università di Siena; e Università degli Studi di Firenze. Students enrolled in Università di Pisa who do not require accommodation will be granted a 40% discount on the tuition fee.
The new Seasonal School catalogue is funded by the PNRR through the MERITA project, a network comprising the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, the Scuola Normale Superiore, the Collegio Superiore of Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, the Galilean School of Advanced Studies of the University of Padua and the School of Advanced Studies - SSAS University of Rome.
PEACE - ProtEcting Art in situations of armed Conflict and Emergency
Application open until August 24th and classes will take place in presence on from September 15th to 19th
The Seasonal School will introduce participants to the urgent topic of the protection of cultural heritage, relying on an interdisciplinary approach. The course will provide the participants with an overview of the legal framework governing the protection of cultural heritage in situations of armed conflict and emergency, as well as with a thorough analysis of the international relations’ perspective, combining also history, archaeology, religion and gender studies. Students will find an interactive and cross-disciplinary learning environment that will combine frontal lectures with the analysis of case studies (Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Mali, Sudan, Ukraine). The participants will be required to actively participate in the group discussions, in-class activities and exercises.
ESEAS - Exploring sea and space: technologies, opportunities and challenges
Application open until August 24th and classes will take place in presence from September 15th to 19th
In the last centuries, humanity has fully explored and mapped the emerged fraction of Earth surface; today it has growing interest in exploring and exploiting the submerged fraction of the Earth as well as the nearby space regions, intensively. To this aim, engineers provide new powerful means (robots, underwater and space communication systems, new nano-satellite solutions); the exploration and exploitation of resources also pose problems relating to the biology of living beings. Moreover, a wide range of new issues arise, about the economic implications and legal implications. The Seasonal School aims to provide a concise overview of the relevant scientific challenges and development prospects in a unitary framework where issues of economic and environmental impact, potential conflicts and regulatory assessments are also addressed.
MEDSKILL - Development of MEDical SKILLs by Simulation
Application open until September 1st and classes will take place in presence from October 6th to 10th
As of today, the need for practical skills and problem-solving capabilities remains largely unmet in many medical school curricula across Europe. Medical school education, in fact, is deeply anchored to a traditional paradigm of learning a discrete amount of information about pathophysiology principles and illnesses’ descriptions, without worrying about developing the skills necessary to work confidently “on the patient”. Digital tools based on macro and microsimulation, thanks to their flexibility, effectiveness, accuracy and accessibility may give a fundamental contribution in solving this issue, and we want to apply their potential in undergraduate medical students’ education. The MEDSKILL school will allow students to get in touch with digital tools that facilitate the study of anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and clinical reasoning; confront virtual patients/mannequins, interpret their artificial symptoms/signs and make decisions, taking into account the appropriateness of the choice, as well as ethical correlates and sustainability; mimic clinical situations to test patient communication skills, simulate the use of diagnostic equipment, team leaders and interventional therapies.
CESM - Circular Economy and Sustainability Management
Application open until September 1st and classes will take place in presence from October 13th to 17th
The CESM Seasonal School explores organizational aspects and innovation facets related to all phases of the product life cycle; moreover, it provides practical overview of how processes, decisions and business models should change in light of the new circular economy paradigm. In more detail, CESM consists of 9 training modules on issues such as: circular economy assessment, circular design, strategy development & business models, communication. Finally, a laboratory is scheduled to apply what students have learned in all previous lessons. Participants will acquire a framework of useful skills to seize the opportunities in the economic shift and to manage the challenges and transformation processes in a circular logic.
WAT-CHANGE - Water-related ecosystem services for adapting societies to climate change
Application open until September 29th and classes will take place in presence from November 3rd to 7th
While climate change is posing at risk traditional water resources management, there is the urgent need to devise low-energy and low-impact solutions to adapt the environment, societies and economies to this threat. The WAT-CHANGE Seasonal School aims at introducing the participants to the new growing area of solutions provided by water-related ecosystem services. In particular, we will deal with nature-based solutions for water supply, treatment of polluted water, and flood risk mitigation such as managed aquifer recharge, river restoration, constructed wetlands, sustainable drainage systems, and remediation of contaminated sites using phytoremediation techniques. At the end of the course the students will have acquired the knowledge and skills that will allow them to understand impact and functions of the main nature-based solutions for solving the most common water resources management problems and start their design.
SYNC - Sustainable sYnergies & Networked Collaboration, a Systemic Perspective on Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Application open until September 29th and classes will take place in presence from November 17th to 21st
The SYNC Seasonal School explores the frontiers of sustainable supply chain management (SCM), equipping participants to tackle the ecological transition amid new regulations, geopolitical tensions, and rising consumer expectations. The course blends theory and real-world case studies to explore how supply chains are evolving technologically, organisationally, and strategically. Participants will analyse tools to design sustainable and resilient SCM models, with a focus on key drivers like geopolitics, innovation, natural resource dependency and circular economy. They will gain hands-on expertise in creating long-term value and developing risk mitigation strategies. The course offers intense engagement with supply chain managers, shedding light on how this profession is changing and the related implications for skills development and organisational design within companies.
