Seasonal School: the full program for summer 2026 of the excellence training courses organized by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies. How and when to apply, and all available benefits
Agroecology, economics, crop genetics, gender studies, and future mobile network technologies (5G, B5G, 6G) are among the cutting-edge topics covered by courses designed for students enrolled in Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD programs
Cutting-edge, strongly interdisciplinary research lies at the heart of the new Seasonal School program scheduled for June and July 2026. These excellence training pathways, organized by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and aimed at students enrolled in Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD programs, cover a wide range of topics—from the design of sustainable production systems to methodologies for studying crop genetic diversity, from gender studies to future mobile network technologies.
What the Seasonal School are
The Seasonal Schools have a duration of one week; they are held preferably in English and may be held on-site or online. Participants will be awarded a certificate of attendance at the end of the program after passing a final examination, with full recognition of the credits (CFU) indicated in each call.
They are open primarily to university students enrolled in Bachelor Degree, Masters’ Degree or Master's Diploma who have the same advancement characteristics as the School’s students. The participation of students registered in PhD courses is possible according to the rules indicated in each call.
Candidates eligible for admission are enrolled in an Italian or foreign university and must be on track relative to the examinations required by their educational institutions and with an average examination mark at least equal to 27/30 in the Italian system, or at least B in international system.
Access to Seasonal Schools requires a self-certified knowledge of the teaching language at or above B2 level if students are not mother tongue speakers.
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 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.
More info are avaible on website: https://www.santannapisa.it/en/training/seasonal-school
The programm for summer 2026
DESIRES: DEsign of SustaInable and REsilient production Systems
Applications open until April 26th, and classes will take place in presence from June 8th - 12th, 2026.
The Seasonal School will introduce participants to the extremely relevant topic of designing production systems that are sustainable from an environmental point of view and resilient to climate change and other environmentalpressures.
The learning objectives of the DESIRES seasonal school therefore include: present a review of the state of the Earth climate and its expected future evolution; discuss the main design frameworks published in the peer-reviewed literature, in particular in the engineering field (life cycle design), in the field of design and planning (design thinking) and in the field of moral philosophy (ethical design); develop the ability to understand and apply the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology (including introduction to an open-source software) as the main operational tool of life cycle thinking design; rise awareness of the regulatory reference system in which the skills related to the design of sustainable and resilient production systems are applied and provide a structured set of knowledge and experiences functional to interpret the role of sustainability manager in an innovative, effective and modern way; investigate the challenges linked to the management of transformation processes at the corporate organization level in a life cycle thinking logic and know how to apply the knowledge acquired in a functional way in the development of one's own skills
GWASchool - A Practical Introduction to Genome-Wide Association Studies in Plants
Applications open until April 26th, and classes will take place in presence from June 22nd - 26th, 2026.
The genetic diversity of plants is a crucial resource for developing resilient crops capable of adapting to continuously changing climatic and environmental conditions. The Seasonal School aims to provide participants with the knowledge and skills needed to investigate the genetic bases of agronomically relevant traits. The program covers the entire GWAS process, from the statistical basics of genome association studies to the validation of the results through molecular approaches. Each class will consist of lectures paired with practical hands-on sessions, ensuring direct involvement of the participants, who will be trained in the use of Bash and R programming languages and will engage in data analysis workshops using real-world datasets. Additionally, the school will feature guest lectures from renowned Institutions, offering insights into cutting-edge developments and applications of state-of-art technologies, with present and future applications to plant breeding. The multidisciplinary connotation of this Seasonal School aims to attract participants with different backgrounds ranging from molecular biology to agricultural science.
ECOINN- Economics of Innovation and Technological Change
Applications open until April 26th, and classes will take place in presence from June 22nd - 26th, 2026.
The Seasonal School programme on “Economics of Innovation and Technical Change” addresses both the theoretical and the empirical underpinnings of the economics of innovation and technical change, as well as recent debates at the frontier of the field. The topics covered include: technological paradigms and trajectories, innovation and firm strategies, analysis of patent data, general purpose technologies, innovation and competitiveness, innovation and intellectual property rights. The programme also offers an overview of statistical methods and techniques aimed at analysing relevant empirical data for innovation studies. Students will gain frameworks and tools to understand key issues in this field: how do we measure innovation? What is the connection between intellectual property rights regimes and innovation? Which are the most effective tools to foster innovation in different contexts? What are the determinants and the effects of the diffusion of new technologies?
AGROECOLOGY 26 – A transdisciplinary approach to truly sustainable agricultural and food systems
Applications open until May 10th,and classes will take place in presence from June 29th - July 3rd, 2026.
The Seasonal School will use highly interactive teaching methodologies focused on Active Learning. Frontal teaching, deliberately reduced and set up on an interactive seminar basis, will aim to frame the theoretical background of the topics progressively introduced and provide participants with basic skills that will allow them to make the most of the subsequent moments of interaction within the group, with the teachers, and with the farmer. In each morning or afternoon session, moments of frontal teaching and interactive teaching will alternate, in order to create a positive group dynamic and maximise stimulation and participation for both students and teachers, while minimising moments of fatigue. The Active Learning methodologies to be used are: presentation of and discussion on case studies; group work (preparation for the farm visit and ex-post return in plenary); role playing; serious games; visit to an agro-ecological farm during which the participants will interview the farmer and acquire useful elements for the subsequent return in plenary.
FemGen - Gender Studies and Feminist Theory. A Multidisciplinary Perspective
Applications open until May 10th,and classes will take place in presence from June 29th - July 3rd, 2026.
The Seasonal School will introduce participants to the pivotal perspective of gender studies with a multidisciplinary critical perspective, combining different approaches in social sciences. In order to tackle the most relevant issues in contemporary gender studies and feminist theory, participants will be provided with most relevant conceptual tools from an epistemological, political, economical, legal and philosophical point of view as well as with a cross-cutting knowledge of the different theoretical-methodological frameworks employed in the debate. Other than providing a theoretical-political framework on the contribution of the gender dimension in social sciences, the training programme will require participants to reflect on global and intersectional perspectives as well as on the impact of policies and politics on everyday challenges (gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), illiberal trends threatening the rights of different subjectivities in the public space). The aim of the Seasonal School is to educate students to develop a critical understanding of the impact of such challenges on the society as a whole, from a political, legal, economical and social perspective informed by a feminist intersectional standpoint.
ABMinECO - Agent-based models in Economics: theory, toolkit and policy laboratories
Applications open until May 24th, and classes will take place in presence from July 6th - 10th, 2026.
The Seasonal School is intended to achieve the following objectives:
• Learning of agent-based modelling techniques (ABMs) as a tool of analysis and interpretation of economic and social processes.
• Development and design of agent-based models through software laboratories (Laboratory for Simulation Development platform, LSD).
• Introduction to statistical and econometric techniques for the analysis of macroevolutionary agent-based models (R software).
Competencies provided include:
• Theories and applications of agent-based models in micro and macroeconomics uncovering diverse thematic areas such as technical progress, business cycles, labour markets, economic growth, climate change.
• Empirical validation and analysis of models' parametric space.
• Scenarios-based analysis and policy experiments.
BEEP - Biology for human space exploration
Applications open until May 24th,and classes will take place in presence from July 13th - 17th, 2026.
The Seasonal School offers a unique opportunity to gain focused knowledge about the biological and physiological impacts of space travel on the human body and other living organisms, highlighting at the same time the opportunities it offers for protecting and improving human life on Earth. Space exploration has provided experimental biologists with a new and unprecedented way to study life. However, it has also been revealed that differences in fundamental environmental parameters compared to Earth must be understood to ensure the safety and feasibility of life and work in extraterrestrial environments. This need is increasingly urgent with the rise of commercial access to and exploitation of space, as major space agencies including the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency are planning human outposts in space with the support of industrial investments. Elements of Space Law and research on Life Cycle Assessment will also be provided.
ARTIST - Pervasive ARTIficial Intelligence for Next-G Softwarized neTworks
Applications open until May 24th,and classes will take place in presence from July 20th - 24th, 2026.
Future mobile network technologies (B5G, 6G, i.e. next-G) will allow the creation of new applications that will transform the way people live, work and interact with the environment. The educational objectives of the proposed seasonal school are to understand and to learn:
- the architectures of future cellular systems with regard to the radio interface, the wired segment and the software components such as virtualized entities, edge computing and AI-aided resource allocation;
- the main features of data traffic transport and routing technologies in 5G/6G networks, telemetry techniques and advanced traffic conditioning techniques; the role of AI in Next-G Softwarized neTworks, including how it can be used to automate network operations, optimize resource allocation, and enhance the overall user experience.
- the emerging services (VR, telemedicine, metaverse) that may be delivered by next-G networks and how they are able to meet the stringent requirements that such services require;
- the impact of the aforementioned services on the sustainability of the planet and the global challenges of the 21st century.
The Seasonal School ARTIST has been designed to critically evaluate and elaborate on these new technologies and the opportunities that are offered by next-G network architectures.
