Seasonal School, the new programme for spring 2026. Healthcare, Artificial Intelligence, the role of the European Union in the new international context, the new space economy. All the topics of the new courses organised by the Sant'Anna School

The Seasonal Schools that will take place in March, April and May 2026 address a range of topics including healthcare management and innovation, political and institutional developments within the European Union, and much more. Applications are already open on the Seasonal Schools' website, where you can also consult the call of each Seasonal School: DS@SSSA_2026 - Data Science and Artificial Intelligence for Digital Health with a multidisciplinary perspective (on site classes from March 2nd to 6th), IACH - InnovACtion in Health care: strategy, performance and data management (on site classes from March 9th to 13th), INSIDER - Innovazioni nel Sistema della Rappresentanza (online classes from March 16th to 20th), CROSSROADS The EU in the new global context (on site classes from March 23rd to 27th), INNO-GOOD - Management of Innovation and Common Good (on site classes from April 20th to 24th), DELON - Decoding the European Health Data Space: Navigating impLementatiON (on site classes from May 4th to 8th), PROREMOTE - PROximity care in REMOTE areas: A multidisciplinary approach to proximity care in remote areas (on site classes from May 18th to 22nd) and SP2ARK - Space Plasma Propulsion: Advancements, Research, and Know-how (on site classes from May 25th to 29th).

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 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.

Applications for the Seasonal School

DS@SSSA_2026 - Data Science and Artificial Intelligence for Digital Health with a multidisciplinary perspective 

Application open until January 18th and classes will take place in presence from March 2nd to 6th, 2026.

The Seasonal School intends to offer a multi- and inter-disciplinary learning and training experience on the main tools, methodologies, solutions, and present/future challenges that concern with the technological, socio-economic, legal and healthcare issues arising in the so-called Digital Health domain: from digital devices to software platforms, from artificial intelligence to algorithms and statistics, from structured to unstructured (multimodal) data, from prevention to monitoring and prediction. This Seasonal School will explore both technical topics (e.g. algorithms for BigData platforms, AI and statistical techniques for analyzing, monitoring and predicting on multimodal data, advanced tools and platforms for the healthcare setting), as well as ethical, organizational and regulatory issues related to the use of healthcare data. It will also include practical experiences and case studies on digital applications in the clinical and healthcare context, held by experts in the field. In an era where digital innovations and Big Data management are increasingly pivotal, especially in the health sector, this Seasonal School will equip participants with the proper knowledge and competences that are necessary to understand and apply digital technologies in health and healthcare effectively, while addressing the domain’s unique specificities and needs. 

IACH - InnovACtion in Health care: strategy, performance and data management 

Application open until January 18th and classes will take place in presence from March 9th to 13th , 2026.

The Seasonal School beckons to passionate students eager to delve into the intricate realm of healthcare systems from a unique three-dimensional perspective: organization, stakeholders, and innovative managerial strategies. Our goal is to empower the healthcare system, propelling it towards greater quality, equity, and sustainability.
Dive into a program centered on the dynamic management and innovation of the healthcare sector, offering a hands-on approach through the analysis and interpretation of quantitative data. Picture yourself immersed in captivating case studies and simulations, unraveling the complexities of the healthcare landscape.
This course doesn't just explore cutting-edge topics in the information and data era – it's a journey into the innovative and transformative power of data and managerial practices in the healthcare sector. As we navigate the societal shifts brought about by the pandemic, we dissect the innovation of settings, care pathways, and the resilience of healthcare and social healthcare services. We also delve into the fascinating realm of behavioral economics, providing a holistic view of the evolving healthcare panorama. 

INSIDER - Innovazioni nel Sistema della Rappresentanza 

Application open until January 25th and classes will take place on line from March 16th to 20th, 2026.

The seasonal school offers a selective study program open to motivated undergraduate and PhD students, giving them the opportunity to obtain a specific training on the main current issues concerning political representation, electoral and parliamentary law in a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective that includes law, political science, political philosophy, economy as well as the contribution of other fields (e.g., ICTs). It is a kind of training that no ordinary university course can provide, due to the presence of speakers with different background and expertise. The students will therefore acquire skills that will allow them to critically consider from different points of view the various paradigm changes in political representation.

CROSSROADS The EU in the new global contex 

Application open until January 25th  and classes will take place in presence from March 23rd to 27th, 2026.

The CROSSROADS Seasonal School aims to provide participants with the tools to understand the role of the European Union in the new global context, with respect to the new US administration led by Donald Trump, the conflicts in Ukraine and in the Middle East and the new geopolitical tensions. By the end of the Seasonal School, students will be able to:

• Critically analyse the key and the most recent developments in European Law and Politics;
• Develop methodological skills – across different disciplines, perspectives and approaches – to understand and assess EU decisions and policies;
• Gain an advanced knowledge of EU law and politics and acquire transferable skills to work in the EU institutions, think-tanks, interest groups, and in academia.

INNO-GOOD - Management of Innovation and Common Good 

Application open until February 22nd and classes will take place in presence from April 20th to 24th, 2026.

This Seasonal School addresses a very important topic with a strong interdisciplinary approach, involving especially innovation management, but also sustainability and health management. The specific approach of this Seasonal School (1) aims at arousing the interest of participants from different scientific disciplines and with different professional objectives and (2) focuses on the goal contributing to the common good through regenerative innovation (at the level of universities, companies, institutions and territories). 
The theories and tools for managing innovation in organizations will be presented and discussed not so much with the objective of creating competitive advantage, but as a support to the ability to launch new initiatives of various kinds aimed at creating value for the society as a whole, especially in coherence with the need to rethink the current capitalist system. Emphasis will be given to the role of purpose-driven organizations, their capacity to trigger innovation solutions that address societal problems, as well as on the emergence of new ways of interacting with social, environmental and cultural contexts. In this regard, some paradigms that are today at the center of the debate on the transformation of the economy which is urgently needed will be presented, such as those of social impact assessment, hybrid organizations, and civil economics.

DELON - Decoding the European Health Data Space: Navigating impLementatiON 

Application open until February 22nd and classes will take place in presence from May 4th to 8th, 2026.

This seasonal school aims to develop skills and competences on the European Health Data Space (EHDS), which will gradually become applicable over the next years and will reshape the regulation of primary and secondary uses of health data within the European Union's evolving data protection framework. Participants will master the fundamental innovations introduced by the EHDS, regarding both primary and secondary uses of health data. The course will ensure deep learning of the interplay between EHDS and existing data protection frameworks, especially the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Participants will analyse the EHDS within the broader European Data Strategy, including its relationship with the Data Governance Act and Data Act. By the end of the program, they will be able to design practical compliance solutions that coordinate EHDS requirements with existing legislative frameworks. 

PROREMOTE - PROximity care in REMOTE areas: A multidisciplinary approach to proximity care in remote areas 

Application open until February 22nd  and classes will take place in presence from May 18th to 22nd, 2026.

Recently, the importance of promoting local health and ensure proximity of care for patients emerged as evident from different perspectives. Covid-19 pandemic was an exceptional period that brought awareness to politicians, professionals, and people about the necessity of renewing lives in terms of sustainability, digital access to services, and social connectedness. How is it possible to pursue these objectives also in inner areas, mountain areas or small islands? How is it possible to guarantee equity of treatment and excellence of care when citizens live far from large welfare centres? PROREMOTE is designed to present evidence and applied cases to answering these questions. 
The Seasonal School will introduce participants specifically to the urgent topic of proximity of care according to the social, psychological, experimental and engineer sciences. Students will be involved on the issues inherent to the enhancement of data, organizational models, and technological solutions for local areas. Implications for decision making and service management will be provided, with a focus on the support to innovation of services and on the strengthening social protection networks of the analysed contexts. 

SP2ARK - Space Plasma Propulsion: Advancements, Research, and Know-how 

Application open until February 22nd  and classes will take place in presence from May 25th to 29th, 2026.

The main objective of the Seasonal School ECLIRE is to provide compact and focused training on the social, political economic and legal aspects of climate change, analysed from a different profiles perspective according to the ethical categories, both individual and collective. 
The three training pillars of ECLIRE are individual climate ethics, global climate justice, and intergenerational responsibility. These ethical issues will be addressed in a transdisciplinary way, first through the participation of moral and political philosophers, then social scientists, economists, geographers, lawyers, social psychologists, physicists and mathematicians, policy-makers, and even climate activists. 
The climate issue will be addressed in many of its specific and most relevant topical derivations (in the form of specific focuses, providing for modes of high interaction between participants and lecturers): from the issue of energy to that of climate finance, from the declination of sustainability for citizens and businesses to biodiversity and its ethical, social and economic implications, and passing through the participation and political representation of the new generations.