A Week of Ideas, Collaboration and Community: The 8th STS Italia Summer School in Trieste
8th STS Italia Summer School Jointly Organized with STS Austria
The first Summer School jointly organised by STS Italia and STS Austria took place in Trieste, bringing together 20 early-career researchers from across Europe, the United States, Japan and Brazil for an inspiring week dedicated to artificial intelligence and the future of healthcare.
The Summer School offered an intensive and varied programme combining lectures, panel and roundtable discussions, hands-on sessions and collaborative group work. Participants explored the social, organisational and political implications of AI in healthcare, engaging with leading scholars from both associations and transforming the themes introduced during the lectures into shared reflections and creative group projects.
The programme featured contributions from Silvia Gherardi and Attila Bruni from the University of Trento, and from STS Italia members Paolo Giardullo, Francesco Miele, Simone Arnaldi and Teresa Scantamburlo. STS Austria was represented by Doris Allhutter and Juliane Jarke, while invited speakers Francis Lee and Dorthe Kristensen further enriched the programme with their perspectives and research.
A particularly important part of the week was the group work, facilitated by early-career researchers Alessandra Vitale, Laura Galloro, Lorenzo Carta, Manuel Battigaglia and Pierluigi Masai. Their support helped create an open and collaborative environment in which participants could exchange ideas, experiment with different perspectives and develop collective responses to challenging questions about technological innovation and healthcare futures.
The Summer School was not only an opportunity for intellectual exchange. It also created space for informal conversations, new friendships and the enjoyment of Trieste’s beautiful urban landscape and excellent food. These moments were an essential part of the experience, strengthening the sense of community that developed throughout the week. The enthusiastic feedback received from participants confirmed what organisers and faculty members experienced during the event: a lively, generous and rewarding atmosphere, made possible by everyone’s curiosity, commitment and active participation.
A very warm thank you goes to the local organisers, Francesco Miele and Simone Arnaldi, to all the lecturers, speakers and facilitators, and especially to the participants, whose energy made the Summer School such a success.
This first joint initiative marked an important step in the collaboration between STS Italia and STS Austria. We are delighted to have embarked on this experience together and to have strengthened cross-national connections within the wider European STS community and EASST.
We hope that the conversations, collaborations and friendships begun in Trieste will continue well beyond the Summer School. Participants and colleagues are warmly invited to remain connected with the STS Italia community through our website and future activities, including the 11th STS Italia Conference, scheduled for June 2027.
We look forward to meeting again soon!