The PRAXIS research group at the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS, KIT Karlsruhe) and the Käte Hamburger Kolleg: Cultures of Research (c:o/re) at RWTH Aachen University will host an International Summer School for PhD students, titled “The impacts of digitalization on science and society in the quest for more sustainable futures”, from July 6-10, 2026, in Donostia-San Sebastián.
The transformative effects of the digitalization of science are evident at various levels, but its interactions with, and future impacts on, the broader socio-cultural transformations of science and society remain largely unknown and call for further research. Accordingly, the Summer School will focus on the following key topics:
- Transformations in scientific knowledge production through digitalization
- Transformations of scientific cultures in everyday practices
- Transformations of science–society interactions in transdisciplinary and transformative research through real-world experiments using digital twins
- Concepts and methodologies for the assessment and governance of digital transformation activities
- Varieties of knowledge production and their transformation through digitalization worldwide
Keynote lecturers of the Summer School will be Prof. Dr. Gabriele Gramelsberger, KHK c:o/re, Prof. Dr. Harro van Lente, full professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Maastricht University, and Prof. Dr. Stefano Balbi, Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) and IKERBASQUE – Basque Foundation for Science, Basque Country.
The Summer School invites PhD-researchers worldwide from a broad range of Humanities, Social Studies and Cultural Studies, Science & Technology Studies (STS) and Technology Assessment (TA) and other inter- and transdisciplinary approaches such as policy-, sustainability-, and transformative-research, which address the interrelations of digitalization of science and socio-cultural transformations.
Please apply by February 15, 2026, at the latest, by sending your proposals to Bettina-Johanna.Krings@kit.edu.
For the requirements of your application and further information concerning the content and research questions of the Summer School, see the flyer.