EUTOPIA’s 2026 Doctoral Summer School brings 30 researchers together to rethink AI through interdisciplinary perspectives.
The EUTOPIA Doctoral Summer School 2026 took place this year under the theme “Humanity for AI”, bringing together 30 doctoral students in an intensive programme dedicated to interdisciplinarity, innovation, and the impact of doctoral research on contemporary challenges.
Promoted within the framework of NOVA Doctoral School, this Summer School aims to provide doctoral students with an innovative and enriching experience, demonstrating the impact of interdisciplinarity within their own research fields. It is the only Doctoral School programme that welcomes international doctoral students, fostering exchange across scientific areas, institutions, and academic cultures.
The 2026 edition stands out from previous editions due to the diversity and origin of its international participants. For the first time, the EUTOPIA Doctoral Summer School welcomes three students from outside the EUTOPIA Alliance: two from the Czech Republic and one from Poland. This expansion highlights the programme’s growing visibility and consolidated international recognition.
This year’s programme has once again reached its maximum capacity, with 30 doctoral students: 13 international students and 17 students from eight NOVA Schools. In total, the edition brings together 12 nationalities, 21 research fields, six external universities — four from the EUTOPIA Alliance, one from Poland and one from the Czech Republic — and eight NOVA Schools.
The theme “Humanity for AI” invites participants to reflect on the role of humanity in the development, use, and impact of artificial intelligence. Throughout the programme, doctoral students were challenged to bring together different disciplinary perspectives, question assumptions, and explore new ways of approaching research in a context shaped by technological transformation
The 2026 edition also included the participation of two resident professors from the EUTOPIA Alliance: Professor Karen François, from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, who has been involved in the Summer School since its first edition, and Professor Merixtell Joan Rodríguez, from Pompeu Fabra University, who joined the programme for the first time. The programme also included three NOVA professors serving on the Committee, three NOVA mentors, and two NOVA professors as invited keynote speakers
