School on
Digital Governance
Join an interdisciplinary learning experience bringing together academic and policy perspectives.
What is the
GIG-ARTS School?
The GIG-ARTS School on Digital Governance is an intensive educational programme on Internet governance and digital technologies.
It brings together different perspectives from academia, industry and policymaking to examine how the Internet is developed, managed, regulated and transformed.
Through lectures, seminars, roundtables and case discussions, participants explore both the technical foundations of the Internet and the political, legal and social questions surrounding its governance.
Preliminary
programme.
Five days of lectures, seminars and multistakeholder roundtables moving from Internet governance and digital sovereignty to cybersecurity, geopolitics and artificial intelligence.
Vincenzo Maraio (Regional Minister for Digitalisation, Campania Region)
Virgilio D’Antonio (Rector, University of Salerno)
Gemma Carolillo (Deputy Head of Future Internet Unit at European Commission) TBC
Chris Mondini (Vice President, ICANN)
Stefano Giordano (President, ISOC Italy)
Maurizio Merico (Director, Department of Political and Social Studies UNISA)
Paolo Parente (CEO, WeBeetle)
Jamal Shahin (Co-Director, GIG-ARTS School)
Mauro Santaniello (Chair, GIG-ARTS; Co-Director, GIG-ARTS School)
Chiara Spiniello (Managing Director, GIG-ARTS School)
Daniela Tiggiano (Connessioni Umane ETS)
Speakers: Marianne Franklin (University of Groningen); Francesca Musiani (CNRS, France); Jamal Shahin (Vrije Universiteit Brussel · UNU-CRIS)
Speakers: Adio-Adet Dinika (University of Bremen · ZeMKI); Riccardo Nanni (CNRS, France); Xiaojuan Grace Yang (Freie Universität Berlin · ICPC)
Business Speaker: TBA
Government: Gemma Carolillo (European Commission) TBC
Technical Community: Chris Mondini (ICANN)
Academic Community: Adio-Adet Dinika (University of Bremen · ZeMKI)
Speakers: Edoardo Celeste (Dublin City University); Riccardo Nanni (CNRS, France); Xiaojuan Grace Yang (Freie Universität Berlin · ICPC)
Speakers: Daniela Piana (University of Bologna); Oreste Pollicino (Bocconi University) TBC; Dennis Redeker (University of Bremen · ZeMKI)
Speakers:
Business: Rosario Sorrentino (Comtel SPA)
Government: TBA
Technical Community: TBA
Academic Community: Claudia Padovani (University of Padova)
Speakers: TBA
Business Speaker: TBA
Government: TBA
Technical Community: Sebastian Hallensleben (Chair, CEN-CENELEC JTC 21 on AI) Online; Andrea Beccalli (ICANN)
Academic Community: Mauro Santaniello (University of Salerno · UNU-CRIS)
Ready to join the
GIG-ARTS School?
The School is designed for PhD students, researchers, practitioners and professionals who want to understand digital governance across technical, political, legal and institutional perspectives.
Register during the Early Bird period to secure the reduced fee and join the 2027 cohort in Salerno.
What participants
say.
The GIG-ARTS School brings together participants from different countries, disciplines and professional backgrounds. Here is what some of our past participants took away from the experience.
“A great chance to learn from a really diverse faculty, exploring theoretical and empirical aspects of digital sovereignty.”
Researcher · Technical University of Munich
Germany
“One of the best academic experiences I’ve had. Both the faculty and the participants were outstanding.”
PhD Student · University of Genoa
Italy
“It was extremely helpful to confront the concepts I research in my PhD with so many different perspectives.”
PhD Student · Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
South Korea
“A phenomenal experience. Highly recommended to anyone interested in Internet governance.”
PhD Student · University of Iceland
Iceland
“The School has really opened my perspective to all kinds of topics regarding internet governance and especially digital sovereignty. I really recommend that you join and share your perspective!”
ICANN
Turkey
“I learned many new perspectives. I met so many interesting people. I can highly recommend it for everybody interested in digital governance.”
PhD Student · University of Bamberg
Germany
A wider ecosystem.
A network connecting research organisations, civic initiatives, academic communities, international organisations and supporters of the 2027 GIG-ARTS School.
Internet & Communication Policy Center
GigaNet
UNU-CRIS
GIG-ARTS Conference Series
UNESCO
AgID · Agenzia per l’Italia Digitale
Internet Society Italia
Dipartimento di Studi Politici e Sociali · UNISA
Comune di Salerno
Università degli Studi di Salerno
Comtel S.p.A.
Associazione Italiana Professionisti Intelligenza Artificiale
The people behind the School.
The GIG-ARTS School is coordinated by an international team responsible for its academic direction, organisation and communication.
Co-directors
- Mauro Santaniello
University of Salerno · UNU-CRIS - Jamal Shahin
Vrije Universiteit Brussel · University of Amsterdam · UNU-CRIS
Organizing Committee
- Managing Director · Chiara Spiniello
University of Bremen · University of Salerno - Head of Communication · Carlos Fonseca Diaz
Ghent University · UNU-CRIS
Scientific Advisory Board
- Berna Akcali GurQueen Mary University of London · UNU-CRIS
- Jeanette HofmannAlexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
- Jan Aart ScholteLeiden University
- Dennis BroedersLeiden University
- Julia PohleCentre Marc Bloch, Berlin
- Niels ten OeverUniversity of Amsterdam
- Joanna KuleszaUniversity of Lodz
- Dennis RedekerUniversity of Bremen
- Riccardo NanniCNRS France
- Nicola PalladinoUniversity of Salerno
- Marianne FranklinUniversity of Groningen
- Daniela PianaUniversity of Bologna
- Claudia PadovaniUniversity of Padova
- Katalin FeherLudovika University of Public Service · KU Leuven
- Francesca MusianiCNRS France
- Chiara SpinielloUniversity of Bremen · University of Salerno
- Andrea BeccalliICANN
- Edoardo CelesteDublin City University, Dublin
- Katharine SarikakisUniversity of Vienna
- Mirko PeranoUniversity of Salerno
- Mauro SantanielloUniversity of Salerno · UNU-CRIS
Meet our community.
Meet the faculty teaching at the 2027 School and the alumni who have already taken part in GIG-ARTS.
Meet the Faculty
Robin Mansell
London School of Economics
Marianne Franklin
University of Groningen
Julia Pohle
Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin
Dennis Redeker
University of Bremen
Meet our Alumni.
Meet the 26 participants who formed the 2026 Bruges cohort and are part of the growing GIG-ARTS School alumni community.
Thorlaug (Thora) Borg Agustsdottir
University of Iceland
Amenah Alhakeem
ICANN
Dorijn Boogaard
ECP
Ryanna Saidnattar
KAIST
Complete your registration.
Join the 3rd GIG-ARTS School in Salerno, 22–26 February 2027. Early Bird registration is €680 until 15 November 2026.