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.
Monday · 22 February
Opening & Digital Power
Virgilio D’Antonio (Rector, University of Salerno)
Gemma Carolillo (Deputy Head of Future Internet Unit at European Commission) TBC
Chris Mondini (Vice President, ICANN) TBC
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)
Tuesday · 23 February
Internet Governance
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) TBC
Academic Community: Xiaojuan Grace Yang (Freie Universität Berlin · ICPC)
Wednesday · 24 February
Digital Sovereignty & Constitutionalism
Speakers: Edoardo Celeste (Dublin City University); Riccardo Nanni (CNRS, France); Adio-Adet Dinika (University of Bremen · ZeMKI)
Speakers: Oreste Pollicino (Bocconi University) TBC; Daniela Piana (University of Bologna); Claudia Padovani (University of Padova)
Thursday · 25 February
Cybersecurity & Geopolitics
Speakers:
Business Speaker: TBA
Government: TBA
Technical Community: TBA
Academic Community: Claudia Padovani (University of Padova)
Speakers: TBA
Friday · 26 February
Artificial Intelligence
Business Speaker: TBA
Government: TBA
Technical Community: Sebastian Hallensleben (Resaro · CEN-CENELEC JTC 21); 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.
Your place in the 2027 cohort starts here.
Register by 15 November for the €680 Early Bird fee and save €120 compared with the regular fee.
Meet our community.
Learn with leading scholars and practitioners in digital governance, and discover the Scientific Advisory Board supporting the academic development of GIG-ARTS.
Meet the Faculty
Adio-Adet Dinika
University of Bremen (ZeMKI)
Joe Burton
Lancaster University
Dennis Redeker
University of Bremen
Robin Mansell
London School of Economics
Riccardo Nanni
CNRS France
Oreste Pollicino
Bocconi University
Francesca Musiani
CNRS France
Julia Pohle
Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin
Niels ten Oever
University of Amsterdam
Marianne Franklin
University of Groningen
Daniela Piana
University of Bologna
Xiaojuan Grace Yang
Freie Universität Berlin · ICPC
Andrea Beccalli
ICANN
Edoardo Celeste
Dublin City University
Claudia Padovani
University of Padova
Scientific Advisory Board
Berna Akcali Gur
Queen Mary University of London · UNU-CRIS
Jeanette Hofmann
Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
Jan Aart Scholte
Leiden University
Dennis Broeders
Leiden University
Julia Pohle
Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin
Niels ten Oever
University of Amsterdam
Joanna Kulesza
University of Lodz
Dennis Redeker
University of Bremen
Riccardo Nanni
CNRS France
Nicola Palladino
University of Salerno
Marianne Franklin
University of Groningen
Daniela Piana
University of Bologna
Claudia Padovani
University of Padova
Katalin Feher
Ludovika University of Public Service · KU Leuven
Francesca Musiani
CNRS France
Chiara Spiniello
University of Bremen · University of Salerno
Andrea Beccalli
ICANN
Edoardo Celeste
Dublin City University, Dublin
Katharine Sarikakis
University of Vienna
Mauro Santaniello
University of Salerno · UNU-CRIS
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
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
Tommaso Del Becaro
University of Genoa
Jon Meyer
University of Bamberg
Nathan Paschoalini
NIC.br
Ryanna Saidnattar
KAIST
Sofie Schönborn
Schwarz Digits · Technical University of Munich
Frederic Heymans
imec-SMIT · Vrije Universiteit Brussel · Knowledge Centre Data & Society
Seung Hyun Kim
KAIST
Eleonore Kaerner
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Klara Matusewicz
University of Manchester
Nicolas Depoortere
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Łukasz Dulęba
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
Pieter Duysburgh
Knowledge Centre Data & Society · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Armando Antonio Ferrara
University of Salerno · ICPC
Nanae Baldauff
UNU-CRIS
Koen Borghys
UNU-CRIS · imec-SMIT · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Richard Burchill
UNU-CRIS
Daniela Chamorro
UNU-CRIS
Chaimaa El Hankouri
UNU-CRIS · Ghent University
Maxime Gallant
UNU-CRIS · Ghent University
Thiago Guimarães Moraes
UNU-CRIS · Vrije Universiteit Brussel · ANPD
Hatice Nihan Sarihan
UNU-CRIS
Bo Scheerlinck
UNU-CRIS · Ghent University
Görkem Yavuz
UNU-CRIS
Complete your registration.
Join the 3rd GIG-ARTS School in Salerno, 22–26 February 2027. Early Bird registration is €680 until 15 November 2026.