International Summer School of Psychology and the Humanities – PsyHuman

From tension to transformation: narrative and participatory approaches to interpersonal, ideological and socio-cultural clashes

About the Summer School

Join the 2026 edition of the International Summer School in Psychology and the Humanities (PsyHuman), a multidisciplinary programme exploring how interpersonal, ideological, and socio-cultural tensions and conflicts can become opportunities for dialogue, participation, and social transformation.

The PsyHuman International Summer School 2026 is jointly organised by the University of Trento (UNITN), the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (UNIBZ), and the University of Innsbruck (UIBK). This edition has benefited from the support of the Euregio Mobility Fund, further strengthening its international and cross-border character.

Bringing together students, researchers, and professionals from different
backgrounds, the programme offers a unique space for critical reflection and collaborative learning on contemporary forms of conflict, agency, and participation.
 

Programme

Our immersive programme addresses issues of conflict and engagement with a focus on the participative processes involved in interpersonal, ideological and socio-cultural clashes.

The programme features in-person seminars, workshops, and outdoor activities, taking place from Monday to Friday in the first week and from Monday to Wednesday in the second week, leaving the weekend free for rest and exploration.

• Seminars will be delivered by both faculty members of the Euregio territory (UNITN, UNIBZ, and UIBK) and external guests, to ensure a multidisciplinary approach, and a variety of topics and methodologies. Participants will be encouraged to share their own knowledge and competencies in the classroom.
• Narrative Medicine and Photovoice Workshops: Activities based on the
  signature practices of Narrative Medicine and PhotoVoice for affiliation and perspective-taking.
• Outdoor activities: a range of full-day and half-day excursions, offering
  opportunities to explore the local area and engage in experiential learning (details to be announced).
   

Contents

The programme draws on a wide range of approaches to conflict and agency, including those of psychology, design, narrative medicine, gender studies, literature and the arts, philosophy, and history.

Seminars and workshops address issues such as

• academic freedom violations and youth education and activism
• designing technologies for emancipatory futures
• gendered spaces and inclusive public environments
• human rights NGOs and transnational activism during the 1970s
• mediating tensions in Australian Aboriginal literature and art
• narrative encounters with difficult pasts in literature related to colonial India
• narrative medicine and PhotoVoice
• participatory approaches to community interventions in social psychology
• peace and human rights
• psychological mechanisms behind intergroup conflict and reconciliation
• robot abuse
• scientific research without borders
• sexuality studies and artivism
• the psychology of neoliberal ideology in the polycrisis
• understanding men's responses to gender equality
   

Period

In-presence activities in Rovereto (TN, Italy) will start on Monday morning 14 September and will finish on Wednesday afternoon 23 September, plus an optional online session approximately a month after the end of the School (see ‘Workload and Credits’ below).
 

Venue

Academic activities will take place at the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science (DiPSCo, UNITN), in Rovereto (Trento province, Italy).
Seminars and workshops will be held at Palazzo Piomarta, corso Bettini 84, Rovereto (Italy). Some workshops could be held in the garden in palazzo Fedrigotti, Corso Bettini 31 in Rovereto.
 

Workload and Credits

The Psyhuman Summer School is taught entirely through English. The programme consists of approx. 7 hours per day of activities (seminars, workshops, excursions).

At the end of the in-presence activities all participants will receive an Attendance certificate.
Optional: participants of the post-School online session (optional) will be sent an official UniTrento Transcript of records certifying 6 ECTS and a mark. Please, refer to the Syllabus and Assessment Tasks document in the download Box.

Participants are encouraged to consult their home university’s student support office to determine whether participation in the Summer School may be recognised for academic credits, thesis-related activities, or other forms of extracurricular credit, in accordance with their programme regulations.
 

Participants’ Background

International and Euregio students are welcome.

The PsyHuman International Summer School is open to up min. 15 and max. 25 senior Bachelor’s degree (from second year) and all Master’s degree students.

The programme is particularly suited for students in psychology, the humanities, social sciences, and gender studies, but it is not limited to these fields. We warmly welcome students from any discipline who are eager to enhance their multidisciplinary competence and engage with novel perspectives on conflict and agency.

A good command of English is essential, with a minimum proficiency of B2 level (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).
 

Application Process

The online application tool and instructions for the authentication are available here. If you have any registration problems, you can find the guide in the section Useful links.
All students are required to upload their CV, most recent ToR (Transcript of Records), complete identity document, English certificate and a motivation letter (in English).
The Summer School will take place with a minimum number of 15 and maximum 25 participants. Participation is open to Euregio and international students.
 

Deadlines

All students are required to upload their CV, ToR (Transcript of Records), complete identity document, English certificate, and a motivation letter when applying online.

The online application tool is available from the section Useful links.

Please, apply by 12:00 p.m. (noon) on 24 July 2026.

Summary of Activities and Deadlines

Online application |------------------------------------------------> by 12:00 p.m. (noon) on 24 July 2026
Publication of the ranking list |----------------------------------> by 28 July 2026
Confirmation of participation and payment of the fee |-------> by 11:59 p.m. on 28 August 2026
Start of the summer school |-------------------------------------> 14 September 2026
End of the summer school |--------------------------------------> 23 September 2026
 

Fees and Scholarships

Participation fee: €300,00.

Fee waivers: Thanks to the support of the Euregio Mobility Fund, six fee waivers are available for Euregio students. All candidates must apply through the regular application procedure. Based on the final ranking, as determined by the evaluation of applicants’ CVs and motivation letters, the Summer School’s Euregio Committee will award six fee waivers – two to students from UNITN, two from UNIBZ, and two from UIBK. The selected recipients will be announced together with the ranking list and will be exempt from paying the €300,00 participation fee.

The fee/scholarship includes: 

• seminars and workshops
• lunch in the university canteen from Monday to Friday (first week) and from Monday to Wednesday (second week)
• a socio-cultural programme (outdoor activities)
• a farewell lunch
• PsyHuman Lab welcome kit.

At your charge and under your responsibility are: 

• dinner
• weekend meals
• housing (see the useful links for hints)
• travel
• transportation expenses once you arrive at UniTrento and the surrounding area unless you get from your host the Trentino Guest Card
• Visa and health insurance, if needed (for students living outside the European Union)
   

Accommodation

All participants are responsible for planning and paying for their own lodging in Rovereto, possibly near the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science and the city centre, where classes will be held. Ideally, check-in should be on Sunday 13 September. 

Possible housing solutions in the Info Kit in the downloads.
 

Scientific Committee 

prof. Maria Micaela Coppola (Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, UNITN) – coordinator
prof. Sara Dellantonio (Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, UNITN)
prof. Tobias Greitemeyer (Department of Psychology, UIBK)
prof. Maria Menendez-Blanco (Faculty of Engineering, UNIBZ)
prof. Maria Paola Paladino (Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, UNITN)
 

Useful links and Info

UniTrentoMAG article 17.09.2021
PsyHuman Lab
How to arrive in Rovereto
Discover Rovereto