The Europaeum Summer School 2026:
Creativity & Innovation
Jagiellonian University | Kraków | 7 – 9 July 2026
Creativity and innovation stand at the heart of today’s Europe and at its capacity to seize emerging opportunities. Europeans, however, must navigate digital transformations, climate transitions, demographic shifts, and evolving global competition to attain them.
This Europaeum Summer School will bring together master’s and doctoral researchers at Europaeum member universities to Kraków, a UNESCO City of Literature and a historic centre of learning, to examine creativity and innovation’s multifaceted intersections. Participants may come from a humanities, social science, or policy studies background (or beyond). They will explore the conditions needed to cultivate and sustain creative processes and innovative environments (democracy, rule of law, economic systems). They will also consider how we can direct those processes and environments towards societal benefit.
We invite applications from students in all relevant disciplines who wish to join the discussions or to present a 15-minute paper based on their research. We especially welcome proposals for papers addressing the theme in relation to the following topics:
- Creative economies and cultural industries
- Innovation policy and European competitiveness
- Digital creativity and technological innovation
- Social innovation and civic engagement
- Creative cities and urban regeneration
- Innovation in governance and public administration
- Artistic practice and cultural transformation
- Scientific creativity and research methodologies
- Education, pedagogy, and fostering creativity
- Intellectual property and innovation ecosystems
- Cultural heritage and creative renewal
- Innovation in sustainability and green transitions
- Creative entrepreneurship and startup cultures
- Cross-sector collaboration and knowledge transfer
- Regional innovation systems and disparities
- Design thinking and problem-solving approaches
All students currently enrolled on Master’s or PhD courses at a Europaeum member university are eligible to apply for this event. Successful candidates will be provided with accommodation and subsistence free of charge and will be reimbursed reasonable travel expenses within Europe.
Applications should include a completed Europaeum application form, a brief CV, a cover letter or statement of purpose (up to 500 words), and a reference letter you’re your supervisor or academic advisor, all sent to applications@europaeum.org. Those who wish to submit a paper should also add a short abstract of the proposed paper (up to 500 words).
For more information about how to apply visit: https://europaeum.org/programmes/events-activities/
Deadline for submission of applications and abstracts: 27 March 2026.
