The international Summer School is organized by the Lake Como School for Advanced Studies and coordinated by the scholars of the WP5/Spoke 10 group within the national project Age-IT. Ageing well in an ageing society (PNRR): Prof. Laura Formenti (University of Milano-Bicocca), Prof. Amelia Compagni (Bocconi University), Prof. Cristina Mele (University of Naples Federico II), and Prof. Tiziana Nazio (University of Turin/University of Eastern Piedmont), in collaboration with: CAPTED – Departmental Research Centre for Changes and Educational Potentials in the Digital Transition, University of Milano-Bicocca; the LEAA Board (Learning & Education for Active Ageing, Age-IT); ESREA; RUIAP; and the doctoral programme Education in the Contemporary Society at the University of Milano-Bicocca.

The School addresses the theme of transitions, adopting the theoretical and epistemological framework of complexity and the perspective of “doing transitions” as an overarching lens for interdisciplinary research on ageing. Participants will be actively engaged through keynote lectures and discussions, methodological workshops, doctoral and early-career research presentations, personalized supervision sessions, and collaborative writing groups, under the guidance of four distinguished keynote speakers and a wide range of international experts from diverse research fields—including adult education, life-course sociology, (co-)design of services, technological (co-)design, critical and social gerontology, and more. Research will be presented and discussed drawing on qualitative, quantitative, dialogical, participatory, and critical approaches, with the aim of developing complex interpretations of longevity and of the challenges it poses for education, care, social networks, services, and territorial transformations.
Today interdisciplinarity has become indispensable in research, as complex problems require the convergence of multiple perspectives to open up non-linear pathways of understanding and intervention—pathways that remain open to possibilities while respecting the rights, needs, and aspirations of the people involved. Yet, this path is demanding: it requires rigorous methodological grounding as well as an awareness of potential obstacles and solutions.

The School’s objective is to offer an immersive, dialogical, and intensive experience for doctoral candidates, early-career researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and senior scholars alike, fostering the development of new ideas, nurturing interdisciplinary dialogue, and encouraging collaboration on future projects. Proposals are especially welcome on lifelong learning in later life, intergenerationality, transformations in contemporary life-course trajectories, the co-design and generative evaluation of services, technological tools, and media, as well as measures to promote service accessibility, active ageing, and locally and nationally sensitive policies.

• Transitions in ageing
• Educational gerontology and bibliometric perspectives
• Intersectionality and inequalities in healthy ageing
• Technology domestication and more-than-human interactions

The program offers lectures with discussion, methodological workshops, PhD students’ presentations, supervision sessions, and collaborative writing groups. The participants will be actively involved in all the sessions. PhD students will work together to develop a collaborative proposal and exploit new knowledge and insights provoked by the school.

• Laura Formenti, University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Human Sciences for Education “R. Massa” – laura.formenti@unimib.it
• Amelia Compagni, Bocconi University, Milano, Department of Social and Political Sciences (SPS), Center for Research in Health and Social Care Management (CeRGAS) – amelia.compagni@unibocconi.it
• Cristina Mele, University of Naples “Federico II”, Department of Economics, Management, Institutions – cristina.mele@unina.it
• Tiziana Nazio, University of Turin, Department of Cultures, Policies, and Societies, University of Eastern Piedmont, tiziana.nazio@unito.it

• Stefania Bandini, Department of Computer Science, Systems and Communication, University of Milano-Bicocca
• Paolo Berta, Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca
• Vanna Boffo, Department of Education, Languages, Intercultures, Literature and Psychology, University of Florence
• Maria Vittoria Bufali, Department of Social and Political Science, Centre for Research on Health and Social Care Management, Bocconi University
• Davide Cino, Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca
• Maria Gravani, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Open University Cyprus, ESREA ReNAdet network 
• Larissa Jögi, School of Educational Sciences, Tallin University, Estonia; ESREA ReNAdet network 
• Davide Lucantoni, Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Ageing, INRCA-IRCCS, Ancona
• Marialuisa Marzullo, Department of Economics Management, Institutions, University of Naples “Federico II”
• Emanuela Maria Sala, Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milano-Bicocca
• George Zarifis, School of Philosophy and Education, Aristotle University Thessaloniki, Greece, ESREA ReNAdet network

Lake Como School of Advanced Studies - Villa del Grumello, Como, Italy 

The school is organized in collaboration with:

• CAPTED – Center for Educational Changes and Potentials in the Digital Transition. University of Milano Bicocca - www.formazione.unimib.it
• Age-It – WP5/Spoke 10 & LEAA Board (Learning & Education for Active Aging) - ageit.eu
• European Society for Research in the Education of Adults (ESREA), namely 3 of its research networks: Education and Learning of Older Adults (ELOA), Adult Educators, Trainers, and their Professional Development (ReNadeT); Life History and Biography (LHBN) - esrea.org
• Italian University Network for Lifelong Learning (RUIAP) - www.ruiap.it
• PhD “Education in the contemporary society”, University of Milano Bicocca