GARR Conference 2026 in Pisa: digital ethics, technological autonomy and the shared future of research
From 19 to 21 May, at the Fibonacci Campus of the University of Pisa, three days with experts in networking and digital innovation.
The GARR Conference 2026 returns, the annual event for the research and education community dedicated to the evolution of digital infrastructures and services. The 2026 edition, titled “La forma del cambiamento. Tra etica digitale e radici condivise” (“The Shape of Change. Between digital ethics and shared roots”), will take place from 19 to 21 May at the University of Pisa, with a training day scheduled for 18 May.
The event will bring together leading figures from the national and international scientific and technological landscape. Among the more than 50 speakers are Edoardo Martelli (CERN), Walter Quattrociocchi (Sapienza University of Rome), Adriano Fabris and Paolo Passaglia (University of Pisa), Roberto Di Cosmo (Software Heritage Foundation), Klaas Wierenga (GÉANT), Paolo Cremonesi (Politecnico di Milano), Stefano Epifani (Fondazione per la Sostenibilità Digitale) and Denise Amram (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna), together with representatives from universities, research centres and institutions.
The Conference offers an opportunity for discussion between those who use the GARR network and those who contribute to its development, fostering dialogue on the transformations reshaping the digital landscape of research.
The programme is structured over three days. The first day focuses on the role of digital infrastructures as enabling foundations for research, with sessions dedicated to networks, services and platforms, alongside reflections on European digital autonomy. Attention will also be given to the ethical, legal and social implications of artificial intelligence, including issues of responsibility, transparency and governance.
The second day will explore the new frontiers of quantum computing and the quantum internet, the geopolitical challenges of technological autonomy, and the themes of infrastructure resilience and sustainability. A dedicated session on digital identity and service federation is also scheduled.
The third day will address research data, with particular attention to its management, sharing and enhancement within the context of open science, and will also include a focus on digital cultural heritage.
On 18 May, an in-person training day will take place, featuring courses on cyber security, digital identities, programming languages and the quantum internet.
The event will be held in person in Pisa and streamed live on GARR.tv as well as on GARR YouTube channel and GARR Facebook page.
The full programme and participation details are available on the GARR Conference 2026 website.
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