The school, one of whose objectives was to strengthen international research collaboration, brought together 65 predoctoral researchers from nine different countries over five days.
Pamplona, 26 June 2026.- Last week, the International Summer School on Artificial Intelligence: From Life Sciences to Governance and Security, co-organised by NAIR Center, the Public University of Navarre (UPNA) and the University of Salerno (Italy), came to an end. Over five days, the school brought together 65 predoctoral researchers from nine different countries in Pamplona, who took part in an academic programme comprising 19 lectures delivered by experts from internationally renowned universities and research centres.
The teaching staff comprised Yara Abu Awad and Christine Choirat, from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office; Francesco Bardozzo and Roberto Tagliaferri, from the Università degli Studi di Salerno; Alexander Binder, from Leipzig University; Mario Cannataro, from the Università Magna Græcia di Catanzaro; David Gómez-Cabrero and Xabier Martínez de Morentin, from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST); Óscar Cordón, from the University of Granada; Mikel Hernáez, from the University of Navarra; Gabriel Kreiman, from Harvard University; Giovanni Montana, from the University of Warwick; Igor Poltavsky, from the University of Luxembourg; Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, from Hospital del Mar Research Institute (Barcelona); and Michiel Stock, from Ghent University.
Throughout the week, the different sessions demonstrated how artificial intelligence is transforming fields such as medicine, bioinformatics, genomics and computational chemistry. One of the discipline’s major challenges was also addressed: the development of trustworthy artificial intelligence, one of NAIR Center’s main research areas.
The programme also focused on the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and some of the field’s most innovative methodologies, such as reinforcement learning, hyperdimensional computing, digital twins, social simulation and neural networks for the visualisation of multidimensional data.
With this fourth edition held in Pamplona, NAIR Center continues to advance its internationalisation strategy, aimed at strengthening collaboration with universities and research centres from other countries to foster future research visits and joint projects.
Opening seminar
Prior to the opening of the International Summer School, a doctoral seminar was held at Hirugarrena, CEIN’s entrepreneurship hub. The seminar brought together 13 PhD researchers from national and international universities, who presented their research to a non-specialist audience.
This academic exchange forum followed the format of Thesis in 3 Minutes and addressed topics such as the explainability of artificial intelligence in healthcare, research pipelines, and the importance of transferring AI advances into clinical practice.
The day concluded with an awards ceremony for the best presentations, followed by a tour of the NAIR Center and IRIS Navarra Digital Innovation Hub facilities.
First prize was awarded to Aina Maria Tur Serrano, from the University of the Balearic Islands, followed by Aimar Yeregui Bacaicoa and Alfonso Indurain Ibero, both from the Public University of Navarre.
