The NANOSUM 2026 program offers on-line and physically lectures and seminars from world-known experts in the field of Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies. The main topic of NANOSUM 2026 is focused on applications of nanotechnologies and nanoscience on agrifood. The school will involve the collaboration of experts from various fields, including chemistry, biology, biotechnology, phytopathologist, and engineering, to ensure that the full potential of bio-based nanosystems together with nanotechnological detection methods explored and utilized in particular for crop protection.

Exchanges between participants will be promoted during virtual as well as physical activities like group's presentations on open problems and new ideas, round tables, discussions with industrial professionals, and social events.

The physical mobility section of the BIP will take place between 15 - 19 June 2026, in Rome, Italy:

The physical component of NANOSUM 2026 is a five-day international summer school. The school will propose a panel of advanced courses at the state of the art, presented as seminars by people from the education teams of the masters from the five universities in the field of nanosciences and nanotechnologies. Invited speakers from big companies such as ST Microelectronics in the field of advanced electronic nanosensors and Zeiss in the field of advanced microscopy-based nanocharacterisation techniques will be included in the program. Phydia a spin-off company from Tuscia University in the field of agriculture will also participate.

In these seminars hypotheses, approaches and research in fields as different as nanobiophysics, quantum technologies, nanofluidics, nanomedicine or soft matter physics will be presented. This unique mix of presentations from different scientific disciplines reflects the diversity of student participants and will support their transdisciplinary view and understanding of technological transformation by nanosciences and nanotechnology.

The objective of NANOSUM is also to promote the autonomy of students toward their professionalisation, by exchanging with actors of industrial sectors. The 5-day physical mobility will also include an entire day dedicated to student professionalisation with the presence of crucial actors like St Microelectronics, Zeiss, etc which has been a success and serves as a model.

This day will be split into a half-day of seminars given by industry representatives, and an afternoon that will take the form of round tables between industrial actors and students who could ask questions, present their ideas, projects, etc. Additionally, exchanges between participants will be promoted during open problem sessions, oral presentations, round tables with academic and industrial professionals, and social events.

The school NANOSUM also dedicates a half-day to Nanosciences, Environment and Society, including issues related to the role of nanotechnologies in the environmental transition. The organization will benefit of the support of the teachers of the Master of Nanotechnologies Engineering and the researchers of the Center of Nanotechnology Applied to Engineering of Sapienza Universita di Roma. During this week, periods will be reserved for the open problem activity including in-person discussions and presentation rehearsals. Finally, a session of oral presentations is planned during the week, where students will be able to explain the conclusions of their previous remote work, and will have the opportunity to exchange with school speakers and participants. Students shall also provide a report on this activity.

The course will run online between 20 April - 1 June 2026. 

The virtual component of NANOSUM 2026 constitutes the core of the open problem activity of the school. It will start with a general meeting to form mixed student groups from different universities by lottery, and present the timely research subjects that should have been proposed by school teachers and scientific committee’s members.

The activity will be divided into disciplinary research seminars on the proposed subjects, exchanges with their authors and meeting between students to prepare to solve their problem. The mission for each group is to appropriate the state of the art, understand the sticking points, and then to propose a research track to overcome them.

The group will finally present these outcomes in front of a jury during a session planned during the physical component of the blended program.

The virtual sessions will take place on 20 April, 27 April, 4 May, 11 May, 18 May and 1 June.