Aims and scope

After the introduction of the acronym CSCW (Computer Supported Cooperative Work) in the late 80’ the themes connected with the understanding of how collaboration is managed in different work settings and with the design of the information and communication technologies supporting collaboration have become pervasive in many scientific, business and social discourses. The constant growth of the application domains where the CSCW themes can inform both social studies and technology design asks for a continuous elaboration of the theoretical foundations of the underpinning disciplines through a reflection on the outcomes of the field studies, on the methods applied in the social and technological investigations and on the impact of the technologies on the settings in which they are deployed. The combination of these three perspectives should be the patrimony of any researcher who wants to grasp the complex and subtle issues that are involved in the CSCW research area.

To whom

The school offers to the young researchers (PhD or post-doc) an opportunity to become aware of the challenges characterizing the CSCW research. The interaction among the participants (both teachers and students) will promote the generation of new ideas and their confrontation with the experiences they have acquired in their field research.

The students are expected to have a positive attitude toward action research and to be familiar with the basic CSCW literature: some indications will be given prior to the school start to create a prospective background of reference.
The school will release a certificate that can be used to acquire 7.5 ECTS upon the approval of the outcomes of their group work activities.