Tallinn, Estonia
27-29 August 2025
Deadline for applications – 5 August 2025
PhD students are encouraged to apply and participate in a three-day international summer school at Tallinn University, dedicated to the fast-evolving and interdisciplinary field of digital cultural heritage.
Under the overarching theme of memory, media, and machines, the summer school will explore how the digital condition is reshaping our understanding of cultural memory, heritage practices, and historical knowledge. Participants will critically engage with theoretical perspectives and emerging methodologies at the intersection of history, technology, and culture.
Topics include:
- Digital memory and archival practices
- The histories and futures of digital heritage
- Digitisation, 3D modelling, and the politics of preservation
- Artificial intelligence and LLMs for digital heritage
- Named entity recognition (NER) and geographic information systems (GIS)
- Access, reuse, and sustainability in digital heritage
The summer school aims to foster an interdisciplinary and international dialogue on the implications of digital technologies for the ways in which we construct, preserve, and engage with the past.
Lecturers
The programme features a group of internationally recognised scholars and practitioners working across media studies, archival theory, digital humanities, data science and AI-driven heritage research. Each expert will deliver a keynote lecture and facilitate a seminar or practical workshop.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Prof. Aldo Gangemi (University of Bologna)
- Prof. Filip Ginter (University of Turku)
- Prof. Indrek Ibrus (Tallinn University)
- Prof. Paolo Martinelli (University of Bologna)
- Dr Asko Nivala (University of Turku)
- Prof. Julia Noordegraaf (University of Amsterdam)
- Dr Chiara Piccoli (University of Amsterdam)
Participation and application
Participants will have the opportunity to receive feedback from international experts, take part in collaborative discussions and practical seminars, and participate in outside-the-classroom activities in Tallinn.
To apply, please submit the following documents:
- A short motivation letter (max. 1 page)
- A brief description of your PhD project (max. 1 page)
Please register HERE by 5 August 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 8 August.
Participation is free of charge, and accommodation will be provided. Please note, however, that travel expenses are not covered.
Maximum number of participants: 20
Draft programme:
Wednesday, 27 August
| 09:00–09:30 | Registration and welcome coffee |
| 09:30–09:45 | Marek Tamm (Tallinn University): Opening remarks |
| 09:45–10:45 | Paolo Martinelli (University of Bologna): Lecture: Four stories of digital remediation of cultural heritage |
| 10:45–11:15 | Coffee break |
| 11:15–12:45 | Paolo Martinelli: Workshop: Interfacing open data with generative AI: A semiotic approach to data accessibility |
| 12:45–14:00 | Lunch break |
| 14:00–15:00 | Chiara Piccoli (University of Amsterdam): Lecture: Re-constructing urban pasts in the age of AI: Methods, challenges and reflections |
| 15:00–15:15 | Coffee break |
| 15:15–16:45 | Chiara Piccoli: Workshop: Object-based storytelling – introduction to Voyager 3D Story |
| 16:45–17:15 | Coffee break |
| 17.15–18:15 | Aldo Gangemi (University of Bologna): Lecture (tba) |
| 18:30–21.00 | Buffet dinner and campus tour at Tallinn University |
Thursday, 28 August
| 09:30–10:30 | Asko Nivala (University of Turku): Lecture: Geoparsing and cultural history |
| 10:30–11:00 | Coffee break |
| 11:00–12:30 | Aldo Gangemi: Workshop (tba) |
| 12:30–13:30 | Lunch break |
| 13:30–14:30 | Filip Ginter (University of Turku): Lecture: Automated prompting of LLMs as a tool for cultural heritage data preprocessing and analysis |
| 14:30–14:45 | Coffee break |
| 14:45–16:15 | Filip Ginter: Workshop: Automated prompting of LLMs as a tool for cultural heritage data preprocessing and analysis |
| 16:15–16:30 | Coffee break |
| 16:30–17:30 | Indrek Ibrus (Tallinn University): Lecture: Building knowledge graphs for the study of cultural evolution |
| 18:00–19:30 | Virtual reality time travelling experience: VR Tallinn 1939/44 |
| 20:00–23:00 | Dinner at Botik |
Friday, 29 August
| 09:30–10:30 | Julia Noordegraaf (University of Amsterdam): Lecture: Unlocking digital cultural heritage in time and space: A scalable approach to the study of human culture | ||
| 10:30–11.00 | Coffee break | ||
| 11:00–12:30 | Asko Nivala : Workshop (tba) | ||
| 12:30–13:30 | Lunch break | ||
| 13:30–15:00 | Julia Noordegraaf: Workshop: Infrastructures for digital humanities research: Exploring audiovisual archival collections via the CLARIAH Media Suite | ||
| 15:00–16:30 | Concluding group discussion: student flash talks | ||
| 17:00–19:00 | Natural/Digital: Visit to Estonian Museum of Natural History | ||
| 19:30–23.00 | Dinner at Kompu | ||
Organisers:
- Prof. Marek Tamm (Tallinn University)
- Dr Merit Maran (Tallinn University)
- Prof. Daniele Monticelli (Tallinn University)
- Marjolein Uittenbogaard (Tallinn University / University of Amsterdam)
For more information about the summer school, please contact Prof. Marek Tamm ([email protected]).
The summer school is part of and funded by the DIGHT-Net project, Sustainable, Usable and Visible Digital Cultural Heritage: Twinning for Excellence, supported by the Horizon Europe Twinning programme (https://dight-net.tlu.ee/).
