EPFL and ETH Zurich are jointly organizing a new interdisciplinary summer school, “Capitalizing on Uncertainty – Structures, Processes, Mindsets,” taking place from 31 August to 5 September 2026 in Lausanne.
Designed for PhD and Master students across the ETH domain, the six-day program challenges a conventional assumption: that uncertainty is something to eliminate. Instead, it positions uncertainty as a driver of creativity, resilience, and innovation across fields such as robotics, architecture, and work psychology.
At the core of the summer school is a highly hands-on approach. Participants will collaborate to design and build a full-scale (1:1) timber structure using irregular materials, working in a human–robot fabrication environment. This experimental setting encourages adaptive decision-making, interdisciplinary collaboration, and direct engagement with material variability.
The program combines lectures, practical workshops, and team-based construction, covering topics from conceptual framing and material uncertainty to social dynamics and evaluation. Students will earn 2 ECTS credits, with accommodation provided for those coming from outside Lausanne.
By bringing together expertise from multiple disciplines and emphasizing real-world experimentation, the initiative reflects EPFL’s broader ambition to rethink how uncertainty is addressed in design, engineering, and collaborative systems—not as a constraint, but as a resource for innovation.
check for details: https://cap-uncertainty.epfl.ch/
