SPP Winter Schools and Events

The SPP 2199 Winter Schools are annual, week-long events designed to foster exchange, collaboration, and community building among researchers across all projects within the programme. They provide a dedicated space for sharing research progress, discussing challenges, and developing new perspectives on scalable interaction paradigms.

Each Winter School combines project presentations with invited keynotes that address central themes of SPP 2199. In addition, lectures and interactive sessions cover methodological approaches as well as practical aspects of academic work, including publishing strategies, prototyping practices, and research communication. Together, these elements create a balanced programme that integrates scientific discourse with hands-on learning and professional development.

While the first Winter School was held online due to the global pandemic, subsequent editions have taken place in person—while maintaining options for remote participation—at locations such as Borkum, Varel, Mürren, Bad Hersfeld, and Burg Ebernburg. These settings have contributed to an intensive and collaborative atmosphere beyond traditional conference formats.

Beyond the Winter Schools, the SPP has organised two Dagstuhl Seminars (Rundgespräche) at Schloss Dagstuhl, providing a highly focused environment for in-depth discussions on key research challenges within the programme.

To further support early-career researchers, the SPP established a structured PhD Qualification Program. This series of two-day workshops enables doctoral researchers to develop core academic competencies, including research methods in HCI, scientific writing and publishing, as well as skills such as grant proposal development.

Final Symposium

The programme will conclude with a final symposium on September 22–23, 2026, hosted at OFFIS – Institute for Information Technology in Oldenburg, Germany. The symposium will present the outcomes of both funding phases through technical talks, posters, and demonstrators.

Bringing together project members, international researchers beyond the SPP, and representatives from policy and funding organisations, the event will serve as a platform for reflection, dissemination, and future-oriented discussion. A networking event on the evening of the first day will further support exchange across communities and disciplines, fostering connections that extend beyond the duration of the programme.