International Software Architecture PhD School

The field of Software Architecture is supported by a strong international community spanning both academia and industry. This community regularly convenes at leading conferences such as ICSA and ECSA. The discipline continues to grow rapidly, as evidenced by the increasing number of scientific publications and the level of funding from national and international programmes. Software Architecture also plays a key role in broader Software Engineering venues, including conferences like ICSE and journals such as IEEE Software and the Journal of Systems and Software.

In industry, the field holds a prominent position: in many software-intensive organizations, the role of software architect represents the highest technical career level. However, a key area that still requires further development is the education and training of PhD students, early-career researchers, and practicing architects in state-of-the-art academic and industrial methods and technologies.

The International Software Architecture PhD School (iSAPS) addresses this need. Over the years, the school has developed into a successful initiative, with multiple well-attended editions and a continuously refined format tailored to the needs of researchers, practitioners, and educators.

iSAPS offers young researchers and industry professionals the opportunity to learn from leading experts in the field. The programme combines lectures on cutting-edge topics with hands-on sessions based on real industrial cases. Participants work in groups on these cases, applying their own research or professional experience to bridge theory and practice.

This approach results in innovative solutions to technical challenges and contributes to the development of research agendas for complex, long-term problems. PhD students gain experience with real-world industrial challenges, while practicing architects enhance their knowledge with the latest theoretical insights. The school also fosters new collaborations between academic institutions and organizations in both the public and private sectors.

Following the school, a technical report is produced, summarizing the cases and key lessons learned.

In summary, the International Software Architecture PhD School serves three main purposes:

  1. Bridging the current gap in Software Architecture education and training
  2. Bringing together leading experts from academia and industry
  3. Fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration on current and complex challenges

Programme and Applying

The programme runs from Monday 29 June at 09:00 until Friday 3 July.

You can view the programme here.

Apply now

Registration takes place externally. The registration link will be available soon.