POLITECNICO DI TORINO BIENNALE TECNOLOGIA 2026
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Notice for the collection of expressions of interest aimed at identifying one or more project proposals, and their curatorship, for the fifth edition of Biennale Tecnologia (April 2026)
Expiry date 10/01/2025
1-Subject of the expression of interest
a) Biennale Tecnologia (https://www.biennaletecnologia.it/) is a major cultural event of international scope designed and realised every two years by the Politecnico di Torino as part of its public engagement activities, with over 50,000 visitors per edition. Its main objective is to explore the relationship between technology and society, animating public debate with lectures, meetings, dialogues, exhibitions, shows, screenings and school workshops all over the city of Turin. An open, plural and inclusive reflection that promotes constructive dialogue between different forms of knowledge – based on the hard, human, social and applied sciences – on technology and the decisive role it has now assumed in all spheres of life on our planet. Each edition of Biennale Tecnologia calls for the participation of experts and speakers from all over the world who, moving from their own discipline, animate a rich calendar of events with a strong interdisciplinary character, open to the entire population.
b)In view of the forthcoming edition of Biennale Tecnologia (5th edition, April 2026) Politecnico di Torino intends to solicit expressions of interest in order to identify cultural projects related to the themes of the event and related curators (“guest curators”), possibly assisted by their own curatorial teams. These projects will be aimed at enriching the programme of the fifth edition of Biennale Tecnologia (April 2026), flanking and interacting with the programme curated by Politecnico di Torino (Curator: Prof. Guido Saracco).
c) Each project proposal entails the conception and development of a thematic itinerary, possibly divided into sub-paths, on topics of particular relevance within the public debate on the relationship between technology and society. The thematic path described in the proposal should be structured in at least 15 events, including lectures, debates, performances and other formats of knowledge dissemination, which will be part of the programme of the fifth edition of the Biennale Tecnologia. Each project proposal must be filled in with the names of the expected speakers, who will be contacted by the guest curators in agreement with Politecnico di Torino.
2- Requirements
a) Expressions of interest may be submitted by (“applicant”) teachers, researchers, journalists, curators of cultural events, editorial curators or renowned experts working in Italy or abroad, possibly assisted by their own teams. The applicant remains solely responsible for the project proposal.
b) The general requirements for proposing entities are:
- having reached the age of 18;
- holding civil and political rights: if applicants hold a citizenship other than Italian, they must be subject to civil and political rights in the country they come from or belong to;
- not being subject to disqualification from holding public office, or to any other sanction or impediment, of a legal or financial nature, entailing a prohibition to contract with the Public Administrations;
- not being involved in ongoing disputes in conflict of interest with Politecnico di Torino and not being in any case involved in situations of incompatibility envisaged by the regulations in force in Italy.
c) The participation requirements for proponents are:
• Professional experience (to be adequately substantiated by documentary evidence):
to have had in the last five years, or in active employment, in Italy or abroad:
i. positions of direction, coordination, responsibility for studies, research or technological development in scientific and technological disciplines relevant to Biennale Tecnologia within cultural institutes, universities or research centres, public or private.
or
ii. professional activities of national or international relevance as a disseminator, critic, journalist, essayist or curator of meetings and cultural events aimed at dissemination, outreach or public engagement of scientific and technological topics.
• Language skills: excellent knowledge of at least one language between Italian and English.
3- How to submit an expression of interest
a) Interested persons meeting the requirements of section 2 may participate in the expression of interest by sending their proposal (facsimile Attachment 1) by e-mail to info.biennale@polito.it no later than midnight on 10/01/2025. The subject of the email must be: “Call Biennale Tecnologia 2026”.
b) This proposal must be drafted in Italian or English and consist of the following documents:
- Curriculum Vitae (preferably in European format1 ) of the applicant, dated and signed;
- motivational letter in support of your application (maximum 3,000 characters including spaces);
- curatorial project listing the specifics of the proposal (maximum 10,000 characters including spaces).
c) Proposals with incomplete documentation or submitted or received after the deadline will not be considered.
4-Procedure for assessing expressions of interest and awarding the assignment
a) Expressions of interest received by the deadline and according to the procedures indicated in the above section 3 will be evaluated by an internal Commission, composed by the Rector of Politecnico di Torino prof. Stefano Corgnati; the Vice Rector for Society and Public Engagement, Community, and Rector’s Program Implementation, Prof. Stefano Sacchi; Prof. Tania Cerquitelli, who acts as an aggregate to the delegation; the Vice Rector for PoliTO Communication and Promotion, Prof. Silvia Barbero; the Curator of Biennale Tecnologia, Prof. Guido Saracco, according to the following criteria
- profile of the applicant on the basis of the attached CV;
- quality, originality and general sustainability of the proposed cultural project in terms of its compliance with the strategic objectives of Biennale Tecnologia, the themes addressed and their relevance, also in relation to the speakers proposed in the project;
- choice of speakers in relation to the quality of their expertise aimed at the project proposal, also in relation to the international scene, and to the proper representation of gender, diversity and inclusion;
- motivation of the applicant, its personal vision of the contribution it intends to make to Biennale Tecnologia, and the project’s ability to meet with critical and public acclaim.
b) Any proposals selected in this first phase will enter a second evaluation phase. The selected applicants will be invited to further elaborate on the submitted proposals, also with reference to their concrete implementation, to the applicants’ role in the proposed events programme, and to the involvement of the selected speakers. At the end of the second phase, a concerted phase will be initiated with one or more selected subjects, in order to reach the final choice and definition of one or more executive projects, of the most appropriate size, in terms of number of events, within the overall economy of the event.
c) The Commission reserves the right to select more than one project proposal, and related guest curators, or, at its sole discretion, not to select any project proposal, and any guest curator, and/or to publish a new Notice.
d) The outcome of this procedure will be published and communicated to interested parties at the e-mail address they used to send their expression of interest.
5-Economic contribution of the Politecnico di Torino
a) The fee envisaged for the curatorship of each cultural project selected, in relation to a minimum size of 15 events, is set at Euro 30,000.00 (thirty thousand/00), inclusive of VAT and other statutory charges. This fee will be proportionally adjusted for projects hosting a reduced number of events compared to the minimum size at the end of the selection process.
b) The costs of producing and implementing the cultural project will be borne entirely by the Politecnico di Torino.
