The Autumn School (15–16–17 September 2026) introduces and develops the application of ethnography within cryptography for establishing meaningful security goals and models, which is the methodology at the core of the Social Foundations of Cryptography project.
The Autumn School is intended for both cryptographers and ethnographers who wish to gain insight into each other’s approaches, motivations and challenges, and to explore how these two fields can be meaningly brought into conversation.
The programme combines lectures, research talks and hands-on group discussions and exercises to enable participants to engage in questions on how to ground cryptographic research in real social practices and how to conduct ethnographic studies that uncover security goals.
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 10:00–12:00 | Parallel sessions: - Cryptography for Social Scientists (Lecture) - Ethnography for Computer Scientists (Lecture) |
| 12:00–13:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00–15:00 | Introduction to the Social Foundations of Cryptography Project |
| 15:00–15:30 | Coffee |
| 15:30–17:00 | Exercises / Discussions |
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 10:00–11:00 | TBD (TBD) |
| 11:15–12:00 | TBD (Lenka Mareková) |
| 12:00–13:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00–14:00 | TBD (Murray Goulden) |
| 14:15–15:00 | TBD (Tjerand Silde) |
| 15:00–15:30 | Coffee |
| 15:30–17:00 | Exercises / Discussions |
| 19:00 | Dinner |
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 10:00–11:00 | TBD (Phillip Rogaway) |
| 11:15–12:00 | TBD (Mikaela Brough) |
| 12:00–13:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00–14:00 | TBD (Kenny Paterson) |
| 14:15–15:00 | TBD (Ntezi Mbabazi) |
| 15:00–15:30 | Coffee |
| 15:30–17:00 | Exercises / Discussions |
Stewart House
32 Russell Square
London WC1B 5DN
United Kingdom
Participation is free of charge. Registration is mandatory and open until Friday 1 May 2026 AoE. However, we have limited spaces and aim to invite participants from both ethnography and cryptography. To help us bring together a diverse and complementary group of participants, the registration form includes a few short questions about participants’ backgrounds and interests. After the registration deadline, we will review all submissions and will notify applicants of the outcome by Friday 15 May 2026.
For questions, please contact: simone.colombo@kcl.ac.uk.