From 7 to 11 September 2026, Cesena will become an international hub for technological research and innovation. The Cesena Campus of the University of Bologna will host ACSOS 2026, the 7th IEEE International Conference on Autonomic Computing and Self-Organizing Systems, one of the world’s leading events dedicated to autonomous, self-adaptive and self-organising systems.
FlashStart will participate in ACSOS 2026 as an official sponsor, supporting an event that brings together academic research, innovation and real-world technology applications.
Our involvement will also extend to the conference programme on Wednesday, 9 September, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., when Francesco Collini, CEO of FlashStart, will join the panel “When Systems Decide: Can We Trust Autonomy in Production?” as part of the ACSOS In Practice track.
What Is ACSOS and Why Is It an Important International Event?
ACSOS, the International Conference on Autonomic Computing and Self-Organizing Systems, is an IEEE conference dedicated to research and discussion in the fields of autonomic computing, self-adaptation and self-organisation.
These areas are set to become increasingly important as systems evolve beyond simply executing instructions and gain the ability to observe their environment, adapt to change and make decisions with growing levels of autonomy.
The conference brings together researchers, universities, experts and industry professionals from around the world to share findings, practical experiences and new perspectives. Its international scope is also reflected in the composition of the Organising Committee, which includes representatives from universities, research centres and organisations across Europe and beyond.
The ACSOS 2026 programme covers topics ranging from autonomous and adaptive systems to Artificial Intelligence, robotics, Cloud-Edge infrastructures and emerging developments in Quantum Computing.
Why are these topics becoming increasingly important for cybersecurity professionals? As systems gain a greater ability to observe, decide and act autonomously, their reliability, resilience, verifiability and appropriate level of human oversight become critical considerations.
After Tokyo, ACSOS Comes to Cesena
This year, the event’s international dimension holds particular significance for the local community.
Following the 2025 edition in Tokyo, ACSOS is coming to Cesena, bringing an international community dedicated to the development and study of autonomous and self-organising technologies to the University of Bologna’s Cesena Campus.
For five days, the city will become a meeting point for research, technological expertise and industry, hosting keynote speeches, panels, workshops, tutorials, scientific presentations and discussions on the evolution of autonomous systems.
The choice of Cesena also highlights the strength of the area’s academic and technology ecosystem and its ability to build connections with an international network of researchers and professionals.
FlashStart Sponsors ACSOS 2026
FlashStart has chosen to support ACSOS 2026 as an official sponsor, contributing to an initiative focused on some of the most important themes shaping the future of digital infrastructure.
Automation, adaptability, Artificial Intelligence, resilience and system reliability are no longer purely academic research topics. They have a tangible impact on the design and management of IT infrastructures and, consequently, on their security.
This discussion is particularly relevant to the cybersecurity sector, where innovation and automation must go hand in hand with protection, control and operational continuity.
FlashStart operates within this landscape through a DNS filtering platform designed to protect Internet browsing from malware, phishing and other web-based threats. Its infrastructure also uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies to detect and classify suspicious domains, combining analytical capabilities, high performance and protection on an international scale.
Sponsoring ACSOS therefore also represents an opportunity to support dialogue between academic research and industrial applications, contributing to the debate surrounding technologies that will increasingly influence the evolution of digital systems.
When Systems Decide: Can We Really Trust Autonomy?
One of the highlights of FlashStart’s participation will take place on Wednesday, 9 September, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the “Carmen Tura” Main Lecture Hall at the Cesena Campus.
Francesco Collini, CEO of FlashStart, will join the panel:
“When Systems Decide: Can We Trust Autonomy in Production?”
The session is part of ACSOS In Practice, the conference track dedicated to discussions with professionals deploying autonomous systems and technologies in real-world production environments.
It begins with a question that is set to become increasingly important: how far can we delegate decision-making to technological systems?
When a system can observe, decide, adapt and act with limited human supervision, the efficiency offered by automation is only one part of the equation. It is also essential to determine whether its behaviour remains reliable, verifiable and consistent when faced with unexpected conditions.
The panel will therefore move beyond theoretical models to explore how autonomy operates in production environments. Topics will include the boundary between automation and human control, methods for verifying system behaviour, potential failure modes and the trade-offs that emerge when autonomy is applied to real-world infrastructures.
This is an area in which input from practitioners is particularly valuable: a system’s ability to make autonomous decisions is meaningful only when it is supported by reliability, control and trust.
ACSOS 2026: Where Research, Industry and Cybersecurity Meet in Cesena
The arrival of ACSOS 2026 in Cesena offers an opportunity to strengthen the connection between research and industry and to discuss technologies that are profoundly changing how digital systems are designed and managed.
As an event sponsor, FlashStart supports this international dialogue and will contribute directly to the discussion surrounding the evolving balance between autonomy, control and reliability.
Join Francesco Collini on Wednesday, 9 September, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., in the “Carmen Tura” Main Lecture Hall for the panel “When Systems Decide: Can We Trust Autonomy in Production?”.
ACSOS 2026 will continue in Cesena until Friday, 11 September.
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