Leading European AI researchers discuss the future of “AI Made in Europe” excellence

Brought together through the EU-funded AI Networks of Excellence Centres (NoEs), more than 100 artificial intelligence experts from leading universities, research institutes and companies took stock of their research collaboration so far and proposed a way forward for trustworthy AI development and deployment in Europe. 

The event took place in Thessaloniki on 26-27 June at the seat of AI4Media’s coordinator, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas – CERTH. It was the 4th annual community workshop where the networks come together and exchange about their work as well as future trends in AI research and development.

These networks bridge the gap between research and industry and include:

·        AI4Media, ELISE, HumanE-AI-Net, and TAILOR, along with the associated VISION coordination and support action, which will run until the end of this summer;

·        while ELSA, euROBIN, dAIEDGE, ENFIELD and ELIAS will continue for another 1 to 3 years.

Besides the scientific work that has been conducted by the Network of Excellence centres and resulted in currently almost 2000 scientific papers and publications in peer-reviewed journals including data sets and software in open access repositories, the NoEs are also active in multiple areas either jointly or in their respective focus areas.

Key achievements include:  

·       a joint strategic research agenda providing a roadmap to push European AI research and development forward;

·       a joint ecosystem mapping for AI-Data-Robotics to give an integrated overview of Europe’s capabilities and competencies of the European AI ecosystem in R&D&I;

·       the International AI Doctoral Academy (AIDA) giving access to a world-class AI education and research programme, including 158 registered lecturers, 82 courses and over 50 lectures in the AI Excellence Lecture Series;

·       A standardized AI Ph.D. curriculum that is both comprehensive and reflective of the latest advancements in the field.

Other important achievements include academia-industry collaborations, scientific exchange and collaborations such as competition and junior research exchange programmes, as well as having a positive impact on society and sustainability by creating for example the AI Media Observatory.

More information about the NoEs:

This initiative to develop a vibrant European network of AI excellence centres was launched in 2020 with the objective of fostering cooperation among the best research teams in Europe, joining forces to tackle more efficiently major scientific and technological challenges in AI hampering deployment of AI-based solutions. This initiative is part of the portfolio of the AI Office Unit A1, Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, supporting the development of the European ecosystems of excellence in the field.

The current NoEs community consists of nine network projects with a total funding of over 100 million EUR that involves almost 200 organisations, 300 associated partners, 300 research groups and over 1 400 individual researchers, comprising much of the leading AI competence across Europe. 

09/2020-08/2024:

AI4Media | www.ai4media.eu provides a forum for researchers and practitioners with a focus on the media industry, responding to pressing concerns about the interaction between AI, the information environment, and wider society. 

ELISE | www.elise-ai.eu convenes leading researchers in machine learning, pursuing research to accelerate innovation and adoption of these technologies in ways that safely and effectively address real-world challenges. 

HUMANE-AI Net | www.humane-ai.eu focuses on the development of AI systems that work alongside human users, leveraging AI capabilities to enhance human activities. 

TAILOR | tailor-network.eu brings together AI researchers to develop the scientific foundations of trustworthy AI, especially integrating methods from learning, optimisation and reasoning. 

VISION | www.vision4ai.eu is the Coordination and Support Action (CSA) that facilitates interaction, cooperation and synergy between the NoEs and provides connections with other parts of the European AI ecosystem, with the aim of helping them to create a world-class AI ecosystem.

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07/2022 - 08/2025

euROBIN | www.eurobin-project.eu gathers researchers dedicated to increasing the performance of robots with a holistic approach combining increased cognitive capacities, enhanced learning performance, greater levels of interaction and better suitability for users. 

09/2022 - 08/2025

ELSA | elsa-ai.eu is spearheading research in foundational safe and secure AI methods, pursuing the development of robustness guarantees and certificates, privacy-preserving and robust collaborative learning, and human control mechanisms for the ethical and secure use of AI.

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09/2023 - 08/2026

dAIEDGE | daiedge.eu will advance scientific progress towards new technological pilots. Among others, a marketplace for the commercialisation of solutions will be launched.

ENFIELD | www.enfield-project.eu relies on four pillars - green, adaptive, trustworthy, secure - applied in different verticals such as energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and space.

09/2023 - 08/2027

ELIAS | elias-ai.eu as the AI Lighthouse focuses on a sustainable planet, society and trustworthy AI for individuals as well as for tools supporting AI research for SMEs, start-ups and industry.

See also

European AI Office

Related topics

Artificial intelligence