AI research funding in Europe: From NoEs to AI Continent Action Plan and beyond

At the closing conference of the Horizon ENFIELD project, ‘Advancing AI in Europe: From Foundations to Real-World Applications’, dAIEDGE has been invited to take part in the roundtable discussion ‘AI Research Funding in Europe: From Networks of Excellence to the AI Continent Action Plan and Beyond’, a forum for debate that will bring together representatives from the European Commission and some of Europe’s leading AI projects.

The panel will comprise Cécile Huet, Head of the ‘Innovation and Excellence in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence’ Unit at the European Commission; Dimitrios Tzovaras (CERTH); Prof. Dr Georgios Spathoulas, associate professor at NTNU; Ana Solange Leal, director of INOVA+; and Alain Pagani, principal investigator and deputy director of the Augmented Vision Department at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), who will participate on behalf of dAIEDGE as project coordinator.

The session will analyse the evolution of European funding for artificial intelligence research, from the Networks of Excellence (NoEs) initiative to the recent ‘AI Continent’ Action Plan, addressing the lessons learnt, current challenges and opportunities that will shape future funding and collaboration programmes in the European AI sector.

The event “Advancing AI in Europe: From Foundations to Real-World Applications” will bring together leading figures from research, industry and European institutions to discuss the main challenges and opportunities facing artificial intelligence in Europe. The programme will address key issues such as infrastructure for AI deployment, the development of robust, sustainable and explainable systems, data quality, cybersecurity, AI literacy and European strategic autonomy in critical sectors such as energy and space.

To round off the event, the conference will highlight the contribution of Networks of Excellence to strengthening collaborative research in Europe. In this context, ENFIELD will present its main findings and strategic roadmap, aligned with the European vision of building a competitive, responsible and sovereign artificial intelligence ecosystem.