On 24th May, the third AI NoEs Horizons and Beyond Q&A Session: Bridging the Gap Between AI Research and Industrial Scalability took place, bringing together professionals, researchers, and representatives from European projects. The initiative, led by dAIEDGE for the European AI NoEs Communication Club, provided a space for meaningful dialogue within Europe’s AI ecosystem.
The session addressed one of the field’s ongoing key challenges: closing the gap between cutting-edge AI research and its large‑scale industrial deployment. Rather than approaching the topic from a purely theoretical angle, the discussion encouraged knowledge exchange among actors already working on real implementations, fostering a grounded, experience‑driven conversation.
The event featured a distinguished panel of speakers: Soumya Kanti Datta (BIAS Project), Sabrina Bianchi, Rosamaria Maniaci, and Alberto Casanova (Horizon ENFIELD), as well as Oscar Deniz Suárez and Jean‑Marc Bonnefous from the dAIEDGE project, with the latter serving as moderator. Their diverse expertise enabled a well‑rounded discussion that blended technical, strategic, and applied perspectives.
We were pleased to welcome 40 participants from 9 countries (Hungary, Ireland, Greece, Finland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Italy, Estonia, and Spain), representing 8 sectors: Higher Education, Technology Engineering, Media, Artificial Intelligence, Research, Software Development, Public & Security, and IT Consultancy. The high level of engagement throughout the session highlighted both the relevance of the theme and the value of the insights shared.
Across contributions, one message consistently emerged: collaboration between European projects, industry stakeholders, and institutions is essential for ensuring that research outcomes evolve into scalable and market‑ready AI solutions. This need for alignment was a recurring theme throughout the dialogue.
The open format of the session encouraged active participation, enabling a dynamic exchange of perspectives and revealing potential areas for future cooperation among attendees. It also fostered an informal yet substantive environment where different viewpoints could be discussed and contrasted in real time. We extend our sincere thanks to all speakers for their valuable contributions.
If you missed the session, you can watch the recording via this link.