Session

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

Tuesday July 7, 2026  | 17:00-18:00 CEST

Albert II Auditorium

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Description

The session will bring together European Commission officials and representatives from EU-funded projects to reflect recent developments for AI research funding across Europe. It will explore the key outcomes of the Networks of Excellence (NoEs) initiative and analyze the more recent strategic initiatives such as the AI Continent Action Plan that aim at shaping the European AI landscape. By fostering dialogue between policymakers and practitioners, the session aims to assess lessons learned, identify current challenges, and outline expectations for future funding frameworks and collaborative opportunities in European AI research.

Speakers

Alain Pagani

Principal Researcher and Deputy Director of the Augmented Vision research department, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)
His research interests include Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Image Understanding, and Extended Reality. He is the coordinator of the Network of Excellence dAIEDGE about distributed AI at the edge, and the coordinator of the Horizon Europe project CORTEX² about remote cooperation using extended reality. He is a lecturer at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, and he has published over 100 articles in conferences and journals. His research finds applications in eXtended Reality for telecooperation, Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision for Human-Robot cooperation, and Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality for analysis of extremely large data.

Cecile Huet

Head of the Unit “Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Excellence”, European Comission
TBC

Prof. Dr. Georgios Spathoulas

Associate Professor, NTNU
Georgios Spathoulas is an Associate Professor at the Department of Information Security and Communication Technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). He serves as the Technical Coordinator of the ENFIELD project, while he also leads the Trustworthy AI research pillar. His research background is in cybersecurity with a strong focus on cyber-physical systems security, Internet of Things (IoT) security, blockchain-based security mechanisms, and trustworthiness of AI systems. Overall, his work combines theoretical and applied cybersecurity research aimed at improving the resilience, trustworthiness, and security of emerging digital infrastructures.

Ana Solange Leal

Director, INOVA +
Ana Solange Leal is the Director for PARTNERSHIPS and a Senior Consultant at INOVA+, where she oversees both the Innovation and Education Units. She specializes in large-scale international initiatives funded by the European Commission. With extensive experience in European funding programs, among other activities, she provides strategic funding advisory services, assists in the development of strategic plans for various institutions, enables innovation management, and fosters international networks.