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ELIAS & IRCAI at GITEX Europe 2025: Workshop on Responsible AI and SDG Innovation

ELIAS & IRCAI at GITEX Europe 2025: Workshop on Responsible AI and SDG Innovation

May 27, 2025 | Events

From 21 to 23 May 2025, the ELIAS project was prominently featured at the inaugural GITEX Europe in Berlin, joining forces with the IRCAI, International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO, to spotlight the intersection of Responsible AI and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With over 40,000 attendees from more than 100 countries, GITEX Europe made a powerful debut as one of the continent’s largest gatherings of investors, innovators, policy-makers, and researchers focused on digital transformation and emerging technologies. For ELIAS, it provided a unique opportunity to share research, tools, and insights with a global audience while strengthening partnerships aligned with ethical and impactful AI.

Workshop: Responsible AI in Practice

On 23 May, ELIAS and IRCAI, in collaboration with AI in Africa, hosted the workshop “Responsible AI in Practice: Bias Testing, Privacy and Compliance”. This hands-on session focused on some of the most pressing challenges in AI development:

  • Identifying and mitigating algorithmic bias

  • Ensuring data privacy and protection

  • Understanding and applying EU AI regulations

  • Showcasing practical tools developed within the ELIAS framework

Participants included representatives from startups, public institutions, academia, GIZ, AWS, and municipalities. The session not only fostered knowledge exchange but also demonstrated the concrete outcomes of the ELIAS project in advancing trustworthy and regulation-aligned AI systems.

AI & SDG11 Challenge
6 startups—ToumAI (winner), Solvesall d.o.o., TIMLEAD, IANUS Technologies, Aed Energy, and DeepLeaf—pitched groundbreaking AI solutions for urban sustainability and resilient cities. Each received booth space and GITEX exposure, thanks to IRCAI and AI in Africa’s support.

🔹 Panel: Transforming Urban Futures
Led by speakers including Joao Pita Costa (ELIAS), Mustapha Zaouini, Kennedy Tumenta, and Asya Syvolob, this vibrant panel explored AI’s potential in shaping inclusive and future-proof urban ecosystems.

🔹 Networking Highlights
From a VIP reception at the House of Slovenia to meetings with UN Innovation reps, the event created invaluable opportunities for international collaboration.

UNESCO AI Centres Meeting: Strengthening Global Collaboration

Representing ELIAS and its partner organisation IRCAI, Joao Pita Costa further contributed to the global AI ethics dialogue at the UNESCO AI Centres meeting on February 10, 2025, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The meeting provided a platform to present ELIAS’ research and outcomes from the Workshop, reinforcing the importance of interdisciplinary and international cooperation in AI governance, emphasizing the consortium’s mission to develop AI solutions aligned with sustainability and democratic principles.

AI for a Democratic and Sustainable Future

The JAISD Workshop and AI Action Summit 2025 reinforced the urgent need for responsible AI development that upholds democratic principles and drives sustainable progress. As a key contributor, ELIAS continues to shape AI policies and research, ensuring that technological advancements align with societal well-being, ethical standards, and long-term sustainability. Through its continued collaboration with academia, industry, and global partners, ELIAS is dedicated to positioning Europe as a leader in AI innovation—one that prioritises inclusivity, respects fundamental rights, and fosters a more just and cohesive global society.

Atmospheric Machine Learning Emulation Challenge (AMLEC)

Atmospheric Machine Learning Emulation Challenge (AMLEC)

Apr 21, 2025 | Challenges & Competitions, Opportunities

Competition Updates

Competition Now Closed — Winners Announced!

In the frame of ELIAS, the Atmospheric Machine Learning Emulation Challenge (AMLEC) has concluded with outstanding contributions from the AI and climate science communities. Organised by the University of Valencia’s Image and Signal Processing Group, AMLEC invited participants worldwide to develop machine learning–based emulators for Radiative Transfer Models (RTMs) — a cornerstone of Earth observation and climate research.

🥇 1st place – Dr Jasdeep Singh (Khalifa University), with a final score of 1.525. His award includes sponsored participation at ECML PKDD 2025 in Porto.
🥈 2nd place – Hugo2, developed by Jorge Vicent Servera (University of Valencia).
🥉 3rd place – rpnn1, developed by Romain Poirier (Magellium, France).

The results demonstrate the potential of surrogate modelling and physics-informed AI to accelerate atmospheric modelling, improve climate simulations, and enable more efficient use of hyperspectral satellite data.

📌 Looking ahead: AMLEC will be featured in a special session at ECML PKDD 2025 (Porto, 16 September 2025). The 1h 15min session will provide:

  • An overview of atmospheric RTMs and emulation techniques.

  • Presentations by the top three participants, showcasing their approaches and results.

A peer-reviewed publication profiling the top models is also planned, further highlighting the challenge’s scientific impact.

Competition Details

About the Challenge

Radiative Transfer Models are fundamental tools in Earth observation and climate research. However, their high computational demands often limit their application in real-time or large-scale scenarios — especially as the volume and complexity of hyperspectral satellite data continue to increase.

Common alternatives, such as look-up tables (LUTs), can reduce computational load but are memory-intensive and lack flexibility. Machine learning-based emulators offer a promising alternative by producing fast and accurate approximations of RTM outputs.

AMLEC aims to support the development of statistical models that emulate RTM behaviour, enabling faster atmospheric data processing, improved climate simulations, and enhanced remote sensing workflows. The challenge also addresses the difficulties posed by high-dimensional inputs and the complex physics embedded in RTMs.

Key Dates
  • Challenge opens: 21 April 2025
  • Submission deadline: 30 June 2025
Dataset & Resources

Participants will have access to:

  • Training and test datasets based on atmospheric RTMs

  • Evaluation metrics and submission guidelines

  • All materials are hosted on Hugging Face: RTM Emulation Dataset

All scripts will be made publicly available after the end of the challenge.

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Expected Outcomes

  • A peer-reviewed publication summarising the challenge and profiling the top three performing models will be submitted to a remote sensing journal.

  • Results will also be presented at the ECML-PKDD conference, providing visibility within the research community.

  • Participants will gain valuable experience in atmospheric modelling and machine learning-based emulation techniques.

How to Participate

Participation is open and free.
To take part, simply create an account on HuggingFace.co, which will be used to submit your results.

🗓️ Deadline for submissions: 30 June 2025
🔗 Challenge Details and Dataset Access

Have Questions?

For further information or queries, please contact:
Jorge Vicent Servera
📧 jorge.vicent@uv.es

Partners and Support
  • Key Partners & Supporters (e.g., Kaggle, NeurIPS, NASA/JPL, Bosch): platform is huggingface, ECML-PKDD conference
  • Funding & Sponsorships : no funding opportunities of prize details are yet set up
Evaluation Criteria

  • How Entries Will Be Evaluated : all details about the results submissions and evaluation procedures are given https://huggingface.co/datasets/isp-uv-es/rtm_emulation

  • Judging Panel: evaluation follows a calculation and comparison of error metrics. No judging panel is foreseen at this stage.

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FAQ

Exploring the Future of Sustainability and AI

Exploring the Future of Sustainability and AI

Mar 13, 2025 | Events, News, TDW

On 7 March 2025, the ELIAS project organised its first Theme Development Workshop (TDW) focusing on Sustainability & AI. The event took place in Bucharest, Romania, in a hybrid format and brought together over 40 in-person attendees and 10 online participants, including experts, researchers, industry leaders, and students to explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can address global environmental and societal challenges. The four-hour event featured in-depth presentations, engaging discussions, and expert insights on the intersection of AI and sustainability.

The workshop began with a thought-provoking session on the regulatory and ethical aspects of AI, led by Professor Marko Milosavljević from the University of Ljubljana. He highlighted the critical need for AI accountability, transparency, and inclusive governance to safeguard human rights and ensure AI benefits both the planet and its inhabitants.

The workshop then delved into three main research areas of the ELIAS project:

AI for a Sustainable Planet: Marius Leordeanu from the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest (Romania) showcased how AI-powered UAV remote sensing enhances environmental monitoring and resource management. He highlighted the role of machine learning in predicting vegetation changes and optimising drone flight paths for more accurate 3D mapping. Leordeanu also introduced the Romanian AI HUB, launched on February 28, 2025, supported by the Romanian Government and a consortium of universities and companies under the Smart Growth, Digitalization, and Financial Instruments Program (PoCIDIF). Additionally, Leordeanu discussed future collaboration with ENFIELD: European Lighthouse for Trustworthy and Green AI, an initiative aimed at advancing fundamental research in adaptive, sustainable, human-centric, and trustworthy AI. This partnership seeks to drive innovations that align AI development with environmental sustainability and societal well-being.

AI for a Sustainable Society: The next session featured Ioana Manolescu from INRIA (France), who discussed digital democracy and the role of data journalism in fostering transparency and empowering non-technical users. Manolescu stressed the importance of integrating diverse data sources to inform public policy effectively. Nicolò Cesa-Bianchi from Università degli Studi di Milano and Politecnico di Milano (Italy) followed, discussing the challenges of transparency and fairness in digital markets. He underscored the risks posed by AI-driven digital platforms in areas such as trading and e-commerce, where a lack of transparency can negatively affect decision-making. Cesa-Bianchi called for designing algorithms that promote fairness and transparency, showcasing research on maximising social welfare in price auctions and financial markets.

Trustworthy AI for Individuals: This session focused on ethical considerations and the importance of fairness, safety, and model transparency in AI deployment. Nicu Sebe from the University of Trento and Lorenzo Baraldi from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy) discussed recent advancements in deep learning models, which aim to reduce harmful biases and improve the safety and trustworthiness of AI systems. Their presentations included insights into new techniques for identifying and mitigating unsafe content in AI models, with a focus on ensuring that AI technologies are developed in a responsible and ethical manner.

Charlotte Delage from IP Paris (France) also shared her insights on nurturing a network of promising young AI researchers, stressing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, diversity, and talent retention in Europe. Delage highlighted the need for expanding AI networks to create a more inclusive and innovative European AI ecosystem.

The workshop concluded with a session on Entrepreneurship and Tech Transfer, featuring Nina Peters from the Tübingen AI Center (Germany) and Isabelle Siegrist from the ETH AI Center (Switzerland). They discussed initiatives to connect talent between academia and industry, foster AI entrepreneurship, and support AI startups. The speakers also introduced the ELIAS Alliance—a pan-European network fostering AI entrepreneurship—and the AI Launchpad, a pan-European accelerator that supports AI startups from European universities.

Participants were also inspired by testimonials shared by Wieland Brendal from the ELIAS Node Tübingen (Germany), Jessica Montgomery from the ELIAS Node Cambridge (UK), and Tine Norgaard Aage from the ELIAS Node Copenhagen (Denmark) that are all part of the ELIAS Alliance. These firsthand accounts showcased how AI innovations are already transforming industries and society.

​Throughout the event, six thematic sessions were presented, followed by interactive Q&A discussions. One of the key takeaways from the workshop was the importance of collaboration between AI researchers, environmental and social science experts, and policymakers to create effective AI-driven solutions that promote sustainability.

The insights gained from this workshop will shape the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) on Sustainable AI that will be presented by the ELIAS project, guiding Europe’s future priorities in AI and sustainability. ELIAS will continue to support AI-driven sustainability initiatives through upcoming workshops, funding opportunities, and collaborative efforts across Europe.

Take a look at the material presented during the workshop: Presentations

Watch the event recording here!

This event was the first in a series of Theme Development Workshops that will be organised by ELIAS in the next two years, also in collaboration with the European AI & Robotics NoEs, other AI flagship projects, and the ELLIS community. Stay tuned for the next one!

AI Ethics and Education for a Democratic Future @ ACTION SUMMIT

AI Ethics and Education for a Democratic Future @ ACTION SUMMIT

Feb 25, 2025 | Events, News

As a significant side event at the AI Action Summit 2025, ELIAS played an important role in supporting the Workshop on AI Ethics and Education for Democracy. Held on February 6, 2025, at CNRS Site Pouchet in Paris, this interdisciplinary gathering united global experts to examine the intersection of AI, ethics, and democratic values. 

The AI Action Summit 2025, held in Paris on February 10-11, gathered over 100 heads of state, leading AI organisations, and 1,500 experts to address the future of AI governance. A central theme of the summit was the need for a global framework that balances AI’s rapid advancements with ethical and sustainable development, particularly in Europe.

Promoting AI Ethics and Education for a Democratic Future

Together with IRCAI, International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO, Centre for Internet and Society at CNRS, and 3IA Côte d’Azur, ELIAS supported and co-organised a workshop on AI Ethics and Education for Democracy at AI Action Summit, co-led by IRCAI’s Director John Shawe-Taylor and Vanessa Nurock, Professor of Philosophy at Côte d’Azur University.

This event, held at the CNRS Site Pouchet in Paris, brought together AI and ethics experts to discuss how we can strengthen democracy in the age of AI. The event highlighted ongoing research and insights from the Journal of Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development (JAISD), deepening the dialogue on AI’s role in a democratic future, ethical information dissemination, and education. The discussions aimed to explore how we can ensure that AI does not jeopardise democracy and how we can cultivate a democratic, AI-enabled education. This theme is particularly important in today’s post-truth era, where the question arises: under what conditions could AI encourage education for democracy?

Experts and participants from Brazil, Chile, the UK, France, Slovenia, and Portugal in-depth discussions on the ethical challenges of information dissemination, and the potential role of AI in transforming education. Discussions centred on ensuring human-centric AI, mitigating bias and misinformation, and fostering AI-driven educational innovation while safeguarding democratic values.

UNESCO AI Centres Meeting: Strengthening Global Collaboration

Representing ELIAS and its partner organisation IRCAI, Joao Pita Costa further contributed to the global AI ethics dialogue at the UNESCO AI Centres meeting on February 10, 2025, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The meeting provided a platform to present ELIAS’ research and outcomes from the Workshop, reinforcing the importance of interdisciplinary and international cooperation in AI governance, emphasizing the consortium’s mission to develop AI solutions aligned with sustainability and democratic principles.

AI for a Democratic and Sustainable Future

The JAISD Workshop and AI Action Summit 2025 reinforced the urgent need for responsible AI development that upholds democratic principles and drives sustainable progress. As a key contributor, ELIAS continues to shape AI policies and research, ensuring that technological advancements align with societal well-being, ethical standards, and long-term sustainability. Through its continued collaboration with academia, industry, and global partners, ELIAS is dedicated to positioning Europe as a leader in AI innovation—one that prioritises inclusivity, respects fundamental rights, and fosters a more just and cohesive global society.

ELIAS 1st Open Call

ELIAS 1st Open Call

Jan 29, 2025 | Opportunities

Join ELIAS for a 6-month project funded by the European Union and receive:

♦ Up to € 60.000 (lump sum) to develop AI/Machine Learning applications for Sustainability

♦ Visibility through ELIAS online channels and events, and dissemination in the ELIAS
community.

♦ The funding follows a payment schedule with one unique payment after the publication of results.

    Deadline: April 30th (midnight CEST)
    APPLY HERE
    What are we looking for?

    ELIAS is looking for projects based on AI applications that engage with the network in the categories “Methodology”, “Software/Tools”, “Benchmarks” relevant but not limited to the use cases of ELIAS (see list below) in the scope of AI for Sustainability. ELIAS is focused on 3 research spheres but applications are not limited to them as long as the proposals will address high-impact societal and economic challenges using machine learning.

    Use Cases:

    ♦ AI for Building Optimization | ♦ AI for Monitoring the Virtual Infrastructure | ♦ Responsible, User-centric Advertising

    ♦ Mitigating misinformed migrant perception in EU | ♦ AI for Forecasting of Vegetation State | ♦ Materials Discovery | ♦ Personalized co-piloting systems

       

      Announcements

      Q&A Session

      ELIAS 1st Open Call: Q&A Session

      Join our online Q&A session to get all the details, ask your questions, and discover how your AI project can secure up to €60,000 in funding!

      📅 When? March 26, 2025 – 10 AM (CET)
      🔗 Join us on Zoom: Click here

      Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with the ELIAS team and explore how AI can drive sustainability! 

      Join us