Programme overview
The 2026-27 ELIAS-ELLIS Winter School will be the second edition of a week-long event bringing together ELLIS PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, Fellows and Members to exchange knowledge across machine learning and multimodal intelligent systems. Its scientific theme will be “Multimodal Learning with a special focus on Foundation Models, Physical and Embodied AI/Robotics, and Sustainability.” The school will combine frontier research with discussion of industrial applications, involving leading researchers from academia and industrial laboratories.
Scientific activities will run from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday. The programme will combine four complementary formats:
Participant profile and capacity
The school will welcome ELLIS PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, Fellows, Scholars and Members, as well as invited academic and industry participants. Places will be allocated primarily to doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, with a limited number reserved for local PhD students and students affiliated with CVPL, the Italian Association for Computer Vision, Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning.
Programme schedule & speakers
Programme schedule
To be announced.
Speakers
Stefan Roth
TU Darmstadt, Germany
Bio & Abstract coming soon
Dima Damen
Bristol University, UK
Bio & Abstract coming soon
Jiri Matas
CTU, Czech Republic
Bio & Abstract coming soon
Alessio del Bue
GBionics, Italy
Bio & Abstract coming soon
Fabio Galasso
Sapienza Univ. of Rome, Italy
Bio & Abstract coming soon
Bernt Schiele
MPI, Germany
Bio & Abstract coming soon
Stratis Gavves
UVA, The Netherlands
Bio & Abstract coming soon
Cees Snoek
UVA, The Netherlands
Bio & Abstract coming soon
Elisa Ricci
UNITN, Italy
Bio & Abstract coming soon
Organising committee
Prof. Oswald Lanz
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
Read bio
Prof. Oswald Lanz is endowed professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano since 2021, where he is leading the research in computer vision of the Data-driven AI macro-area and oversees the research-oriented developments of industrial research at Covision Lab. Previously, he was head of the Vision technologies unit at Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento. He received an MSc degree in mathematics and a PhD in computer science from the University of Trento. He published more than 80 articles in journals and conferences, was recipient of Amazon Machine Learning Research Award in 2020 and of the ACM Multimedia 2015 best paper.
Prof. Nicu Sebe
University of Trento and ELLIS Unit Trento
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Prof. Nicu Sebe is the director of the ELLIS Unit Trento and of the ELLIS program on Multimodal Learning Systems. He received the PhD from Univ. of Leiden, Netherlands in 2001 and has been Full Professor at the University of Trento since 2009. He was the General Co-Chair of the IEEE FG 2008 and ACM Multimedia 2013 & 2022 and a program chair of ACM Multimedia 2011 and 2007, ECCV 2016, ICCV 2017 and ICPR 2020. He has been several times Area Chair of CVPR, ACM MM, ICCV, ECCV, and others. Currently, he is the President of the Italian Association of CV, PR and ML and is a Fellow of IAPR. He has been PI of many EU and National projects and has published more than 500 articles. He is Associate Editor of IEEE TPAMI and the Editor in Chief of Computer Vision and Image Understanding journal. He is the coordinator of the ELIAS project (European Lighthouse of AI for Sustainability), one of the ELLIS EU Networks of Excellence.
Dr. Fabio Poiesi
Fondazione Bruno Kessler
Read bio
Dr. Fabio Poiesi is a Research Scientist at Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, Italy. He received his PhD degree in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science from Queen Mary University of London (UK) in 2014. He served as Guest Editor in ACM TOMM and IMAVIS, and as Area Chair in IEEE ICPR 2020 and 2022. He participated in several European Projects as workpackage leader and as PI in JPI/CH SHIELD. He is author of more than 50 publications in journals and conferences (919 Cit., h-index 16). Fabio is an ELLIS member and is affiliated to the ELLIS Unit Trento.
Event location and experience
Event location
The event will take place at the new convention area NOBIS, adjacent to the NOI Techpark Brunico, featuring conference rooms for 10–526 attendees. It is just a 5-minute walk from the city center. NOBIS Website, NOI Techpark Website
Additional venues
Some keynotes and discussions will be held at the LUMEN Museum of Mountain Photography, located at the summit of Kronplatz (2,250 m above sea level) and accessible by cable car from Brunico. LUMEN Museum Website
Experience
Brunico, nestled in the South Tyrolean mountains and Dolomites, transforms into a winter wonderland and is a top spot for winter sports. Enjoy a special dining event in an alpine hut, followed by a keynote and industry talk amidst breathtaking landscapes.
Useful links
Accommodation
Below are recommended accommodations organized by region near Brunico and Kronplatz:
How to reach us
• From Switzerland: Direct links from Zurich to Innsbruck.
• From Vienna: Travel via Salzburg to Innsbruck or take a route through Lienz in East Tirol directly to Brunico.
• From the South: Travel via Verona toward Innsbruck.
Once you arrive at Brunico station, the venue is just a 5-minute walk away. For train schedules, visit Trenitalia or Südtirol Mobility.
• Bolzano (Italy)
• Innsbruck (Austria)
• Munich (Germany)
• Bologna (Italy)
Each airport offers train connections to Fortezza, from where you can easily reach Brunico.
Lectures, materials & slides
Coming soon.
Register for ELIAS-ELLIS Winter School 2027
Secure your place at the 2026-27 ELIAS-ELLIS Winter School in Brunico, South Tyrol. Early registration is available until December 15, 2026.
Register Here