relAI Retreat 2026

event

Last week, the relAI family gathered for our annual retreat in the beautiful and serene Bad Kohlgrub, from June 17th to 19th. During this time, relAI students, fellows, directors, and management came together to share ideas and visions for the future of our school, the role of AI in education, and the future of science in the era of agentic AI.

The program included keynote talks from relAI fellows Enkelejda Kasneci, Sandra Hirche, Niki Kilbertus, and Christoph Kern. It also featured lightning talks by relAI students, group discussions, and fellow/student one-on-one sessions. Additionally, there was plenty of time for networking and social activities.

Keynote by Enkelejda Kasneci
Keynote by Sandra Hirche
Keynote by Niki Kilbertus
Keynote by Christoph Kern

In the one-on-one sessions, relAI fellows and students connected directly to discuss their research experiences, career paths, and future aspirations. These conversations provided a unique mentorship opportunity, often sparking new perspectives for both mentors and mentees.

This year's group discussions focused on questions about the two strategic pillars that are currently reshaping the landscape of reliable AI:

  • Future of Science in Times of Agentic AI
    • How do agentic workflows change the way we conduct and validate our research?
    • What are the theoretical and practical requirements for genuinely dependable autonomous systems?
  • AI for Next Generation Education
    • What roles will AI and human teachers play moving forward? How can we lead the adoption and ethical use of AI technologies?
    • How can we establish standards for reliability in pedagogical AI tools?

A highlight of this year’s retreat was the presentation of the final relAI certificates to MSc and PhD students who completed the program. This moment provided an opportunity to reconnect with relAI alumni and learn about their career paths after leaving relAI.

This inspiring retreat strengthened our community and paved the way for our efforts to shape the future of reliable AI.

A big thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to making this event a success!

Frontier AI systems have recently solved IMO problems, discovered new mathematical constructions, and resolved open Erdős problems. Yet a more mundane question remains: 🤔how should a working mathematician actually use these tools day to day?

In this talk, titled “The Agentic Researcher: Turning AI Coding Agents into Research Assistants” Emil Partow, PhD Student of our relAI Director Prof. Gitta Kutyniok presented a recent paper from Prof. Pokutta (Zuse-Institut Berlin) that offers a concrete answer. The authors propose a five-level taxonomy of AI integration into research, ranging from classical work without AI to fully autonomous research loops. They have implemented this idea within an open-source framework.

Following a detailed presentation by Emil Partow, members of relAI and Prof. Kutyniok's research group gathered to discuss this forward-looking topic. The presentation explained the open-source tool that implements core research "commandments" (such as preventing the falsification of experimental data) via a practical, actionable loop. Participants then discussed how AI agents are already shaping research methodologies, what is required to implement these workflows successfully, and how to ensure human oversight remains at the center of the process. Emil also shared a practical case study demonstrating the tool in action, sparking a broader reflection on the evolving role of AI in modern research.

On March 10, relAI students had the privilege of hosting Dr. Sebastian Hallensleben, Chief Trust Officer at the relAI Industry Partner Resaro, as an invited speaker at the relAI student seminar. This seminar serves as an important platform that fosters valuable research exchanges and networking opportunities for our students.

Dr. Hallensleben is an expert at the intersection of AI research, regulation, and industry. He plays a significant role in developing AI standards for Europe as the Chair of CEN-CENELEC JTC 21, where European AI standards are being crafted to support EU regulations. Additionally, he co-chairs the AI risk and accountability initiatives at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

About the Talk

In his talk, he shared valuable insights on the landscape of international AI standards and their development. The first half of the session focused on the EU AI Act, detailing how the currently developing landscape of harmonised standards will provide the technical basis for legal compliance. Moving from regulation to practice, he was joined by Linus Stach to demonstrate how Resaro interacts with this landscape in the development of their AI evaluation platform, navigating the complexity of accurately communicating technical metrics to a wide audience of stakeholders. The speakers then demonstrated their evaluation framework using a case study based on public crime statistics from Baden-Württemberg. They showed how the framework can be used to assess model performance dimensions (such as privacy, consistency and correctness), compare different models, and ensure compliant application. The seminar concluded with an extensive and detailed discussion on the practical challenges of defining and achieving AI reliability in real-world scenarios.

More about the Speaker

Sebastian is the initiator and Programme Chair of the Digital Trust Convention and is Principal Advisor Digital Trust at KI Park. As Chief Trust Officer at Resaro, he works towards drilling down to ground truths about capabilities of AI systems. - Previously, Sebastian Hallensleben headed Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence at VDE Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies. He focuses in particular on operationalising AI ethics, on characterizing AI quality and on building privacy-preserving trust infrastructures for a more resilient digital space.

We are excited to announce the upcoming relAI symposium, “Shaping Science, Industry, and Society: Responsible Transformation through Generative AI,” dedicated to the latest developments and future prospects in the field of reliable artificial intelligence. The event aims to promote exchange between science, politics, and industry.

📅 Date and Time: 24 November, 09:00 - 13:00 pm

📍 Location: Haus der Bayerischen Wirtschaft

Program highlights:

  • Welcoming remarks from high-ranking representatives from politics and science, including State Secretary Dr. Rolf-Dieter Jungk (BMFTR, virtual) and the presidents of our two universities, Prof. Thomas Hofmann (TUM) and Prof. Matthias Tschöp (LMU).
  • High-caliber panel discussion with:  Dr. Philipp Baaske (LMU, VP Entrepreneurship), Prof. Claudia Eckert (acatech, President), Anna Kopp (Microsoft Digital Germany, CIO/CDO), and Maria Sievert (inveox, Founder).

Agenda and Registration

The complete agenda and the link to register can be found at the event URL.

❗Tickets are available free of charge, but subject to availability. You will receive a confirmation if your registration was successful.

On Tuesday, October 21, 2025, the Women in Data Science (WiDS) Munich Conference gathered a vibrant community of researchers, professionals, and students for a day filled with engaging talks, insightful panels, and meaningful networking opportunities. Hosted by Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), the event celebrated the power of data science to drive social change and empower women in technology.

In line with relAI's commitment to promoting gender equality and diversity, its members supported the event in various ways. The conference was moderated by relAI PhD student Lisa Schmierer, and the keynote address was delivered by relAI Fellow Enkelejda Kasneci, who spoke about using AI to support socially disadvantaged children. Additionally, relAI PhD student Lisa Wimmer presented a talk on "The Need for Uncertainty in Machine Learning." Frauke Kreuter,  relAI Fellow and Ombudsperson as well as member of the Steering Committee, participated as a panelist in the discussion titled “When Evidence Meets Opposition: Navigating the New Normal.” Finally, relAI Coordinator Andrea Schafferhans shared insights on how to earn a PhD in an academic environment during the networking session.

👉 Visit these links for more information on the event, including the agenda and photos.

MDSI news

Women in Data Science I Munic

On October 23, 2025, relAI, the Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI), the Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML), and the AI Hub@LMU organized the Munich Career Fair AI & Data Science 2025 at TranslaTUM.

The event brought together eleven industry partners and over 150 students across various educational stages, from bachelor’s to doctoral levels. Each partner presented an overview about their activities in AI and data science, highlighting associated career opportunities. Additionally, students had ample time and space for networking and personal interactions at the industry stands in the foyer of TranslaTUM.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all participants, especially the industry partners, for showcasing potential career paths in AI and Data Science and contributing to the success of the fair. We look forward to seeing all of you at the next edition.

We are pleased to extend a warm welcome to our new relAI members!

relAI welcomed its fourth cohort of PhD and MSc students on October 8, 2025. In the morning, the new cohort was greeted by the relAI Directors and the Management Team at the Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI), who introduced them to the school through informative presentations.

After a joint lunch, the program continued with a networking session moderated by relAI student representatives Nil Ayday and  Marius Müller, aimed at fostering connections among the students.

The day culminated in a delightful dinner, set in a charming atmosphere, where numerous relAI fellows had the opportunity to engage with the students. This gathering offered invaluable chances to establish mentoring relationships that will support the students throughout their journey with relAI.

From July 29 to August 1, 2025, relAI was delighted to welcome a group of Chinese students for the first relAI International Summer School, which took place at TUM and LMU.

Throughout the four days, various relAI Fellows and PhD students provided comprehensive insights into the four relAI research areas: mathematical and algorithmic foundations, medicine & healthcare, robotics & interacting systems, and algorithmic decision-making. The school promoted an educational exchange focused on the development of reliable AI, with the goal of exploring current trends in AI development

 

This year, the relAI Retreat took place in Bad Kohlgrub from June 4th to 6th, bringing together over 80 members of the relAI family. It was a fantastic opportunity to reflect on our work in reliable AI and on the activities of our community to drive this field forward.

Keynote presentations by relAI Fellows showcased the impressive breadth of work across our four research areas:

Keynote by Vincent Fortuin
Keynote by Christian Wachinger
Keynote by Hinrich Schütze
Keynote by Göran Kauermann

Our relAI students presented their research topics during concise one-minute Lightning Talks, showing the diversity of work within the community. Additionally, we had exciting and inspirational Group Discussions on topics such as uncertainty in causal machine learning, counterexamples in machine learning, and explainable AI.

A significant outcome of the retreat was the strengthening of community ties, particularly among students. A speedgeeking session on the first day effectively broke the ice, fostering informal connections. Group discussions on organizational topics generated ideas for shaping the relAI program. This year, students proposed innovative ideas to enhance community spirit, engage with industry and alumni, contribute to the relAI blog, and expand the relAI wiki. We also allocated time for social activities, which facilitated further discussions on research collaborations and joint initiatives.

Speedgeeking session
Lightning Talks
Group discussions
Group discussions

Other notable events at the retreat included the annual assembly of relAI Fellows, one-to-one discussions between relAI students and Fellows on the students’ individual development plans (IDP), and the presentation of relAI certificates to MSc students who successfully completed the relAI MSc program.

IDP Discussions
Award of relAI Certificates

A big thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to making this event a success!

relAI is proud to support the opening ceremony of the project “Next Generation AI Computing (gAIn)"! This collaboration between LMU and TUM in Bavaria and TU Dresden in Saxony is financially supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts, as well as the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture, and Tourism. The goal of the project is to develop a comprehensive, mathematics-based concept for the next generation of "Green AI" systems. The focus will be on application-based AI hardware-software combinations aimed at maximizing energy efficiency, trustworthiness, and legal compliance.

The event will feature keynotes from Minister Blume (Bavaria) and Minister Gemkow (Saxony), and a scientific lecture by Prof. Dr. Wolfram Burgard (UTN), as well as general information about the project.

For the Konrad Zuse Schools of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, the project presents a significant opportunity to collaborate, as relAI Director Gitta Kutyniok and Stefanie Speidel, deputy director of the Zuse School SECAI, are both Principal Investigators on the project.