relAI Students meet Industry Partners

News

Last week, our relAI students presented their research to the relAI industry partners in a series of industry workshops. Four events took place, each centered around one of  the four relAI’s research areas: Mathematical & Algorithmic foundations, Algorithmic Decision-Making, Medicine & Healthcare and Robotics & Interacting Systems. 

We are thrilled that this event was so well received both by the students and the industry partners! Following short lightning talks, intriguing discussions around reliability of AI took place in smaller breakout groups.  

The industry workshops are part of relAI´s cross-sectional training and aim to facilitate the exchange of insights and expertise between academia and industry. The engagement from both our students and industry fellows emphasized the significance of bridging academic excellence with real-world applications, particularly when addressing the evolving challenges in AI reliability. 

We are excited to announce that our call for applications to the relAI MSc program is now open! 

The novel, innovative relAI MSc program is an addition to a regular MSc program at Technical University of Munich (TUM) or Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU), offering comprehensive cross-sectional training in reliable AI, including scientific knowledge, professional development courses, and industrial exposure. Funded applicants receive a scholarship of up to 934€ and additional support such as travel grants for home travel.   

relAI, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), is embedded in the unique transdisciplinary Munich AI ecosystem, combining the expertise of the two Universities of Excellence TUM and LMU of Munich.  

We highly encourage you to apply if you:   

  • hold an excellent Bachelor’s degree in computer science, mathematics, engineering, natural sciences or other data science/machine learning/AI related disciplines,  
  • are accepted to a MSc program in said disciplines at either TUM or LMU starting in spring or fall 2024, or have applied there (Acceptance necessary before joining relAI) 
  • have a genuine interest to study reliable AI covering aspects such as safety, security, privacy and responsibility in one relAI’s research areas Mathematical & Algorithmic foundations, Algorithmic Decision-Making, Medicine & Healthcare or Robotics & Interacting Systems, and
  • can certify proficiency in English on C1 or higher level.  

📆 Application Deadline: June 17th, 2024  

🔗 Apply now: www.zuseschoolrelai.de/application 

We are thrilled to announce our new industry partnership with SAP!

The new collaboration will strengthen the school’s expertise in Business AI, and will contribute to translate our AI research into the development of reliable AI systems. You can read below the views of SAP members on this exciting alliance between relAI and SAP.

We are thrilled to extend our collaborative efforts on research-driven product innovation with the Technical University of Munich and the Munich ecosystem through our new partnership with the Konrad-Zuse-School of Excellence in Reliable AI. This expansion not only consolidates our portfolio of AI-related applied research projects, but also fosters a more profound knowledge exchange and talent engagement on topics around the development of reliable AI systems and Business AI.

– Dr. Katharina Wollenberg and Dr. Rüdiger Eichin, Industry-University Collaboration, SAP

At SAP, we are committed to help our customers leverage AI to create tremendous business value. We specialize in Business AI: AI that is relevant since it’s embedded in enterprise business applications and processes from day one; that is reliable since we train, ground, and adapt AI on companies’ business data and context; and that is responsible by design, following SAP’s rigorous AI ethics, privacy, and security practices. We are delighted to join the Konrad Zuse School of Excellence in Reliable AI and look forward to collaborating with academica to drive the development and delivery of relevant, reliable, responsible Business AI.

– Dr. Johannes Hoffart, CTO AI, SAP

Related social media posts: X & LinkedIn

Image: SAP Labs Munich Campus at Campus Garching

On the 11th and 12th of October, relAI welcomed the new cohort of relAI Master and Doctoral students. The event included informative sessions about relAI and networking activities. At the Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI), TUM, the relAI directors and coordinators presented the relAI program to the new students. The first relAI cohort of students organised a lively interactive session (photo) to welcome and get to know the new students.

Congratulations to the relAI PhD Student Lisa Wimmer, the relAI fellow Bernd Bischl, and the relAI director Stephan Günnemann on the best paper award of the European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (ECML PKDD 2023).

ECML PKDD is Europe’s top machine learning and data mining conference, with over 20 years of successful events and conferences across the continent. The ECML PKDD 2023 was held in Turin, Italy from the 18th to the 22nd of September 2023.

List of authors and title of the awarded paper:Jonas Gregor Wiese, Lisa Wimmer, Theodore Papamarkou, Bernd Bischl, Stephan Günnemann, David Rügamer    
Towards Efficient MCMC Sampling in Bayesian Neural Networks by Exploiting Symmetry

On 14 September, the Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI, TUM) celebrated its official opening at the Science Congress Center in Garching. The event included inaugural words by the Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts, M. Blume, and the TUM President, Prof. Dr. T. Hofmann. Top-class scientific lectures from MDSI Members, presentations of outstanding MDSI projects, a panel discussion, and a poster session rounded the program. 

The Konrad Zuse School of Excellence in Reliable AI (relAI), a joint project between TUM and LMU funded by DAAD, which had been initiated through an MDSI Focus Topic, was one of the projects highlighted at the opening. relAI Coordinator Dr. Andrea Schafferhans introduced relAI to the audience, giving an excellent overview of its educational and research programs as well as its people. relAI was also widely represented at the poster session by relAI Master students and PhD researchers from the TUM University, who discussed their research projects with the numerous guests of the event, among them, MDSI partners and representatives from industry and other research institutions.

The photo gallery shows memorable moments of our opening ceremony.

Directors of relAI, Prof. Dr. Stephan Günnemann (TUM) and Prof. Dr. Gitta Kutyniok (LMU)
Keynote Address by Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts, StMWK
Welcome Address by Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kramer, Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation, TUM
Welcome Address by Prof. Dr. Francesca Biagini, Vice President for International Affairs and Diversity, LMU
Welcome Address by Dr. Kai Sicks, DAAD Secretary General
String Quartet Musai
Poster Session
Prof. Dr. Philipp Grohs, Head of Mathematical Data Science, University of Vienna represented the relAI Focus Area “Foundations”
Focus Area talk by Dr. Peter Lehnert, VP Technology and Innovation BMW
Prof. Dr. Fabian Theis, Director of the Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz München and Chair for Mathematical Modelling of Biological Systems, TUM during his lecture on the relAI Focus Area “Medicine & Healthcare”
Prof. Dr. Frauke Kreuter, Chair of Statistics and Data Science in Social Sciences and the Humanities, LMU, gave a talk about Algorithmic Decision Making

The Grand Opening of our Konrad Zuse School in Reliable AI was a great success. Welcome addresses by TUM Senior Vice President Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kramer, LMU Vice President Prof. Dr. Francesca Biagini and DAAD Secretary General Dr. Kai Sicks inaugurated the event. Afterward, State Minister Markus Blume honored us with the keynote address. Our directors Prof. Dr. Stephan Günnemann and Prof. Dr. Gitta Kutyniok introduced relAI to our guests from politics, science, and industry. The representatives of relAI academic, industry partners, and fellows Prof. Dr. Phillip Grohs (University of Vienna), Prof. Dr. Fabian Theis (TUM), Dr. Peter Lehnert (BMW), and Prof. Dr. Frauke Kreuter (LMU) presented our four research Focus Areas “Mathematical and Algorithmic Foundations”, “Medicine and Healthcare”, “Robotics and Interacting Systems”, and “Algorithmic Decision Making”. 

The celebration concluded with a reception combined with a poster session, where our students showed their research projects. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to presenting relAI and to everyone who joined us to celebrate the first successful steps of our school.