Department of Computer Science joins new European AI and innovation collaboration with elite institutions

The ELIAS Alliance is funded by the EU through the European Lighthouse of AI for Sustainability and has close links to the renowned European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS), which brings together the strongest AI research labs in Europe. The alliance is organized in eight partnerships, so-called “ELIAS nodes”.  

As part of the Copenhagen Node, the seven Copenhagen partners have joined the distinguished company of a large number of renowned universities and companies, including the Tübingen AI Center and the University of Cambridge's Alan Turing Institute.  

The partnership will strengthen the Copenhagen institutions, says Anders Pall Skött, Head of Section for Business and Innovation at the Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen.  

- Being part of the ELIAS Alliance is a great opportunity to collaborate with some of the best research, AI, sustainability and entrepreneurship communities in Europe. It is a great recognition of our work in Denmark in recent years. We will bring our strong AI ecosystem in and around the University of Copenhagen into play and connect it with the rest of Europe, says Anders Pall Skött. 

Experts join forces  

The eight ELIAS nodes are committed to strengthening each other through various activities, both within each node and across borders. All to promote innovation and entrepreneurship with artificial intelligence that can solve real-world problems.  

Serial entrepreneur Mikkel Hippe, who is also an alumnus of the Department of Computer Science, will head the Copenhagen ELIAS Node.  

In particular, he hopes that the ELIAS alliance will be able to build the necessary infrastructure to create more innovation with AI in Europe.  

- Europe lags behind the US and China when it comes to innovation, competitiveness and growth - mainly due to our challenges in translating world-leading research into global businesses. We cannot afford this in the long run. The ELIAS node is an important step towards bridging the gap between the research community and the entrepreneurial community, especially in AI, says Mikkel Hippe. 

The ELIAS alliance will support the next generation of AI innovators through access to advanced tools, mentoring and networks.  

One of the concrete initiatives unveiled by the ELIAS Alliance is an AI Launchpad, an accelerator program for startups.

The Alliance also plans to create a European Graduate Project Program and an annual Sciencepreneur Meeting, both designed to promote knowledge sharing on AI value creation across Europe.