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Katrin Bergener

The Intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Information Systems

CLAIRE and ERCIS to work towards AI for Good and AI for All
Logos of CLAIRE and ERCIS
CLAIRE and ERCIS intensify collaboration

CLAIRE and ERCIS will collaborate on events, research activities and network activities for young researchers. The parties are particularly interested in exploring networking opportunities and joint activities at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Information Systems (IS). 

Recently, CLAIRE joined forces with the European Research Center of Information Systems (ERCIS) in terms of a Memorandum of Understanding. The collaboration will specifically bundle and foster application-oriented AI research and related activities.

First joint activities are already planned, for example in the context of the upcoming Joint Theme Development Workshops organised by CLAIRE together with the EU ICT-48 Networks of Excellence. Especially the planned Theme Development Workshop for the public sector will be an outstanding opportunity in this context, since digitisation of public administration is a prominent field of research in Information Systems (IS), and this sector is highly relevant for addressing some of CLAIRE’s top priorities: Contributing to AI for Good and AI for All.

Accordingly, the parties strive to encourage direct contact between the members of their organisations. Possible forms of cooperation include 

  • joint research activities, specifically in the context of the European Commission’s Framework Programmes;
  • application-oriented research, aimed at bridging the gap between academia and industry; joint involvement of respective members in consortia, commissions, or panels;
  • co-organisation and participation in lectures, seminars, workshops, and conferences; and
  • the exchange of academic materials, academic publications, and information.

A further focus is the inclusion of highly skilled PhD students in network activities for young AI researchers.

About CLAIRE

The Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe (CLAIRE) (https://claire-ai.org) is an organisation created by the European AI community that seeks to strengthen European excellence in AI research and innovation, with a strong focus on human-centred AI. CLAIRE aims to ensure that societies and citizens across all of Europe, and beyond, benefit from AI as a major driver of innovation, future growth and competitiveness, and to achieve world-wide brand recognition for "AI made in Europe". CLAIRE, founded in 2018, has garnered the support of more than 3700 AI experts and stakeholders, who jointly represent the vast majity of Europe’s AI community, spanning academia and industry, research and innovation. Among them are more than 140 fellows from various key scientific associations.

CLAIRE's membership network consists of over 390 research groups and institutions, covering jointly more than 22,000 employees in 36 countries. Furthermore, CLAIRE is currently in the process of setting up an Innovation Network that, together with the established Research Network, will foster a strong link between research and industry.

The CLAIRE vision is officially supported by the governments of nine European countries, 28 scientific associations across all of Europe, the European Association for Artificial Intelligence (EurAI), the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), and the European Space Agency (ESA).

CLAIRE is also actively liaising with other important AI-organisations, including ELLIS, the HumanE AI consortium, the Big Data Value Association, euRobotics and AI4EU.

About ERCIS

The European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS, https://www.ercis.org) is a lively international network of 31 research institutions, 10 active personal members and 17 advisory board members working in the field of Information Systems. Different perspectives on current socio-technical questions and "hot topics” allow the unique and country-spanning multidisciplinarity. One of ERCIS’ core research clusters specifically focuses on Artificial Intelligence and Data Science which of course highly interacts with the topics addressed by the other research clusters, i.e. Process Science, Knowledge Management and Learning, Smart Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, and Digital Public Services.

The network is organized and managed by the headquarters located at the University of Münster (WWU), Germany. In addition, there are associated member institutions from all over the world as well as international personal members and a set of companies (our advisory board) we collaborate with. Certain research topics, e.g. Social Media Analytics, E-Government or Digital Transformation in Small and Medium Enterprises,  are bundled in our competence centers.

ERCIS’ close ties with the WWU Center for Europe (WWU CE), the University of Münster’s liaison institution to the European Commission in Brussels, also provides the network with access to early first-hand information about funding schemes and initiatives planned by the Commission. Furthermore, the WWU CE is well-networked with the University’s internationalisation and funding support institutions, adding yet another benefit to this collaboration.

Contacts:

  • Prof. Dr. Holger Hoos (CLAIRE leadership), Professor of Machine Learning, Universiteit Leiden, The Netherlands
    Tel. +31 71 527 5777
    E-Mail: hh@liacs.nl
  • Alexa Kodde, MSc, Project Coordinator CLAIRE, CLAIRE Headquarters, The Hague, The Netherlands
    E-Mail: contact@claire-ai.org
  • Dr. Silke Balzert-Walter (Head of the German CLAIRE Office), Senior Consultant, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI GmbH), Germany
    E-Mail: office-germany@claire-ai.org
  • Prof. Dr. Heike Trautmann (ERCIS Director), Professor of Data Science, University of Münster, Germany
    E-Mail: trautmann@ercis.org
  • Dr. Armin Stein (ERCIS Managing Director), University of Münster, Germany
    E-Mail: armin.stein@ercis.uni-muenster.de
  • Dr. Katrin Bergener (WWU CE Coordinator), University of Münster, Germany
    E-Mail: katrin.bergener@uni-muenster.de