Franconian center for AI research established

The new consortium will be led by the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, and the University of Technology Nuremberg. The universities of Bamberg and Bayreuth complete the ELLIS Unit Franconia.

The Franconian consortium is one of seven new ELLIS Units officially announced by the European research network on May 18, 2026. Alongside ELLIS Unit Franconia, the newly established units are Czechia, Denmark, Grenoble, NRW, Slovenia, and Sweden. The network now comprises 44 ELLIS Units involving 150 institutions across Europe, from Sweden to Portugal.

New opportunities for Würzburg and Europe

ELLIS – the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems – is one of Europe’s leading networks in machine learning and artificial intelligence. The establishment of the Franconian consortium highlights the growing importance of AI research in the region and at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. It opens up new opportunities for scientific collaboration, talent development, and joint research projects across Europe.

Würzburg’s contribution to the research consortium comes from the Center for Artificial Intelligence und Data Science – CAIDAS. 

Statements

Professor Radu Timofte, Chair of Computer Science IV (Computer Vision), University of Würzburg, ELLIS Director:

“The establishment of the ELLIS Unit Franconia is both a recognition of the outstanding AI research already taking place in our region and a strong commitment to its future. Our Unit brings together excellence in machine learning, computer vision, robotics, language technologies, data science, medical AI, foundation models, and trustworthy, human-centred AI. As part of the ELLIS network, we will strengthen international collaboration, attract and train the next generation of AI researchers, and accelerate the transfer of responsible AI innovation into science, healthcare, industry, and society.”

Professor Florian Marquardt, FAU / Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, ELLIS Director:

“I am delighted that the strength of the region in AI research will become even more visible through the establishment of the ELLIS Unit Franconia. The Unit brings together a diverse network of researchers covering a broad spectrum of fields – from medical AI and foundation models to ethical AI. While FAU has strong expertise across all of these areas, at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light we are particularly advancing AI for science in the field of quantum physics, as well as neuromorphic computing. Our aim is to replace today’s energy-intensive digital neural networks with more energy-efficient, physics-based solutions.”

Professor Ute Schmid, Executive Director of the Bamberg Center for Artificial Intelligence and Chair of Cognitive Systems, University of Bamberg:

“The ELLIS Unit Franconia is a major opportunity to connect AI research in Northern Bavaria even more closely and to raise its international profile together. Through the Bamberg Center for Artificial Intelligence, we contribute our expertise in key future fields of AI – ranging from machine learning and language technologies to human-AI interaction and trustworthy, explainable AI. An interdisciplinary approach is particularly important to us: in Bamberg, we combine technological innovation with perspectives from the humanities, social sciences, human sciences, and educational sciences. In this way, we aim to develop AI systems that are powerful, responsible, and centred on human needs.”

Professor Andreas Hotho, CAIDAS spokesperson and Chair of Computer Science X (Data Science), University of Würzburg:

“The ELLIS Unit Franconia is an important step towards making AI and data science research in Franconia even more visible and impactful. CAIDAS contributes its broad expertise, ranging from the methodological foundations of machine learning to language models, human-centred AI, data-driven modelling, and responsible AI applications across different scientific disciplines, as well as the transfer of these innovations into society. What is particularly valuable for us is that the new Unit closely integrates AI research in Franconia into the ELLIS network, creating new opportunities for international collaboration, visibility, and scientific exchange.”