The European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS) creates a new Associate Unit in Lviv, Ukraine.
Based at the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FAS) of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), Lviv is the first of a new type of ELLIS Associate Units created at promising research laboratories at emerging locations. Its objectives include promoting top-tier research within the country, attracting skilled professionals, and further integrating both Ukrainian researchers and companies into the broader European AI community. With Lviv, ELLIS now has 43 sites in 17 different countries across Europe and Israel.
Associate units are physical research laboratories that have the potential to become a leading location for AI research and are created in countries that do not have an ELLIS Unit yet. Associate units are closely linked with at least one existing ELLIS unit that helps the new associate unit build connections to the rest of the ELLIS network. For Lviv, this role is taken by ELLIS Unit Prague at the Czech Technical University, which has a track record of research collaborations and student exchange with Lviv.
The associate unit in Lviv is established at the Machine Learning Laboratory (MLLab) of the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FAS). MLLab was created in September 2018 with the aim of creating an environment that would motivate undergraduate and graduate students to pursue research careers and participate in applied research projects. By now, two startups have emerged from the lab and several members of the lab presented their results at top-tier conferences in machine learning-driven fields. With establishing an ELLIS Associate Unit, the Ukrainian researchers aim to become a center of scientific excellence fostering high-quality research in the country, and a focal point for the ecosystem of IT industry and academia in the region. Another objective is to further deepen ties with other research locations in Europe.
The research fields include machine learning with applications to 3D computer vision, embodied AI and indoor robot navigation, natural language processing with emphasis on low-resource languages, biology and medical imaging, text mining and knowledge discovery in natural language texts, and responsible AI.
“The new associate units recognize strong scientific AI institutions in countries that do not yet have an ELLIS Unit. We want to give such institutions access to the ELLIS network and accompany them on their way to becoming a full ELLIS Unit”, highlights Josef Sivic, ELLIS Board Member and Director of the ELLIS Unit in Prague. “We are delighted to welcome Lviv to the ELLIS network. We are impressed by the excellent work of the researchers in Lviv, and we look forward to a close and fruitful cooperation.“
„Establishing the ELLIS Associate Unit Lviv will help strengthen the research potential of the Ukrainian colleagues by offering more collaboration opportunities between academic institutions and industry; this will also attract more talented students and young professionals to the challenging R&D projects. Becoming part of the well-renowned ELLIS research network in these turbulent times is very inspiring; the membership will foster cooperation and knowledge transfer between various research groups in the country and across Europe. It will activate the scientific, economic, and social development in the region“, says Rostyslav Hryniv, Director of the new ELLIS Associate Unit in Lviv, Professor at UCU and Head of the MLLab.
About ELLIS
ELLIS is a pan-European AI network of excellence. It builds upon machine learning as the driver for modern AI and aims to secure lasting international leadership of AI made in Europe by connecting top researchers in this field and by creating a multi-centric AI research laboratory connecting world-class AI research institutions in Europe. Founded in 2018, ELLIS has grown into a network that counts 43 ELLIS sites in 17 countries, 16 ELLIS programs and a pan-European PhD program. The members of ELLIS are committed to shaping the future of AI in Europe by pushing the scientific and technological boundaries for human-centered, beneficial and safe AI.
ELLIS Unit Prague is based at the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics of the Czech Technical University (CIIRC CTU). The unit brings together several lead scientists and their teams with the shared objective to address key scientific challenges in artificial intelligence and to generate innovations with a positive impact on the economy and society.
