ELLIS Summer School 2026: AI for Research
When
Where
Event language(s)
Thank you to all participants!
Read the news about the 2026 summer school here.
Important Dates and Fees
- April 15 – May 20: Registration open
- May 10 – May 20: Travel grant application open. A limited number of travel grants will be available.
- June 1: Admission notifications
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August 17 – 21: Summer School
Fees:
-
Master's / PhD students 350€
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Postdocs and other academics 500€
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Non-academics 800€
Program Details (Tentative)
Modelling Scientists’ Thinking • AI Assisted Research Workflow
| Time | Activity |
| 8:45–9:00 | Opening Remarks, Speaker: Samuel Kaski |
| 9:00–10:00 | Keynote: Advancing Scientific Discovery with AI: Tools, Systems, and Open Challenges, Speaker: Peter Clark |
| 10:00–10:30 | Coffee Break |
| 10:30–11:30 | Keynote: The Bayesian scientist: Research as reducing uncertainty, Speaker: Arto Klami |
| 11:30–13:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00-14:30 | LUMI Onboarding (Speaker: Marlon Tobaben) & Hackathon Team Formation |
| 14:30–15:30 | Tutorial: AI-Assisted Research Workflow (Aras Erarslan, Petrus Mikkola and Sara Perez-Vieites) |
| 15:30–16:00 | Coffee Break |
| 16:00–17:00 | Tutorial: AI-Assisted Research Workflow (Aras Erarslan, Petrus Mikkola and Sara Perez-Vieites) |
Safe Scientific Agents · Learning Under Uncertainty · Conformal Prediction
| Time | Activity |
| 9:00–10:00 | Keynote: Verifiable AI-assisted scientific discovery: Advancing Theoretical Computer Science with AlphaEvolve, Speaker (Remote): Abhradeep Guha Thakurta |
| 10:00–10:30 | Coffee Break |
| 10:30–12:15 | Tutorial: Learning Under Uncertainty, Speaker: Yevgeny Seldin |
| 12:15–14:45 | Lunch & Poster Session |
| 14:45–15:45 | Tutorial: Conformal Prediction for Uncertainty Quantification, Speaker: Christian Igel |
| 15:45–16:15 | Coffee Break |
| 16:15–17:15 | Tutorial: Advanced Topics on Conformal Prediction, Speaker: Christian Igel |
| Time | Activity |
| 8:00–12:00 | Hackathon |
| 12:00–13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30–18:30 | Social Event |
AI for Chemistry/Physics/Biology/Health • Generative Models
| Time | Activity |
| 9:00–10:00 | Keynote: Sensing, Perception, Intelligence & Action in High Intensity, Dynamic Surgical Environments, Speaker: Nassir Navab |
| 10:00–10:30 | Coffee Break |
| 10:30–11:30 | Keynote: Embodied AI for Next-Generation Robotic Chemists: From Laboratory Skill Acquisition to Autonomous Discovery, Speaker: Gabriella Pizzuto |
| 11:30–13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30–14:30 | Tutorial: An Introduction to Generative Models, Speaker: Jes Frellsen |
| 14:30–15:00 | Coffee Break |
| 15:00–16:00 | Tutorial: Deep latent variable models for biomedical data, Speaker: Harri Lähdesmäki |
| 16:00–16:15 | Short Break |
| 16:15–17:15 | Lecture: Foundation Models for Particle Physics, Speaker: Nicole Hartman |
AI for Society/Tech • Hackathon Presentation
| Time | Activity |
| 9:00–10:00 | Invited Talk: Responsible AI and Law: A Complex-Systems Perspective, Speaker: Corinna Coupette |
| 10:00–10:30 | Coffee Break |
| 10:30–11:30 | Invited Talk: From Paper to Product: Navigating the AI Founder Journey, Speaker: Thomas Casey + Simo Tuomisto |
| 11:30–13:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00–14:00 | Lightning Screening Round |
| 14:00–15:00 | Finalists Prepare Final Pitch & Coffee Break |
| 15:00–16:30 | Grand Finale Presentations |
| 16:30–17:00 | Awards |
| 17:00–17:30 | Closing Remarks |
Confirmed Speakers
Nicole Hartman
Technical University of Munich and ORIGINS Data Science Laboratory
Personal Website
Thomas Casey
Ecosystem Manager, ELLIS Institute Finland
Venue
Aug. 17 - 18: Lumituuli auditorium, Dipoli (address: Otakaari 24, Espoo).
Aug. 19: Lecture hall T1 and Learning Hub Greenhouse, Aalto University Computer Science Building (address: Konemiehentie 2, Espoo). Summer Outing: Nuuksio national park. Please prepare with comfortable outdoor clothing suitable for the weather.
Aug. 20: Lumituuli auditorium, Dipoli (address: Otakaari 24, Espoo).
Aug. 21: Aalto University Undergraduate Centre, lecture hall Y122 Hall D (address: Otakaari 1, Espoo).
Organization Committee
Qi Chen (main contact)
ELLIS Institute Finland, Aalto University
Personal Website
Advisory Board
Samuel Kaski
ELLIS Institute Finland, Aalto University and University of Manchester
Personal Website
Hackathon Session Committee
Local Organizers
Elina Pylvänäinen
ELLIS Institute Finland
Yinghong Yu
Aalto University
Adara Andonie
Aalto University
Volunteers
We would like to warmly thank our volunteers, Ang Li, Maximilian Henkel, Xuejing Luo, Xinyi Wen, Doudou Zhang, Ruofeng Wang, and Braghadeesh Lakshminarayanan, for their valuable help and support in making the ELLIS Summer School 2026 possible. We greatly appreciate their time, effort, and contributions throughout the event.
Support
This summer school is supported by ELLIS, HIIT, LUMI AI Factory, and Aalto University.
Interested in sponsorship? Please reach out to qi.chen.inf@aalto.fi!
Travel Grant Contact: sara.perezvieites@helsinki.fi.
Acknowledgements
We thank ELIZA and ELLIS Unit Darmstadt for their kind offer of travel support for eligible ELLIS PhD students.