After four successful and eventful years, ELSA will host its final General Assembly. We are excited to welcome the network, the ELSA Consortium, ELLIS members, EU-funded partner Networks of Excellence, industry representatives and EU policymakers.
So, save the date for the last ELSA General Assembly!
What: ELSA General Assembly and workshop day
When: May 5 – 7, 2026
Location: CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, Stuhlsatzenhaus 5, 66123 Saarbruecken
Important Dates
Open Call Submissions: March 31
Registration: April 17, 2026. Register now. We are excited to welcome you!
Mobility Funding Application: April 17, 2026
Poster Submissions: April 29, 2026
Agenda and Workshop Topics
We are currently working on the agenda and will publish more details soon.
Tuesday, May 5 – Conference Day
| 8:45 – 9:00 | Registration |
| 9:00 – 9:10 | Welcome |
| 9:10 – 9:30 | Organisation, Agenda, ELSA Update – ELSA Coordination |
| 9:30 – 10:00 | Keynote – Representative of the EU AI Office |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Keynote – Representative of the European Commission |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee Break & Poster Exhibition |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Keynote – Representative of Helmholtz Brussels |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | ELSA Work Packages Updates |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | ELSA Use Case Session |
| 13:30 – 14:30 | Lunch Break & Poster Exhibition |
| 14:30 – 15:45 | Poster Pitch Session |
| 15:45 – 16:15 | Coffee Break & Poster Exhibition |
| 16:15 – 17:15 | Poster Session & Flex Time |
| 17:15 – 17:30 | Summary and Closing Remarks, day 1 |
| from 18:00 | Social Dinner at CISPA |
Wednesday, May 6 – Conference Day
| 8:45 – 9:00 | Registration |
| 9:00 – 9:50 | Pitches: ELSA Newcomer Startups |
| 9:50 – 10:40 | Pitches: ELSA Rising Star Startups |
| 10:40 – 11:15 | Coffee Break & Industry Call Poster Exhibition |
| 11:15 – 12:00 | Keynotes on the “European Networking Landscape in Secure and Safe AI“ – Representatives of European Networks of Excellence |
| 12:00 – 13:30 | Lunch Break |
| 13:30 – 13:45 | Best Poster Award & Open Call Awards |
| 13:45 – 15:05 | Keynotes on “New Frontiers in Secure and Safe AI“ |
| 15:05 – 15:45 | Coffee Break |
| 15:45 – 16:45 | Panel Discussion on “New Frontiers in Secure and Safe AI – Wrapping Up“ |
| 16:45 – 17:00 | Summary and Closing Remarks, day 2 |
Thursday, May 7 – Workshop Day
The workshops will focus on collaboration, knowledge exchange, and practical engagement. They will address academics, policymakers, and industry representatives.
Workshop 1: “AI in Cybersecurity: Offensive Capabilities, Impacts, and Response Strategies“
More details tba.
Workshop 2: “Towards Integrated Understanding of Trustworthy AI“
Machine learning systems are increasingly deployed in high-stakes contexts, yet “trustworthy AI” remains fragmented into separate research and governance areas such as fairness, robustness, privacy, and explainability. These properties are typically studied and evaluated independently, despite the fact that real systems must satisfy them simultaneously. As a result, improvements along one dimension frequently degrade another, and accuracy or performance of the systems.
This workshop proposes an integrated perspective on trustworthy AI: rather than treating its properties as independent requirements, we frame them as interacting objectives. The goal is to develop shared conceptual tools for understanding tensions between dimensions (e.g., privacy vs. fairness, robustness vs. accuracy) and to identify directions towards improving trade-offs in trustworthy AI. The questions that we aim to address include:
- Which trade-offs in trustworthy AI are inevitable vs. which can be softened or eliminated?
- What technical or governance approaches should be prioritized for integrated trustworthy AI.
- At what stage of the lifecycle (data collection, model training, deployment, monitoring) can conflicts between objectives most effectively be addressed?
- What evaluation practices and metrics are needed to measure relations between multiple dimensions of trustworthy AI?
- What institutional barriers should be overcome for interdisciplinary research in integrated trustworthy AI?
- How can community artifacts (benchmarks, audits, standards, or checklists) evolve to reflect interacting objectives rather than independent requirements?
- How can we better design and evaluate multiple dimensions in trustworthy AI in practice?
The workshop will include short introductions of the trustworthy AI disciplines, keynotes covering the pathways towards the integrated approaches, and a poster session. In addition, we foresee structured interactive sessions with the audience. The outcomes of the discussions will be synthesized into a community white paper outlining open problems, common terminology, and practical guidelines for developing and evaluating trustworthy AI systems.
Registration
Please register by April 17, 2026, and join us for three inspiring days at our Final ELSA General Assembly.
We are excited to welcome you in Saarbrücken.
Present your research: Poster Session
Besides bringing the ELSA network together and opening up a space for collaboration and idea exchange, the assembly will offer you the opportunity to present your research to an audience of leading experts in artificial intelligence. We highly encourage you to apply to:
- present your research in a poster session
- pitch your poster and join the ELSA Best Poster Award competition
When you register for the assembly, please highlight that you want to present a poster. The event offers two options: You can either only present your poster as part of the poster session or shortly pitch it too. With a four minute pitch, you automatically join the ELSA Best Poster Award!
In both cases, please notice that you will have to send your poster as a PDF file to the ELSA Coordination Team by April 29, 2026. The poster format should be max A0 in size and vertically orientated. Posters need to be printed by the presenters themselves.
You changed your mind about presenting a poster? Don’t worry, you can still join after you have already registered. Simply send an email to the ELSA Coordination Team (deadline April 29, 2026).
Open Call: SME and Startup Pitches
Are you a startup or small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) with an innovative project in the area of safe, secure, and trustworthy AI? We invite you to present your company and vision at the ELSA General Assembly!
We are launching an open call for startups and young SMEs to compete in two award categories. Selected companies will pitch their projects live in front of the ELSA network and an independent jury.
Award Categories
Applicants must self-select the category that best fits their company:
1) ELSA Newcomer Award
This category is aimed at young, recently founded startups and researchers with an idea at the beginning of their journey.
Application requirements
Submit a one-pager including:
- A description of your project
- Information about your company (e.g., founding date, team structure, gender distribution, number of employees, etc.)
- Your vision and objectives
2) ELSA Rising Star Award
This category is for established startups and SMEs that have already demonstrated growth and measurable progress.
Application requirements
Submit a one-pager including:
- A description of your project
- How your company has developed so far
- Key milestones and achievements
- Information about your company (e.g., founding date, team structure, gender distribution, number of employees, etc.)
Apply
Applying is easy: Simply send your one-pager to ELSA Coordination via email by March 31, 2026. We will come back to you in a timely manner.
Selection Process
- All applications will be reviewed and pre-selected by an independent jury.
- Five companies per category will be selected.
- Only the selected companies will be invited to pitch at the ELSA General Assembly.
Pitch at the General Assembly
Selected startups and SMEs will:
- Receive the opportunity to pitch their company and project.
- Have 10 minutes for their presentation.
- Present in front of the ELSA General Assembly and jury.
Awards
- One winner per category will receive a trophy.
- All selected companies will receive a Runner-Up Certificate in recognition of their achievement.
- Visibility and Exposure through ELSA’s communication channels.
- Valuable connections to the ELSA network at the General Assembly.
How to reach CISPA
Here’s how you can reach CISPA’s main building in Saarbruecken. We thank the CISPA team for providing the information below.
By plane
Saarbrücken airport (SCN) offers daily non-stop flights to a number of European cities. A taxi ride from the airport to Saarland University takes about 20 minutes (taxis available at +49 681 33033 or +49 681 55000). Alternatively, a local bus service (R10) will take you from the airport to Saarland University in 45 minutes. The bus runs approximately twice an hour between 5 am and 8:45 pm on weekdays.
For details, see the R10 timetable: http://www.saarfahrplan.de
Frankfurt airport (FRA) is convenient for travellers from most destinations. Getting from Frankfurt airport to Saarbrücken takes ca. 1 1/2 hours by car and ca. 2 hours by train (see “By train” below). Airports in Paris or Luxembourg are other convenient options, connected to Saarbrücken by train and bus.
By train and bus
Saarbruecken’s main railway station is called “Saarbruecken Hauptbahnhof”. It is well connected to other German cities.
Connections from the main station: Bus services 111, 112, and 124 go from the Hauptbahnhof to Saarland University; the bus ride takes between 15 and 25 minutes. Get off at “Universität Busbahnhof” and follow the road down to the end of the campus. CISPA is on your left.
Other convenient bus stops in the city: Rabbiner-Rülf-Platz, Rathaus
Bus stop in front of CISPA: If you get off at “Stuhlsatzenhaus”, you find yourself right on CISPA’s doorstep. The busses 101, 102, 136, 138, 163 stop there.
For details, access the timetables: http://www.saarfahrplan.de
By car
GPS coordinates of the University campus: N 49.259386 E 7.051715
CISPA is located at Saarland University’s east entrance (“Universität Ost”). You can conveniently park your car right outside our main building or use the multistorey car park “Universität Ost” a few hundred meters away.
Hotels
For your convenience, please find a list of hotel recommendations below. Please note that these are only our hotel recommendations. You are free to stay in any hotel you like. We advise participants to book sooner rather than later.
- B&B HOTEL Saarbrücken-Hbf
- Premier Inn Saarbrücken City Centre
- Premier Inn Saarbrücken Kongresshalle
- Hotel Madeleine
- Hotel am Triller
- Mercure Hotel Saarbrücken City
- Mercure Hotel Saarbruecken Sued
- Domicil Leidinger
- Bayrischer Hof Wohlfühl-Hotel Saarbrücken
- IntercityHotel Saarbrücken
- Motel One Saarbrücken
- Holiday Inn Express Saarbrücken
- Ibis Saarbrücken City
Mobility Funding
We support travels to the General Assembly with our mobility fund. Before applying, please read the terms and conditions carefully. The deadline to apply for mobility funding is April 17, 2026.
Experienced Researchers
PhDs and Postdocs