The AI Grid community meetup at the DFKI-booth brought together about 15 AI Grid members, alumni, and mentors, as well as interested guests from the IJCAIcommunity. Several members also invited fellow students and colleagues. This allowed more people to learn about AI Grid and engage directly with the community.
A Space for Exchange and New Connections
Community members presented their professional backgrounds and shared key insights from the conference. Guests were invited to join the discussions, exchange experiences, and learn more about the people and opportunities at AI Grid. The informal setting facilitated dialogue across various research fields, career stages, and institutions.
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wahlster, Chair of the AI Grid Executive Board, emphasized the importance of IJCAI as one of the longest-standing international conference series and associations in the field of artificial intelligence. He encouraged early-career researchers to contribute their own papers at the next IJCAI conference in Amsterdam in 2027.
The meetup also provided an opportunity to exchange ideas with representatives from the Zuse Schools, von DeepL and Franka Robotics. The discussions highlighted the value of bringing the AI Grid community together in places where research, industry, and future collaborations intersect.
Members Present Their Research
AI Grid members contributed to the IJCAI 2026 program in various formats:
- Tim Hallyburton presented the paper at the ETHICAIA workshop “Talking as a Drug: Administering LLM Conversations for Medical Treatment in Elder Care”. The co-author is AI Grid mentor Rosae Martín Peña, who is affiliated with CAIMed and is a guest researcher at DFKI.
- Rebecca Westhäußer presented “Personalizing Long-Term Interactions with LLM-Based Agents” at the Doctoral Consortium.
- Muskaan Chopra presented “Personalizing Long-Term Interactions with LLM-Based Agents” at the Doctoral Consortium.
- Jiayi Wang presented research findings at the SCaLA workshop that were developed in collaboration with the DFKI.
The joint paper by Tim and Rosae demonstrates specifically how encounters within the network can lead to further exchange and collaboration. The two met at an AI Grid mentoring event and continued their exchange afterward. When Tim learned that the IJCAI workshop was still accepting submissions, he approached Rosae about collaborating, given their shared interest in ethical issues. This conversation led to a research collaboration and a joint paper, which was presented at IJCAI 2026.
Strengthening the Community Through Connections
The days in Bremen showed that a conference for young AI researchers can be more than just a series of talks and presentations. The focus was on making new connections, discussing research, meeting mentors, raising the profile of one’s own work, and generating initial ideas for future collaboration. It is precisely this combination of research, exchange, and new opportunities that defines the AI Grid community.
Enabling Participation
AI Grid supported nine members by covering conference registration fees and travel expenses. At least seven other AI Grid members and alumni also participated in the conference and community activities in Bremen. This support enabled members to participate in an important international research event, present their work, and represent the AI Grid community.
Siavash Ghiasvand, AI Grid Mentor, and Miriam Louise Carnot, AI Grid member, represented AI Grid at the ScaDS.AI Dresden/Leipzigbooth and during the meetup. We would also like to thank the DFKI and its on-site team, including Swantje Schmidt and Andrea Fink, who made AI Grid’s presence at the DFKI booth possible.
