Fifteen research institutions and universities join the renowned Network of Excellence “ELSA – European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI”

Fifteen research institutions and universities join the renowned Network of Excellence “ELSA – European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI”

The University of Freiburg joins the ELSA Center of Excellence network.

ELSA – European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI is a European Network of Excellence (NoE) whose 26 members have been conducting outstanding research in the fields of Secure and Safe AI, Technical Robustness and Safety, Privacy-Preserving Techniques and Infrastructure, and Human Agency and Oversight. In June 2025, the network began its expansion. ELSA now welcomes fifteen more members: universities, research institutions, and ELLIS Units. With these, ELSA enhances its expertise in pressing AI research topics and fosters knowledge exchange.

The ELSA network’s founding research institutions, universities, and companies span across eight European countries: Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. ELSA now adds fifteen new members to its network. They are universities, research institutions, and ELLIS Units. All of them show a commitment to excellent, sustainable research in areas such as Safety, Security, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning, and will be a valuable addition to the network.

The new ELSA members are:

  • Czech Technical University in Prague (ELLIS Prague)
  • Fundación de la Comunitat Valenciana Unidad ELLIS Alicante (ELLIS Alicante)
  • ELLIS Unit Delft
  • Friedrich Schiller University Jena (ELLIS Jena)
  • Graz University of Technology (ELLIS Graz)
  • IDEAS Research Institute (ELLIS Warsaw)
  • Institute for Machine Learning, Johannes Kepler University (ELLIS Linz)
  • Institute for Systems and Robotics (ELLIS Lisbon)
  • Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ELLIS Vienna)
  • Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Instituto de Desenvolvimento (ELLIS Lisbon)
  • Instituto de Telecomunicações (ELLIS Lisbon)
  • Instituto Superior Técnico (ELLIS Lisbon)
  • Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (ELLIS Jena)
  • Ukrainian Catholic University (ELLIS Lviv)
  • University of Freiburg (ELLIS Freiburg)

Incorporating these new members will enable ELSA to expand its reach across Europe and strengthen and intensify research connections. Fifteen research institutions and universities join the renowned Network of Excellence “ELSA – European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI”. Page 2/3 ELSA builds on and extends the internationally recognized pan-European AI Network of Excellence ELLIS (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems). ELLIS consists of units which are, for example, groups of institutes and universities or individual legal entities. The joining members represent eleven ELLIS Units. By joining ELSA – European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI, the new members commit to the European vision of actively shaping the future of AI research and prioritizing trustworthiness and safety.

ELSA Coordinator and CISPA Faculty Prof. Dr. Mario Fritz: “We are proud to announce the growth of ELSA through the addition of fifteen outstanding new members. Growing ELSA means strengthening the connection between renowned research institutions that can exchange brilliant research ideas, collaborate, and share the same values. Active networking and face-to-face exchanges are one of the key pillars of success for strong European research. As the coordinator of ELSA, I welcome the new members and look forward to the close exchange.”

The fifteen new ELSA members show a high level of excellence and a dedication to detailed, thorough work. Leading researchers will represent each unit and serve as contact points for both the individual members and support close, active connections.


About ELSA – European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI

ELSA – European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI is an EU-funded growing Network of Excellence that spearheads efforts in foundational safe and secure AI methodology research. ELSA builds on and extends the internationally recognized and excellently positioned ELLIS (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems) Network of Excellence. ELSA – European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI is funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe grant agreement No. 101070617.


Links

The ELLIS network: https://ellis.eu/
ELSA network overview: https://elsa-ai.eu/network/
ELSA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elsa-european-lighthouse-on-secure-and-safe-ai/
ELSA Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/elsa-ai.bsky.social
General information about the Networks of Excellence: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/networks-excellence-ai-robotics-researchers

ELSA Lighthouse Contacts

Press Enquiries: elsa-pr@cispa.de
Project Coordination: elsa-coordination@cispa.de


Contact:

Prof. Abhinav Valada
Robot Learning Lab
Department of Computer Science
Faculty of Engineering
University of Freiburg
E-Mail: eliza@cs.uni-freiburg.de

Kerstin Steiger-Merx
Representative PR/Marketing
Faculty of Engineering
University of Freiburg
Tel.: 0761/203-8056
E-Mail: steiger-merx@tf.uni-freiburg.de