AI made in Europe: CLAIRE and ZHAW celebrate the launch of CLAIRE Switzerland
On its mission to ensure the success of "AI made in Europe", CLAIRE is celebrating its reach across Europe by launching four new offices in Zurich, Oslo, Paris and Brussels in an Office Launch Roadshow. CLAIRE Switzerland will celebrate its official launch on 26 May.
CLAIRE is an international non-profit association – a network of experts and stakeholders in AI - committed to building bridges between research, industry, policy makers and the general public, in order to ensure the success of "AI made in Europe", based on an inclusive and holistic approach, and on values shared across Europe and beyond.
The ZHAW is an active member of CLAIRE and, with the Zurich office, primarily promotes the expansion of the industry network and networking in the field of AI in Switzerland. Ricardo Chavarriaga, Head of CLAIRE Office Zurich, is based at the ZHAW and took over his position in January 2020. In addition to his work at CLAIRE, he is a Research Associate at the Institute of Applied Information Technology (InIT) at the ZHAW School of Engineering. "Steering AI towards societal benefits requires strong links between research, industry, national and trans-national organisations. Switzerland can, and should, play a leading role in building these bridges and promote responsible technology for all," says Chavarriaga.
Ceremonial opening with virtual roadshow
The Office Launch Roadshow will be held in a series of virtual events starting on 26 May at the new Swiss CLAIRE Office in Zürich. In addition to Ricardo Chavarriaga, many high-ranking AI-experts will participate at the launch event of the Swiss Office: Frédérick Bordry (CERN), Claudio Mirti (Microsoft), Peter Broennimann (Swiss Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI), Sasha Rubel (UNESCO), Irene Kitsara (World Intellectual Property Organization) and Boi Faltings (EPFL). More information on the programme is available on the website of CLAIRE Switzerland. The roadshow continues with the Norwegian CLAIRE Office, on 03 June in Oslo, followed by the French CLAIRE Office in Paris, on 17 June, and culminates in the launch of the Belgian CLAIRE Office in Brussels, on 26 June.
Current topics in European and human-centred AI research
Each CLAIRE Office has its own focus in supporting work on current topics around European and human-centred AI research, AI for good and AI for all. The Belgian office, for example, focuses on European AI policy, whereas the Swiss office concentrates on AI for Good and collaboration NGOs committed to that goal. The Norwegian office works on AI-related topics around startups, and the French office has a focus on Private-Public-Partnerships (PPPs). These new offices complement the four existing CLAIRE offices in The Hague, Prague, Rome and Saarbrücken. Further information about the offices’ focus areas, panellists and the programmes for the official openings can be found here: https://claire-ai.org/offices-roadshow/