European research network
Paderborn University becomes part of 'ELLIS NRW'
Paderborn University is one of the founding members of the new research unit 'ELLIS Unit NRW'. The European network bundles AI research in North Rhine-Westphalia with a focus on machine learning and explainable AI.
Paderborn University is one of the founding members of the new research unit 'ELLIS Unit NRW'. ELLIS stands for "European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems" and is a European network for the promotion of AI research. The aim is to strengthen Europe's competitiveness in this field.
The so-called 'ELLIS Units' serve as regional centers of scientific cooperation. According to the network, the new unit in North Rhine-Westphalia is the first and so far only ELLIS unit that pools the research strengths of an entire federal state.
Co-Director of the ELLIS Unit NRW is Prof. Dr. Axel-Cyrille Ngonga from the University of Paderborn. The unit concentrates on basic research in the field of machine learning. The focus is on open and generalist base models that can be used in various fields of application.
"Our focus is on researching and developing explainable basic AI models whose results can be understood and verified by humans and AI agents. In this way, we contribute to the implementation of trustworthy AIs," explains Prof. Ngonga from the Heinz Nixdorf Institute and the Institute of Computer Science at Paderborn University.
The units are intended to promote interdisciplinary research and develop long-term research agendas. In addition to NRW, there are also new units in Franconia and Grenoble.
Ngonga conducts research at the interface between humans, machines and data. His work focuses on areas such as explainable and responsible machine learning. He is Professor of Data Science at Paderborn University and leads several national and international research projects.
Artificial intelligence is one of the key research areas at Paderborn University. Researchers from various disciplines are working on the fundamentals and effects of AI systems. The aim is to make applications more transparent, easier to understand and safer.











