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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">Call for Course Proposals</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">4th European Summer School on Artificial Intelligence (ESSAI 2026)<br>
2nd International Summer School on Bilateral AI<br>
6-10 July 2026, Vienna, Austria<br>
</span><a href="https://essai2026.eu"><span lang="EN-US">https://essai2026.eu</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*General Information*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">ESSAI is the annual summer school on AI held under the auspices of the European Association for Artificial Intelligence (EurAI), and in 2026 it will encompass the 2nd International Summer School on Bilateral AI. ESSAI
is the largest school of broad AI in Europe, offering courses in all areas of Artificial Intelligence and from a wide range of perspectives. Its thematic scope is analogous to major AI conferences like ECAI, IJCAI and AAAI, covering all AI subdisciplines and
their interconnections. ESSAI is a central meeting place for AI students and young researchers to deepen their knowledge, broaden their perspectives, discuss current research, and build connections with other researchers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Location*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">The fourth edition of ESSAI will be held in Vienna, a city where history and innovation walk side by side. Home to world-renowned universities and research centers, Vienna has inspired great thinkers for centuries—think
of Erwin Schrödinger, Lise Meitner, Sigmund Freud, Kurt Gödel, Ludwig Wittgenstein, or the Vienna Circle. Today, Vienna continues to welcome students, scholars, and curious minds from around the globe. Vienna awaits you with world-class culture, groundbreaking
science, and cozy coffee houses—all in a city celebrated for its quality of life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Invitation to Submit a Course Proposal*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">We welcome leading AI researchers to submit course proposals for inclusion in this school, which provides a uniquely stimulating teaching environment. We expect to welcome around 400 students with diverse backgrounds,
who can choose courses from parallel tracks in order to deepen their understanding of familiar AI disciplines, dive into new ones, and discover new interdisciplinary research areas combining different AI approaches. The lecturers of the selected courses will
be invited to join the school’s academic and social program and enjoy an exciting summer week in beautiful Vienna.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Important Dates*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* December 3 (AoE), 2025: Deadline for submitting a course proposal<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* January 21, 2026: Notification of acceptance of course proposals<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* July 6-10, 2026: Summer school <o:p>
</o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Topics*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">ESSAI aims to cover a broad range of AI subdisciplines and the interactions thereof. Proposals for courses are invited in all areas of AI, including but not limited to the following:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Autonomous Agents and Multi-agent Systems (MAS)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* AI for Social Good (A4SG)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Causality and Causal Learning (CL)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Computer Vision (VIS)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of AI (ELS)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Foundation Models (FM)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Human-In-The-Loop AI (HLAI)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KR)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Learning Theory (LT)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Machine Learning (ML)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Natural Language Processing (NLP)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Neural Networks (NN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Neuro-Symbolic Learning and Reasoning (NSLR)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Planning & Strategic Reasoning (PLAN)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Quantum Machine Learning (QML)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Reinforcement Learning (RL)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Robotics (ROB)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Safe, Explainable and Trustworthy AI (SET)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Search & Optimization (SO)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Uncertainty in AI (UAI)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Special Themes*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">ESSAI 2026 will feature two special themes. We welcome in particular course proposals that align with the following topics:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">**Bilateral AI**, which aims at developing the foundation for broad AI systems with interacting sub-symbolic and symbolic components.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">**Digital Humanism**, an interdisciplinary research field that studies the complex interplay between digital technologies and humans.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">These themes are closely related to two research priorities being pursued in Vienna and Austria: the Bilateral AI Cluster of Excellence (</span><a href="https://www.bilateral-ai.net/"><span lang="EN-US">https://www.bilateral-ai.net/</span></a><span lang="EN-US">)
and the Digital Humanism initiative (</span><a href="https://caiml.org/dighum/"><span lang="EN-US">https://caiml.org/dighum/</span></a><span lang="EN-US">).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Course Categories*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">We invite courses that will consist of **4 lectures of 90 minutes (one lecture per day, 6 hours of teaching in total)** in the week the school takes place (alternative course durations can be considered if they are
well-motivated). Every course proposal should belong to one of the following two categories:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* **Introductory courses** are intended to introduce an AI research area to students, young researchers, and other non-specialists and to foster a sound understanding of basic methods and techniques. Such courses should
enable researchers from related disciplines to develop some comfort and competence in the topic considered. Introductory courses in a cross-disciplinary area may assume general knowledge of the related disciplines.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* **Advanced courses** are targeted primarily to graduate students who wish to acquire a level of comfort and understanding of current research in an area of AI.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">While introductory courses will typically focus on one subarea of AI only, advanced courses are encouraged to present a broader perspective on AI, and they should be of interest beyond a single specific area. The course
proposals will be reviewed by a Program Committee covering all the research areas presented above, which will select the courses to be taught by the school.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Submission Instructions*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">A course proposal consists of the following:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">(A) An abstract of approximately 150 words (aimed at Program Committee members)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">(B) A single PDF document containing:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">1. Contact information for each proposer (name, affiliation, address, email, web page) 2. Information on the course content (up to two pages):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Course title and category (Introductory or Advanced)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Motivation and description of course content<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Tentative outline and teaching concept (including a distribution of teaching material over the 4 x 90 min lectures)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Expected student level and prerequisites. Proposals for introductory courses should indicate the intended level, for example, as it relates to standard textbooks and monographs in the area. Proposals for advanced
courses should specify the prerequisites in detail. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Target audience, including whether and how the course will appeal to students beyond the main subarea of the course<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* If applicable, information on where the course has already been taught and in which venue<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Relevant references (e.g., textbooks, monographs, proceedings, surveys, a link to lecture slides if already available) 3. Information about the proposer(s):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Short CVs of the proposer(s)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Evidence that the proposer(s) are excellent lecturers with relevant teaching experience, particularly in delivering intensive interdisciplinary courses<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Courses should normally have no more than two lecturers. For courses with more than two lecturers, the role of each lecturer should be explained<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">Your course proposal should be submitted using the CMT system (the link is available at
</span><a href="https://essai2026.eu"><span lang="EN-US">https://essai2026.eu</span></a><span lang="EN-US">).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Contact*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">Questions regarding this call can be sent to the email address
</span><a href="mailto:essai2026-pc-chairs@list.tuwien.ac.at"><span lang="EN-US">essai2026-pc-chairs@list.tuwien.ac.at</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Participation* <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">All lecturers named in the proposal are expected to teach in person at the school. To keep registration fees to a minimum and facilitate the participation of more students, all instructional and organisational work
for ESSAI is carried out on a voluntary basis. The registration fees of instructors will be waived. In addition, and where appropriate and possible, ESSAI will seek to partially reimburse travel and accommodation expenses; typically, the support can only be
given to one lecturer per course. If lecturers can cover their travel and accommodation expenses from other sources, this is greatly appreciated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">#### Organizers <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*General Chair*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">Vida Groznik, University of Ljubljana<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Local Organizers*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Kees van Berkel, TU Wien<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">* Thomas Eiter, TU Wien<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">* Jan Maly, WU Wien<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">* Magdalena Ortiz, TU Wien<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">* Marta Sabou, WU Wien<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Leyli Slavata, TU Wien<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*Program Chairs*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Luc De Raedt, KU Leuven and Örebro University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Mantas ©imkus, TU Wien<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">*ESSAI Steering Committee*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Giuseppe De Giacomo, University of Oxford<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Vida Groznik, University of Ljubljana<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-US">* Brian Logan, University of Aberdeen & Utrecht University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">* Magdalena Ortiz, TU Wien<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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