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The third official DIH4AI dissemination event, conducted as an online webinar, was a significant gathering in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), focusing on the achievements and future prospects of the DIH4AI project. This event, which successfully attracted 77 participants, was structured into two comprehensive sessions, each delving into different aspects of AI collaboration and innovation.In the first session, titled "DIH4AI achievements," the event kicked off with an introduction to the DIH4AI project by Sergio Gusmeroli, the project coordinator. This session primarily focused on the advancements and integrations made by the DIH4AI project. A key highlight was the presentation on the DIH4AI portal by Barbara Grottoli, which emphasized its integration with the AIoD platform, marking a significant step towards a more interconnected AI ecosystem. Following this, Philip Frankl from Fortiss introduced the PIANAI platform, a service for accountable evidential transactions, showcasing a practical application of AI in enhancing transparency and accountability. Matteo Morelli from CEA then discussed the DIGIHALL Platform, emphasizing its role in developing trustable-by-design AI-based systems. This session concluded with a Q&A, allowing for an interactive exchange of ideas and insights.The second session, "The broader EU ecosystem," expanded the discussion to the wider European context of AI. Sara Mancini from Intellera Consulting and Spiros Mouzakitis from NTUA presented on the European collaboration on Trustworthy AI, highlighting the work of the ICT49 TAI Working Group. This session also provided a forward-looking perspective on the AIoD ecosystem, with presentations from Roberta Calegari (University of Bologna) on the AEQUITAS project, Stefano Bernagozzi and Enrico Ghiorzi (Italian Institute of Technology) on the CONVINCE EU project, and Elena Galifianaki (Demokritos) on the EVENFLOW project. These presentations offered insights into upcoming initiatives and projects that are set to shape the future of AI in Europe. The session wrapped up with another Q&A segment, fostering dialogue and engagement among the participants. Overall, the event was a testament to the collaborative efforts and advancements in the field of AI, highlighting the DIH4AI project's role in fostering innovation and setting the stage for future developments in the European AI landscape.

On The DIH4AI project recently participated in a landmark two-day event at the Aemilia Hotel in Bologna, Italy, titled "The AI-on-Demand Platform: European Industry and Society Success Stories and Opportunities." This event, part of the AI-on-Demand (AIoD) Community Forum and ICT-49 Final Event, was hosted by the ICT-49 cluster Projects in collaboration with the AI4Europe project. On the first day, themed "The AI Ecosystem for SMEs and the AIoD Platform Research Applied to Innovation," attendees delved into the AI ecosystem. The sessions examined the vision and concept of the AIoD platform and explored collaborations between European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) and SMEs. The day featured an AIoD prerelease review, new initiative introductions within the AIoD community, and discussions on the AI Act and its business implications. The second day, focused on "Enhancing Productivity of SMEs," highlighted the transformative impacts of ICT-49 Cluster Projects on SME productivity. Key presentations from projects like DIH4AI demonstrated their success in boosting SME efficiency. Topics ranged from AIoD and EDIHs to the AI Ecosystem of Excellence and sustainable business models. A highlight of the event was the DIH4AI project's presentation on Day 2, showcasing the DIH4AI portal and sharing valuable lessons from DIH collaboration. The project also revealed outcomes from the ICT49 Technology and Innovation Working Group (TAI WG), emphasizing its significant contributions and insights gained. This event marked a pivotal moment for the DIH4AI project, underlining its vital role in advancing the European AI landscape.

On the 8th of November, the DIH4AI project partners DIGIHALL, Fraunhofer IFF, and Intellera organised an exclusive matchmaking event titled "AI EU Consortia”. This online event, held from 10:00 to 11:30 CET, focused on fostering collaboration and revolutionizing projects with cutting-edge AI expertise.The event's primary goal was to facilitate a unique matchmaking initiative between DIGIHALL and DIH Saxony-Anhalt, enabling participants to discover potential partners with specialized AI expertise and form powerful consortiums. Additionally, it provided insights into navigating and successfully applying for EU funding opportunities, with experts offering guidance and strategies to make project proposals stand out.A highlight of the event was the sharing of experiences by winners of open calls who had successfully accessed cascade funding. These individuals shared their firsthand experiences, discussing the challenges they faced and the lessons they learned throughout their journey. This segment offered invaluable insights for SMEs looking to follow a similar path, providing a real-world perspective on the process and its intricacies.This event was a crucial opportunity for SMEs in the realm of AI and digital innovation to connect, collaborate, and elevate their projects.

We On April 4, 2023, the DIH4AI project participated in the "Pan EU AI Adopters: Trustworthy AI in the European Ecosystem" webinar, held via Microsoft Teams. Organised by Paris-Region Digihall DIH, Saxony-Anhalt (IFF Fraunhofer Magdeburg), and Bavaria DIH (Fortiss) with Intellera's support, the event aimed to connect diverse ecosystems to discuss best practices and challenges in using the AI4Europe platform and Artificial Intelligence. The key focus was on raising SME awareness about ethics in AI, potential future regulations, and standards. The webinar featured several key presentations, starting with an introduction by Thierry Louvet, followed by Sara Mancini's session on "What is Trustworthy AI?" highlighting its importance. Tomas Bueno Momcilovic then presented "Accountable Federated Machine Learning in Bavarian Municipalities," focusing on a method for sharing knowledge while ensuring data privacy. This was followed by Bertrand Braunschweig's talk on the engineering of trustworthy AI applications for critical systems, highlighting the Confiance.ai program. Frank Ortmeier concluded the presentations with "AI for People and Not Against Them," delving into the significance of appropriate solutions and algorithms for Trustworthy AI. The webinar wrapped up with a Q&A session and closing remarks, emphasizing the importance of ethical considerations in AI and encouraging future collaborations in EU-funded projects related to AI and ethics​​​​.

The On February 9, 2023, the second DIH4AI event, co-organized with the HUBiquitous project, successfully convened to foster collaboration between European and African Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs). The initiative aimed to integrate the innovation ecosystems of the two continents, with a focus on Internet of Things (IoT) and disruptive technologies.The event highlighted the objectives of the HUBiquitous project, particularly its efforts to enhance IoT capacities in African DIHs and to forge a joint Africa-Europe tech and startup ecosystem. Key discussions also revolved around the achievements of the DIH4AI project, including the development of an AI-on-demand platform and the establishment of the L-BEST service taxonomy for standardizing AI services. A significant contribution came from AfriLabs, a vast network of over 1031 innovation hubs across Africa. Their presentation shed light on various initiatives aimed at stimulating the African innovation landscape and potential collaboration opportunities with European counterparts. The event wrapped up with a matchmaking session on Gathertown, where representatives from European and African DIHs engaged in discussions to explore collaborative work, services, and synergies, laying the groundwork for future joint innovation endeavors.

On November 29, 2022, the collaborative webinar by DIH4AI and DIH World marked a significant stride in AI service enhancement across Europe. The event, focusing on the integration of Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs), showcased the DIH-World project under the EU's Horizon 2020 program, which aims to develop 74 DIHs aiding SMEs and public sectors. Key discussions revolved around the DIH4AI project, which seeks to establish a network of AI-on-demand platforms and foster collaboration among regional DIHs. A central aspect of this initiative was the introduction of the L-BEST model, a taxonomy designed to standardize AI services in legal, ethical, business, and technological aspects. The webinar highlighted the importance of DIH collaboration in enhancing AI capabilities and services. Success stories from the DIH4AI project were presented, demonstrating the practical applications and benefits of this cooperation. The event also addressed the customer journey in AI technology adoption, emphasizing the role of DIH4AI in supporting various stages from concept to market launch. This webinar represents a crucial step in bolstering AI collaboration and capabilities for European SMEs.

Between the 27th and the 29th of June 2022 you will have the occasion to participate in the EU-IoT Hackathon, co-located with the international CONASENSE2022 symposium. 

The focus of the Hackathon is on "sustainable next generation IoT applications" Teams of 1-6 persons are invited to submit projects of three different categories, IoT skills training, IoT sustainable business models, IoT novel technical solutions in the context of 6 challenge domains: IoT interfaces, far Edge, near Edge, infrastructure, data spaces, and also: a specific challenge domain of the European Factory Platform (EFPF), with focus on manufacturing. The Hackathon will take place between 27th- 29th June 2022, in Munich (Germany).

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The video on how the ICT49 projects are currently enriching the EU AI-on-demand platform has been recently published. Inside you can find an overview on how Artificial Intelligence has the potential to digitally transform organisations across many different sectors. To facilitate this transformation the European Commision supported the development of an AI-on-demand platform, which mobilises the European AI Community, to support businesses and provides access to expertise, knowledge, algorithms & tools to successfully apply AI.

The ICT49 projects are currently enriching the AI-on-demand platform with a new set of services to serve the needs of SMEs, DIHs and other organisations.

Inside the video you can find the objectives and the upcoming Open Calls of the projects STAIRWAI, AIPLAN4EU, AI4COPERNICUS, DIH4AI,I-NERGY and BONSAPPS.