The AI4Copernicus project, with the support of the AI4Europe project, successfully co-organised the Artificial Intelligence Ecosystem Forum 2023 at the premises of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”.

The two-day event was held on 29 & 30 June and welcomed the Artificial Intelligence and Earth Observation communities surrounding the AI on Demand Platform. Participants included European Commission representatives, policy makers, leading stakeholders, as well as the research community including numerous European projects. The aim of the event was to bring the stakeholders together, exchange ideas, and discuss the domains’ future direction, emerging trends, policies, and market needs.

IIT Director and co-ordinator of the AI4Copernicus project, Dr. Vangelis Karkaletsis, gave a warm welcome speech to participants, which was followed by the opening speech of the European Commission Project Officer, Mr. Miguel Angel Rubio Escudero.

The first day of the AI Forum, included an insightful panel discussion on the emerging trends and market needs, with the participation of Mr. Pierre-Philippe Mathieu, Head of the Φ-lab Explore Office at the European Space Agency, Mrs. Monika Krzyżanowska, Director of Business Development at CloudFerro and Mr. Geoff Sawyer, Strategic Advisor to the Board of the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC).

The day continued with a dedicated Speed Pitching Session where the 27 winning projects presented their ideas and had the opportunity to demonstrate their services and network through the corresponding session, with interested parties and industry representatives. The day closed with a dedicated session to the ICT49 projects where coordinators presented the Current Status & Future Steps of their projects.

The second, and final day of the AI Ecosystem Forum, included a presentation of the AI4Europe project and continued with a hands-on session on the progress of the AI-on-Demand Platform.