Europe's largest AI summer school starts in Vienna
Over 400 leading international researchers make a strong statement with "Digital Humanism" for AI serving humanity.
The Austrian Society for Artificial Intelligence (ASAI) has brought the renowned ESSAI 2026 (European Summer School on Artificial Intelligence) to Vienna. The ceremonial opening took place today, Monday, 6th July 2026, in the historic Vienna City Hall. Until 10th July 2026, over 400 leading international researchers will meet in the heart of Austria. The event, considered the largest scientific training event in the AI field in Europe, is highly welcomed by the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI).
Federal Minister Peter Hanke praises the hosting of the Summer School in Vienna as an important step for strengthening Austria's research location and expresses his full support for the ASAI initiative.
The BMIMI sees ESSAI 2026 as an ideal platform to anchor central strategic topics.
"Austria focuses not only on raw computing power but on AI that serves humanity," says Hanke. "Digital Humanism is a fixed component of the BMIMI's initiatives. We systematically promote the development of hybrid AI systems (Bilateral AI), which combine symbolic knowledge and machine learning. ESSAI 2026 now integrates this for the first time as an independent international summer school (2nd International Summer School on Bilateral AI) and thereby positions Austria as a pioneer for trustworthy and explainable AI in Europe."
Furthermore, this year's event is closely tied to the 5th ACM Europe Digital Humanism Summer School, highlighting the international relevance of the topic.
Investment in the next generation of AI research
ESSAI serves as a central hub for PhD students and young researchers from all AI areas. The week-long programme offers both introductory and advanced courses, providing students with a broad overview of the discipline and the connections between its subfields. A special track is dedicated to advanced tutorials, thus continuing the tradition of the ACAI (Advanced Course on Artificial Intelligence), which has been organised by EurAI since 1989.
"ESSAI 2026 is an excellent example of how Austria brings top international research into the country through targeted promotion and actively engages within the European network," explained Hanke. "As the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure, we support ASAI because we are convinced: A strong national AI community is truly competitive only within the European framework. Our support provides the necessary framework for Vienna to serve as a hub for the exchange of knowledge and innovations."