Numerous researchers from the Northwest Alliance, which consists of the universities of Bremen and Oldenburg, will be present at IJCAI-ECAI 2026. They are contributing to the conference through academic presentations, workshops, and tutorials and are taking on key roles in the program.
The NWA will demonstrate the breadth of its human-centered artificial intelligence research at the universities of Bremen and Oldenburg at IJCAI-ECAI 2026. In Bremen, this includes cognitive robotics, biosignal-adaptive systems, and explainable AI methods. In Oldenburg, the focus is on human-cyber-physical systems, robust AI models, and federated learning methods. The goal of this joint research focus is to develop reliable AI systems that benefit people and society. IJCAI-ECAI is one of the world’s leading conferences on artificial intelligence.
The Local Arrangements Committee consists of Professor Tanja Schultz from the University of Bremen, Professor Frank Kirchner from the University of Bremen and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, and Dr.-Ing. Monika Michaelis from the U Bremen Research Alliance.
Professor Schultz leads the Dependable Human-Centered AI research focus within the NWA with Oldenburg-based computer science professor Martin Fränzle. Their goal is to combine both universities’ expertise in reliable, human-centered AI.
Professor Michael Beetz, a robotics researcher from the University of Bremen, is one of the chairs of the AI and Robotics special track. He is offering a two-day tutorial called Hands-On Cognitive Robotics together with Michaela Kümpel and Vanessa Hassouna. This tutorial focuses on how robots can use knowledge of their environment to plan tasks and perform specific actions. Beetz is also one of the coordinators of the Robot Exhibition at the conference.
NWA professor Susanne Boll from the University of Oldenburg is playing a central role as well. The computer science professor is co-chair of the Demonstration Track. This track showcases AI systems focusing on the transition from methodological research to concrete applications, such as in human-AI interaction, robotics, natural language processing, and trustworthy AI.
Daniel Sonntag, a professor at the University of Oldenburg, is presenting several academic papers. He holds the chair in applied artificial intelligence at the university and simultaneously heads the DFKI’s Interactive Machine Learning research department. At IJCAI-ECAI, Professor Sonntag is involved in presentations in the Demonstration Track, among other things. His research group focuses on interactive machine learning and how to integrate humans into the learning processes of AI systems.
The Northwest Alliance is represented not only by technical research topics, but also by its engagement in the societal debate on diversity and inclusion within the international AI community. Professor Martin Mundt from the University of Bremen is one of the conference’s Diversity and Inclusion Chairs. Mundt’s research focuses on lifelong machine learning.
IJCAI–ECAI Bremen 2026
From August 15 to 21, one of the world’s most important academic conferences on artificial intelligence, IJCAI–ECAI 2026, will take place. Held in Europe only once every four years, the conference will be held jointly with the European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI) for the third time in 2026. After more than 40 years, one of the world’s most significant AI conferences is returning to Germany. Approximately 3,000 participants from over 40 countries are expected to attend. Those from China, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Japan will be particularly well-represented.
Bremen was chosen to host IJCAI-ECAI 2026 through an international application process. In 2022, Bremen prevailed over other candidates. The strength of the local AI research community was among the factors assessed. The local organizers are the U Bremen Research Alliance, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), and the German Computer Science Society (GI).