HFMI Spring Community Meeting

In May 2024, the Helmholtz Association took a significant step toward advancing artificial intelligence research by launching its Foundation Model Initiative. This ambitious program support the development of foundation models for cutting-edge scientific research. The initiative began with four pilot projects and the establishment of a Synergy Unit, designed to address overarching challenges and foster interdisciplinary collaboration. A second call for proposals was announced later in 2024, with three additional projects from that iteration starting at the beginning of 2025.

To further strengthen collaboration, the Synergy Unit organizes community meetings twice per year, bringing together scientists working on foundation models from the pilot projects and beyond to facilitate networking and exchange of ideas. The HFMI Spring Community Meeting this year will take place on May 4-5 at MDC-BIMSB in Berlin and will feature updates from the pilot projects, invited scientific talks and strategic discussions on the next steps of the initiative.

The deadline for registration is April 17.

Meeting venue: MDC-BIMSB, Berlin

Dinner venue: L’ Osteria AM TACHELES (Friedrichstraße 111, 10117 Berlin)

Agenda - Monday, May 4

12:00 - Arrival and light lunch

12:30 - Welcome & Framing

12:45 - Short updates from the pilot projects

14:15 - Coffee break & speed dating

15:00 - Fireplace chat

Where did FMs truly outperform classical methods?

Where did they fail?

What bottlenecks remain?

Where will the focus be for the next year?

16:00 - Invited talk 1

17:00 - End of Day 1

18:00 - Networking dinner at L’Osteria AM TACHELES

Agenda - Tuesday, May 5

09:00 - Positioning HFMI in Europe

RAISE Context

Joint workshop in Brussels

09:30 - Fishbowl discussions per domain

Earth & Environment (3D-ABC, AqQua, HClimRrep, SOL-AI)

Health (PROFOUND, THRP, VirtualCell)

10:30 - Coffee break

11:00 - Invited talk 2

12:00 -Wrap-up and farewell