The Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) hosted a key official visit by Prof. Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council (ERC). The ERC is Europe’s premier organization for funding frontier, high-risk, high-reward research, with more than €16 billion allocated for the 2021–2027 period to support breakthrough scientific advances across disciplines.
ERC grants - often referred to as the “Champions League of Frontier Research” are considered the most prestigious individual research awards in Europe. Their scientific impact is unparalleled, further demonstrated by the fact that 15 ERC grantees have subsequently won Nobel Prizes, underscoring ERC’s unique role in enabling world-leading discoveries.
During her visit, Prof. Leptin met with INSAIT faculty and researchers, including several ERC grant holders. Among them were Prof. Martin Vechev, INSAIT’s founder and scientific director and winner of both an ERC Starting Grant and an ERC Consolidator Grant; Dr. Bernhard Haupler, recipient of an ERC Starting Grant; and Prof. Luc Van Gool, recipient of an ERC Advanced Grant. The discussions focused on INSAIT’s rapidly developing research ecosystem, the challenges and opportunities for frontier research in Europe, and the institute’s growing contribution to strengthening Europe’s global position in science, technology, and deep-tech innovation.
Prof. Maria Leptin is an internationally recognized scientist in developmental biology and has been leading the ERC since 2021, overseeing some of Europe’s most ambitious scientific programs. She is an elected member of EMBO, the Academia Europaea, the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), the Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Künste, the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and the European Academy of Sciences. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, a Foreign Member of the Royal Society and an international member of the US National Academy of Sciences. She holds the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from EFPL, ETH Zurich, Nova University Lisbon and the University of Cambridge. She was awarded the lifetime achievement award by the Latin American Society for Developmental Biology, the De Sanctis Award for Europe and the De Sanctis Award for Research.
Prof. Leptin’s visit marks an important milestone for INSAIT, reflecting the institute’s rising international standing and its mission to establish a world-class hub for AI, deep tech, and frontier scientific research in the region.