Call for participation - Lucia Winter School on AI & Robotics 2026

[Jennifer Renoux]

Dear colleagues, 

We are excited to announce the Lucia Winter School onAI & Robotics 2026, which will be held at Örebro University, Sweden, between December 07 and 11, 2026. This event is opened to Ph.D. students. Participation to the school is free (travel and accommodation are not covered) and 30 places are available. 

Applicants will be selected based on their background, to ensure they have the required competence to follow the school and ensure diversity. 

- Location: Örebro University, Sweden,

- Dates: December 7-11, 2024

- Application deadline : September 10th, 2026 AoE

- Notification  : October 5th, 2026. 

Aim of the school

AI and robotics are too often considered separate fields. Typical graduate student curricula concentrate on AI or on robotics, but rarely on both. This school continues the tradition of the successful series of Lucia Schools on AI and Robotics, which aim at filling this educational gap and providing future researchers with theoretical and methodological knowledge to realize integrated intelligent robots. The courses in this school are focused towards topics that are complementary to the ones usually encountered in graduate programs. 

Format and lectures

During the week, mornings will be filled with lectures from various renowned international speakers on topics relevant to the integration of AI and Robotics, as well as methodological approaches to human-centered AI and Robotics. In particular, lecture topics are: 

- Fuzzy Logic Control - Alessandro Saffiotti, Örebro University, Sweden

- Task Planning - Malte Helmert, University of Basel, Switzerland

- Knowledge Graphs for Robotics - Mark Adamik, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands

- Benchmarking for Robotics - Pedro U. Lima, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal

- Culturally Sustainable Social Robotics - Johanna Seibt, Aarhus University, Denmark

The afternoons will be filled with labs and practicals during which the students will work in groups towards an integrated system and dive deeper into societal considerations, thus putting in practice the knowledge acquired during the lectures. 

In addition, an evening keynote will be given during the week, speaker to be confirmed.

For an up-to-date program, visit lucia2026.aass.oru.se (currently under construction).

Application

To apply, interested students must send: 

- A resume

- A cover letter explaining how participation to the school will benefit their research

- A summary of their research topic (max. 1 page)

- A confirmation from the supervisor that the student is financially supported to travel to the school (a letter attached to the application or an email from the supervisor is enough)

Applications should be sent to jennife...@oru.se and asa...@aass.oru.se by September 10, 2026, Anywhere on Earth. 

Results of the selection will be announced by October 5th, 2026. 

Fees

Participation to the school is free, and include lunches and a social dinner on Wednesday. 

Travel, accommodation, and other meals are not covered.

Sponsors

The Lucia Winter School on AI & Robotics 2026 is supported by the euROBIN Network and Örebro University’s AI, Robotics and Cybersecurity (ARC) Center.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

Best Regards,

The Lucia Winter School Organizing Committee