BAIOSPHERE x SSC
Brush up your ideas.
Do you have a powerful idea in the field of AI, but no framework for developing it further with others?
Together, we are launching a new format: multi-day workshops and retreats where you design the program yourself, from research projects and third-party funding applications to joint publications.
BAIOSPHERE and the Speinshart Scientific Center for AI and SuperTech (SSC) give you the space you need. What makes us special: We finance, you research. Accommodation, meals, rooms—everything is included. What counts is your idea.
BAIOSPHERE x SSC is more than just a funding program. It is a platform for interdisciplinary networking, scientific energy, and concrete results. The SSC thus becomes a meeting place for everyone who wants to advance AI in Bavaria – open, excellent, cooperative.
With the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria (HTA), Bavaria has been driving one of Europe's most ambitious innovation offensives since 2019, with the aim of securing Bavaria's leading position in science and technology. A key lever: the targeted promotion of artificial intelligence, coordinated by the BAIOSPHERE Agency.
Formats & Content
Duration: approx. 3–5 days | Number of participants: up to 25 people
Workshops
The workshops offer a structured framework for intensive scientific collaboration—with space for new ideas, concrete project approaches, and focused work on third-party funding applications or scientific publications.
Contents
Topic and objective related to one of the two main topics: AI fundamentals and application or transfer & business start-up.
Retreats – connect@Speinshart
For established or new research teams who want to work on a joint research agenda in a closed circle: retreats offer the perfect setting for in-depth content, strategic alignment, and sustainable cooperation in the field of AI.
Application & Requirements
Who can apply?
The program specifically promotes networking and is aimed particularly at newly appointed professors from BAIOSPHERE. We invite the entire community to actively participate—from established researchers and young scientists to stakeholders from the innovation ecosystem and industry.
Tandems from the following groups of people are eligible to apply:
- At least one person must have been appointed to a Bavarian university in the last five years or head a research group at a non-university research institution.
- The second person may also hold a professorship—alternatively, they should have independent professional responsibility, for example as the head of a research group, an advanced postdoctoral researcher, or an entrepreneur or innovator with a clear connection to the topic.
The prerequisite for submitting an application should be a group of at least ten participants, including representatives from at least two different colleges or universities.
What documents must be submitted?
For Workshops:
- Topic and objective related to one of the two main topics: AI fundamentals and application or transfer & business start-ups
- Scientific classification and expected output
- List of potential participants
- After the event: Results report (approx. 600 words) including photos and any results achieved (e.g., third-party funding approved, publications, start-ups)
For Retreats (connect@Speinshart):
- Brief description & objectives
- Thematic classification
- List of potential participants
- After the event: Results report (approx. 600 words) including photos
The applicant tandem is responsible for the content and thematic focus of the workshops and retreats.
A selection committee of the Bavarian AI Council evaluates the incoming applications according to the above criteria and makes a funding recommendation to the SSC's scientific advisory board.
How to apply
Build a team
Prepare application
Submit application
Conduct workshops
Final report
Funding
Participation in the workshops and retreats at the Speinshart Science Center is fully funded. The program is supported by the BAIOSPHERE Agency and the Speinshart Scientific Center for AI and SuperTech, which cover all costs incurred—so you can focus entirely on scientific exchange and the development of your projects.
Included in the funding:
- Accommodation and meals for the entire duration of the workshop
- Conference rooms and infrastructure at Speinshart Monastery
- Travel expenses for participants in accordance with the Bavarian Travel Expenses Act
