The scientific event “South Caucasus Conference on Artificial Intelligence” (SCCAI2025) was opened at the Niko Muskhelishvili Scientific Research Institute of Computational Mathematics of the Georgian Technical University, within the framework of the grant project “Georgian Initiative for Partnership in Artificial Intelligence” (GAIN) of the European Union’s Research and Innovation Framework Program “Horizon Europe”.
The three-day conference is organized by the partner institutions of the “Horizon Europe” grant project GAIN: the project coordinator is the Niko Muskhelishvili Institute for Computational Mathematics of the Georgian Technical University, the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), and the National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (INRIA, France).
The conference has brought together renowned scientists, young researchers, and doctoral students from the Georgian Technical University, the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, and the French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology, as well as universities and scientific research institutes in Azerbaijan and Armenia.
SCCAI2025 was opened by the Vice-Rector of the Georgian Technical University, Professor Tamar Lominadze, the Director of the Niko Muskhelishvili Institute of Computational Mathematics of the Technical University, Professor Vakhtang Kvaratskhelia, and the Deputy Director of the same institute, GAIN Coordinator, Dr. Giorgi Giorgobiani.
According to the Vice-Rector, the goal of SCCAI2025 is to create an innovative, interdisciplinary platform where representatives of the academic sphere and industry experts will unite to study the possibilities of implementing and applying artificial intelligence theory, new methodologies, and systems in practice. As Tamar Lominadze noted, the conference will also focus on the natural language processing capabilities of the South Caucasus countries with the AI provision.
“We are glad that our meeting took place in Tbilisi, at the Niko Muskhelishvili Institute of Computational Mathematics of the Georgian Technical University, at the “South Caucasus Conference on Artificial Intelligence”, for which we would like to express our gratitude to the participants and organizers of the conference. This scientific event is one of the important stages within the framework of the Horizon Europe grant project GAIN, and its goal is to expand and transfer the methodology, systems, and practical application of artificial intelligence in the South Caucasus region. The Georgian Technical University and the Niko Muskhelishvili Institute of Computational Mathematics, which coordinates the implementation of GAIN, together with the project partner institutions – DFKI from Germany and INRIA from France, are actively participating in the strategic process of introducing innovations related to artificial intelligence.
It is noteworthy that one of the main missions of the conference is to discuss such an important challenge as protecting the natural and state languages of the South Caucasus region countries from “digital death”. The scientists and young researchers participating in the conference will discuss the possibilities of providing digital resources for the Georgian, Abkhazian, Armenian and Azerbaijani languages using artificial intelligence, as we are deeply convinced that the protection of the state languages of our and neighboring countries is possible only through joint scientific efforts; the GAIN grant project and the SCCAI2025 conference will certainly contribute to the development of scientific collaboration in this direction. To achieve the set goal, within the framework of the GAIN project, under the leadership of the university and the Institute of Computational Mathematics, an artificial intelligence center staffed with young researchers has already been established in Georgia, which is successfully positioning itself in the international space of research and innovation.
It is notable that the conference involves well-known scientists and young researchers from all three South Caucasus countries, as well as from the German Artificial Intelligence Research Center and the French National Institute for Research in Digital Sciences and Technologies. I would like to convey the best wishes of the Rector of the Georgian Technical University, Academician David Gurgenidze, and my sincere hope that the “South Caucasus Conference on Artificial Intelligence” will be held regularly in the future. I wish this important forum and its participants every success,” Tamar Lominadze noted.
According to the head of the Niko Muskhelishvili Institute of Mathematics at the Georgian Technical University the GAIN project, within the framework of which the “South Caucasus Conference on Artificial Intelligence” is taking place, is successfully integrating Georgia into the international research space of artificial intelligence. According to Professor Vakhtang Kvaratskhelia, sharing properly tested scientific models and methodologies in the direction of AI is equally successful for the scientific circles of the other two countries of the South Caucasus region. As the scientist notes, the Niko Muskhelishvili Institute of Computational Mathematics is already closely connected with many well-known scientific centers, including – in Germany: Saarland University, Artificial Intelligence Research Center – DFKI, Center for Technologies, Innovations and Research – Steinbeis Europa Zentrum; In France: European Centre for Research in Informatics and Mathematics – ERCIM, National Institute for Research in Digital Sciences and Technologies (INRIA), Claude Bernard University of Lyon; In Italy: Department of Mathematics and Informatics, University of Palermo; In Spain: Complutense University of Madrid and Vigo University; In the United States: Michigan State University and Wichita State University, and others.
As Dr. Giorgi Giorgobiani, Deputy Director of the Institute and Coordinator of the GAIN Project, states, SCCAI2025, which is unique in its scope and content, aims to establish a common scientific research platform for the countries of the South Caucasus, which will facilitate their integration into the global AI community.
“SCCAI2025 is unique in its scope and content. Renowned scientists will present keynote speeches on the latest advances in artificial intelligence in the areas of computer vision, natural language processing, and multimodal systems. We are confident that their experience and research will make a significant contribution to the scientific development of the South Caucasus region.
The Doctoral Symposium, which is being held in this format for the first time in Georgia within the framework of our conference, is of particular note. This panel provides a unique opportunity for young researchers to present their scientific works in the field of artificial intelligence, discuss new ideas and challenges with leading scientists. This experience will give them a new impetus and will contribute to the deepening of research cooperation. The GAIN project and the SCCAI2025 conference serve precisely this purpose – to unite regional and international scientific forces in the South Caucasus, promote knowledge sharing, and promote the development of Georgia, Armenia, and to create an effective scientific research platform for young Azerbaijani researchers and thereby facilitate their integration into the international AI community,” noted Giorgi Giorgobiani.
The ongoing scientific event “South Caucasus Conference on Artificial Intelligence” (SCCAI2025) – within the framework of the “Horizon Europe” grant project – GAIN will be held in three directions and will conclude on September 18th.