SCIANCE has concluded its call for experts for the AI in Science Working Groups. Out of 665 applicants, 150 experts were selected, who will contribute community-driven input to the Resource for AI Science in Europe (RAISE).
*article updated for clarity on 24/06
Following the call for experts to join the SCIANCE AI in Science Working Groups (AISWGs), the project has finalised the selection of members who will drive the community-led inputs for the Resource for AI Science in Europe (RAISE).
The 10 thematic AI in Science Working Groups bring together an interdisciplinary mix of scientists, AI researchers, data engineers, infrastructure experts and industry representatives. The main objective of the working groups is to identify domain-specific and cross-cutting scientific priorities, critical gaps in access for scientific, AI and data infrastructures, and co-design the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA).
The call for expressions of interest received 669 applications from across Europe. The selection process aimed to avoid concentration of influence and ensure broad, inclusive participation. All applications were carefully assessed by SCIANCE consortium partners with relevant expertise in the working group topics, based on the following criteria:
The following statistics show the distribution of AISWG experts across working groups, gender, career stage, stakeholder groups and countries, and indicate good alignment with the overall applicant pool.
Gender: 70% AISWG members identify as male (compared to 65% of applicants), 26% as female (31% of applicants), and the remainder did not disclose their gender.
The applications and selection outcomes themselves provide an informative snapshot of the current AI and research landscape. While the predominance of senior experts is an expected outcome of a selection process that prioritises established expertise and scientific leadership, the gender and geographical composition of the final working groups appears to reflect broader structural patterns in the European AI ecosystem. The share of women among applicants and AISWG members reflects the ongoing gender disparity in scientific research and the AI workforce, particularly in senior and leadership roles. Similarly, the countries with the strongest representation in the working groups (Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy) closely correspond to Europe’s leading centres of AI research capacity and investment (cf. https://oecd.ai/en/ai-investment).
For more information on the AI in science working groups, scope and selected members, visit the SCIANCE Working Groups page.
