Call for Student Research Papers & Awards
Call for Best Student Papers in Neuroscience-Inspired AI (Neuro AI)
We aim to strengthen and contribute to the growing Neuro-AI research as a reciprocal synergy between natural and artificial intelligence — from continual learning and energy-efficient computation to ageing, creativity, and the nature of intelligence itself. We are pleased to announce the Call for Best Student Papers in NeuroAI, recognizing outstanding research conducted by undergraduate and graduate students registered at Greek universities. The awards aim to highlight innovative student-led research at the intersection of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cognitive science, and related computational disciplines. We invite students to submit their strongest research work and contribute to the NeuroAI field. The awards will recognize research that combines originality, scientific importance, clear communication, and strong relevance to the field.
Awards
First Prize
€1,500
Second Prize
€1,000
Third Prize
€750
Eligibility
- •The author or authors whose work is being considered for an award should be undergraduate and/or graduate-level students registered at a Greek University.
- •The submitted work should represent a substantial student research contribution.
Evaluation Criteria
1. Novelty and positioning within the literature
30%Originality of the research question, methodology, or findings, together with a clear and sufficiently comprehensive discussion of related work and the contribution of the paper relative to existing literature.
2. Importance of the research results
35%Scientific correctness and significance and potential broader value of the research findings or methodological contribution.
3. Relevance
15%Relevance of the work to NeuroAI and to broader scientific questions at the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence.
4. Clarity of presentation and readability
20%Quality, organization, precision, and accessibility of the written presentation, including clear communication of the motivation, methods, results, and conclusions.
Indicative Topics
- •Brain-inspired artificial intelligence and machine learning
- •Biologically plausible decision-making and cognition in AI
- •Biologically plausible learning algorithms
- •Deep learning models of perception and cognition
- •Foundation models and computational models of the brain
- •Representation learning and biological representations
- •Reinforcement learning and its connections to neuroscience
- •Neuromorphic computing and spiking neural networks that integrate biologically plausible properties
- •Neuroimaging and AI-based analysis of neural data
- •Comparative study of computer vision and biological vision
- •Language, cognition, and neural computation
- •Embodied intelligence, sensorimotor learning, and biologically-inspired robotics
- •Cognitive architectures and computational models of cognition
- •Explainable and interpretable AI informed by neuroscience
- •Continual learning, adaptation, and generalization inspired by neuroscience and cognition
- •Comparative studies of artificial and biological neural systems
- •NeuroAI datasets, benchmarks, and evaluation methodologies
Submissions addressing closely related interdisciplinary areas are also encouraged.
Submission Instructions
- •Submit a complete research paper describing the motivation, related work, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusions. Maximum size 5 pages.
- •The submission should clearly identify the student author or authors who are being considered for the award and their university affiliation and study level.
- •Include sufficient references and a clear discussion of related work so that the novelty and contribution of the research can be assessed.
- •Submit the paper in PDF format through the designated submission channel (OpenReview) announced by the organizers and the web page of the Greeks in AI Symposium 2026.
- •Submissions must be received no later than December 15, 2026.
- •Any additional formatting requirements, page limits, or submission-platform details may be communicated separately by the organizers.
Important Dates
- •Submission deadline: December 15, 2026
- •Notification deadline: February 1, 2027
Evaluation Committee
- •Kostas Daniilides (University of Pennsylvania)
- •Kostantinos Dovrolis (Cyprus Institute, Cyprus University, Georgia Tech)
- •Stratis Gavves (University of Amsterdam)
- •Leontios Hadjileontiadis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
- •Nikolaos Komontakis (University of Crete)
- •Maria Papadopouli (University of Crete, FORTH)
- •Alexandros Potamianos (NTUA)
- •Stelios Smirnakis (Harvard Medical School)
- •Sotos Tsaftaris (University of Edinburgh)
- •Greg Tsagkatakis (University of Crete, FORTH)
For more information, contact Maria Papadopouli (maria@csd.uoc.gr).