Recording of the Event Now Available on YouTube
The 10th Science Evening of the Hector Fellow Academy took place on July 10, 2025, at the K20 Museum in Düsseldorf and was streamed live online. The event was organized in cooperation with Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich, and the Friends and Sponsors of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.
Guests on site and online had the opportunity to learn about current developments at the intersection of neuroscience, computer science, and artificial intelligence. Central questions of the evening included: How does our knowledge of the brain influence the development of AI? Can artificial intelligence itself serve as a model for human thought? What role do supercomputers play in this process?
Roberto Viola, Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology at the European Commission, opened the event. In his opening remarks, he emphasized the importance of AI for Europe's future.
Prof. Dr. Rainer Goebel of Maastricht University demonstrated how artificial neural networks are inspired by the human brain and offer new approaches to understanding its function.
Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Lippert of Forschungszentrum Jülich explained how modern supercomputers have become essential infrastructure for training large AI models and the challenges associated with this technology.
Scientific host of the event and Hector Fellow was Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Katrin Amunts, Professor of Brain Research at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and Director at Forschungszentrum Jülich. In her talk, she presented the latest brain research advances and demonstrated how AI-supported methods are used to map the human brain's structure down to the level of individual cells.
During the concluding panel discussion, philosopher and publicist Wolfram Eilenberger brought together the evening’s key themes and moderated the exchange between the experts.
The full event recording is now available on the YouTube channel of the Hector Fellow Academy in both German and English.
The next Hector Fellow Academy Science Evening will take place on May 21, 2026, at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Munich. Scientific host will be Prof. Dr. Christoph Klein, Professor of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.