GRNET participated in the conference “Artificial Intelligence in Engineering: Innovation and Applications for Western Macedonia”, organized by the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) / Department of Western Macedonia, held on 9 May 2026 in Kozani, under the auspices of the Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence.

Throughout the conference sessions, discussions highlighted the prospects of leveraging Artificial Intelligence across critical sectors such as engineering, technical works, infrastructure, energy, and the developmental transition of Western Macedonia, fostering meaningful dialogue amongst scientific, institutional, and productive stakeholders, in the presence of the Minister of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence, Dimitris Papastergiou, and the Secretary General for Telecommunications and Posts, Konstantinos Karantzalos.

Stefanos Kollias, Professor Emeritus at the National Technical University of Athens, Chairman of the Board of GRNET and Coordinator of the PHAROS AI Factory EU Project, participated in the session “Artificial Intelligence and Engineers: Quality, Standards, Technical Enterprises, New Techniques and Data”. In his intervention, Prof. Kollias highlighted the ecosystem of national cutting-edge infrastructures being developed by GRNET in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and High-Performance Computing (HPC), focusing on PHAROS, the first Greek and one of the first European AI Factories, and the new national supercomputer “DAEDALUS”, which is intended to serve as the computing platform of PHAROS for the development of advanced AI applications.

Particular emphasis was also placed on the new AI Supercomputer in Western Macedonia, a project implemented by GRNET in collaboration with the University of Western Macedonia, at whose premises the new infrastructure will be hosted. As underlined during the discussion, the country’s first AI-optimized supercomputer, operating in full synergy with “DAEDALUS” and “PHAROS”, is expected to become an integral part of the national AI and HPC ecosystem, upgrading Western Macedonia into a strategic hub for innovation and advanced digital technologies, while further strengthening Greece’s technological leadership and digital sovereignty.

GRNET’s participation in the conference reaffirms its strategic role in developing advanced national digital infrastructures, while continuously supporting innovation, research, and digital transformation at both regional and national level.