Technion Ranks Number 1 In Europe For Artificial Intelligence

The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel’s top university for science and technology, has been ranked number one in Europe, and number 15 worldwide, in the field of artificial intelligence by CSRankings. 

The rankings considered data from 2016 to 2021, including metrics like computer vision and natural web processing. As opposed to many university rankings that are survey-based, CSRankings measures each department based on how many publications by faculty appear at the most prestigious computer science conferences. This approach incentivizes faculty to publish at top venues and requires a built-in judgment of the research.

The Technion has 46 researchers engaged in core AI fields and more than 100 researchers in related fields, such as health and medicine, autonomous vehicle, cybersecurity, and fintech. According to the rankings, 42 of these faculty members have been published at qualifying conferences, anywhere from once to more than 30 times.

“For years the Technion has maintained its position as the leading research institute in Israel and Europe in core AI areas. The Technion has a unique ecosystem that includes tens of researchers from various faculties, research centers, and a number of undergraduate and graduate programs in the field,” said Professor Shie Mannor in a university statement. 

Mannor co-directs the Machine Learning and Intelligent Systems (MLIS) research center at the Technion with Professor Assaf Schuster. The MLIS is a large part of the Technion’s success in the AI field, bringing together the many AI-related programs at the university. The center’s primary goals are to connect researchers with necessary resources, technology companies, and other prominent institutions, and to further improve the Technion’s standing in the AI world.

Schuster described the progress the Technion has already made in expanding and enhancing its AI programs. “All fields of science, technology, and engineering at the Technion have been upgraded in recent years, applying Technion knowledge in AI fields,” Schuster said. “Most include components based on information processing and machine learning. Furthermore, the Technion views the dissemination of its acquired knowledge as a mission of national importance for [the] commercial sector.”

Earlier this year, the university entered into long-term collaboration with American software giant PTC, under which the company will transfer its Haifa research campus to the Technion, to advance joint research in AI and manufacturing technology. PTC joins several other organizations that collaborate with the Technion in these fields, among them the technological universities of Lausanne (Switzerland), Eindhoven (Netherlands), and the Paris Polytechnique (France) in Europe, as well as Cornell Tech, home of the Jacobs Technion-Corrnell Institute, Waterloo University, and Carnegie Mellon University, which operates the largest center for AI and robotics in the United States.

The Technion is located in Haifa and currently serves more than 13,000 students.