The Research Institute for Education, Digital Humanities and Social Sciences (INEPSAK) has secured funding for the proposal BRIDGE-AI (Building Research and Institutional Capacity for Democratised Governance of AI) under the highly competitive Horizon Europe – WIDERA Twinning 2026 call.

Budgeted at €1.5 million, the project is coordinated by the University of Crete through INEPSAK, in collaboration with three leading European partners: Technische Universität München (IEAI), University College Dublin (Centre for Digital Policy), and ERINN Innovation Limited.

BRIDGE-AI addresses key challenges of the EU AI Act regarding Fundamental Rights Impact Assessments (FRIA) for high-risk AI systems. The project aims to develop an innovative, evidence-based methodology evaluating AI’s impact on fundamental rights, focusing on algorithmic discrimination in public services and citizens’ cognitive autonomy. Key actions include researcher mobility, mentoring schemes, and two certified training cycles for over 200 participants.

The main UoC research team includes: Eleni Katsarou (Scientific Coordinator of BRIDGE-AI, INEPSAK Director, and Member of the TALOS Steering Committee), Melina Tamiolaki (UoC Vice-Rector, INEPSAK Deputy Director, and TALOS AI4SSH Principal Investigator), Antonis Angelakis, Eleni Vasilaki, Katerina Vasiou, Anthi Koskina, and Yiota Samioti.