EBRAINS Summit kicks off: World-leading neuroscientists gather in Brussels this week

The EBRAINS Summit 2025 officially opened on Monday, 8 December, bringing the European brain research community together in Brussels. At the Summit, neuroscientists, policymakers, technologists and innovators explore the future of brain research and its impact on society.

The opening day of the Summit focused on collaboration and early-career researchers. It was primarily dedicated to internal meetings for members of the EU-funded EBRAINS 2.0 and related projects. Alongside these meetings, EBRAINS also hosted an open PhD networking event, aimed at early career researchers interested in neuroscience and interdisciplinary career paths.

The programme of the PhD event included success stories from Ekaterina Zossimova, a researcher at the Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany) and specialist in computational modelling and simulations, and Petrut Bogdan, neuromorphic architect at Innatera, who shared their professional journeys and experiences in research.

“As PhD students, we learn a lot of different things,” said Zossimova, while offering advice to researchers considering career paths in industry or academia. “If you want to make that transition, don’t neglect to highlight your transferable skills.”

The event also included a lecture by Rafael Yuste (Columbia University) titled “Building Methods for Neuroscience”, an “Ask Me Anything” panel focused on navigating the PhD journey and career opportunities beyond academia, and a session on “Connecting Movement, Music and Brain Health: Building an International Collaborative Future”, presented by Yoshua E. Lima-Carmona, president of the BRAIN-AccelNet Student Network.

What’s coming next at the EBRAINS Summit

The EBRAINS Summit continues at The EGG conference centre until Thursday, 11 December, and focuses on how neuroscience can drive medical progress, digital innovation and responsible data use.

The programme features scientific talks with leading experts, including Professor Rafael Yuste (Columbia University) and Professor Onur Güntürkün (Ruhr University Bochum). Welcome speeches will be delivered by Kilian Gross, Director for Enabling and Emerging Technologies at DG CNECT (European Commission), and Anders Dam Jensen, Executive Director of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking.

Click here to explore the full programme and speaker lineup.

Your brain on Beethoven

On the Summit’s public day (9 December), visitors can enjoy an art-science musical performance and explore a science market. Registration is required to attend.

World-renowned musicians Mei Rui (piano) and Stella Chen (violin) will perform Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata while a brain-computer interface captures and displays their real-time neural activity on stage.  

Scientific programme highlights

The Summit’s scientific programme spans neurotechnology, brain modelling and simulation, AI for neuroscience, high performance computing, medical data, ethics and the future of digital brain research. Sessions will address emerging neurotechnologies, data standards, future computing, large-scale brain models, clinical trial insights and the sustainability of research infrastructures.

Preliminary results from the EPINOV clinical trial, which integrates virtual brain technology to improve epilepsy surgery planning, will be presented.

The programme also includes a joint day with the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility INCF, user presentations from the EBRAINS community and a poster session showcasing international research.  

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