AI Hackathon – Update from IFB/ELIXIR-FR and development sessions

As part of its strategic focus on artificial intelligence and the MUDIS4LS project, the IFB/ELIXIR-FR is organising an AI hackathon from 1 to 3 June 2026 at the CNRS campus in Villejuif. This event, aimed at IFB-core and IFB member platforms, contributors and associated teams, spread over four half-days, aims to take stock of current and future work within the infrastructure, whilst preparing a strategy for the coming years. The hacking sessions will focus in particular on LLMs (Large Language Models), the use of AI agents and RAG.

General introduction to concepts and trends (first half-day)

• Current trends and future prospects: AI today, its applications in biology, and the European landscape (EOSC, ELIXIR).
• AI initiatives at the IFB: Presentations by internal project leads.
• French academic resources: An overview of available tools and collaborations.

Hacking sessions (2nd and 3rd half-days)

• Technical introduction:
  • Discovering tools such as Ollama and Open Web UI.
  • Workshops on AI agents using small models to solve simple tasks.
• Real-world use cases:
  • Scientific RAG: Using expertise and RAGs to deploy an LLM in a specific context.
  • LLMs and metadata: Using an LLM to enrich metadata via EDAM.
  • Federated LLMs: A comparison between querying multiple small federated LLMs and querying a single large LLM.

Summary and discussion (4th half-day)

• Summary of developments and the hackathon:
  • Proof of concept (POC) and future projects.
  • Git repository containing the completed work.
• Strategic discussions:
  • Sharing of templates across projects (feasibility, hosting).
  • Planning a future training course (objectives, target audience, scope).
  • Perspectives: How can we develop credible academic AI in the face of commercial solutions?
  • What is the IFB’s strategy on AI, and what are the objectives and current projects related to this strategy?

When? From 1 June (Monday) at 2.00 pm to 3 June (Wednesday) at 12.30 pm (4 half-days)
Where? At the CNRS Campus in Villejuif.
Who is it for? Researchers and engineers from IFB/ELIXIR-FR (IFB-core, ELIXIR-FR, member platforms, contributors and associated teams) with an interest in or involvement with AI and its applications in biology.

Do you have any questions? Please contact us.