Aim: to foster interaction and collaboration in the theory and applications of intelligent systems (artificial intelligence), machine learning, pattern recognition, data science and related areas; to provide a discussion forum for scientists from different disciplines and practitioners from companies where they can inspire and help each other, learn from each other, meet new people, form new research alliances, plan new joint research projects, and have enjoyable time together. The APPIS community is based on mutual respect, trust and collaboration.
Format: A single track for talks in the conference hall with enough time for discussions outside it.
Venue: Campus Universitario del Obelisco, building 05, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC). Address: C. de Pérez del Toro, 1, 35003 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The nearest bus stop (at 50 m) is at Pl. de la Constitución (Obelisco); lines 2, 25, 81, L3.
Time: Talks 19-23 January 2025. Working groups and meetings of the PC may be organised on 18, 24 and 25 January.
History: APPIS has been held annually since 2018 (except in 2021).
Coming APPIS: APPIS 2027, 24-31 January, 2027
Program committee:
Marco Aiello (Stuttgart, DE)
Enrique Alegre Gutierres (Leon, ES)
Ismail Ben Ayed (Montreal, CA)
Gyan Bhanot (New Jersey, USA)
Michael Biehl (Groningen, NL)
Kerstin Bunte (Groningen, NL)
Mario Cannataro (Catanzaro, IT)
Luigia Carlucci Aiello (Rome, IT)
Modesto Castrillon Santana (Las Palmas, ES)
Schahram Dustdar (Vienna, AT)
Nicola Fabiano (Rome, IT)
Pedro Galindo (Cadiz, ES)
Wolfgang Gentzsch (Regensburg, DE)
Javier Gonzalez Jimenez (Malaga, ES)
Robert Harrison (Georgia State Univ., USA)
Stiliyan Kalitzin (Utrecht, NL)
Hiroaki Kobayashi (Tohoku, Sendai, JP)
Alexander Lazovik (Groningen, NL)
Danilo Mandic (London, UK)
C. L. Max Nikias (Los Angeles, USA)
Juergen Nuetzel (Ilmenau, DE)
Arkadiusz Orłowski (Warsaw, PL)
Constantinos Pattichis (Nicosia, CY)
Nicolai Petkov (Groningen, NL)
Petia Radeva (Barcelona, ES)
Cauligi (Raghu) Raghavendra (Los Angeles, USA)
Alessia Saggese (Salerno, IT)
Rafael Munoz Salinas (Cordoba, ES)
Christos N. Schizas (Nicosia, CY)
Nicola Strisciuglio (Enschede, NL)
Estefania Talavera (Enschede, NL)
William M. Tang (Princeton, US)
Joao Tavares (Porto, PT)
Carlos Travieso Gonzalez (Las Palmas, ES)
Herwig Unger (Hagen, DE)
Adriaan van Doorn (Groningen, NL)
Mario Vento (Salerno, IT)
Mitsuo Yokokawa (Kobe, JP)
Organisation committee APPIS 2024:
Nicolai Petkov (Groningen, NL) (N dot Petkov at rug dot nl)
Carlos Travieso (Las Palamas, ES)
Invited key note talks (each talk is 60 minutes, including discussion):
The AI Revolution and Semiconductor Supply Chain Challenges. Chrysostomos L. Nikias, University of Southern California
A Novel User-Friendly AI Method for Prostate Cancer Detection and Classification from MRI Imaging. Andre Abreu, Giovanni Cacciamani, Vinay Duddalwar, Inderbir Gill, Masatomo Kaneko, Jay Kuo, Vasileios Magoulianitis, Yijing Yang and Chrysostomos L. Nikias*, University of Southern California
Invited tutorial
Talks (each talk is 30 minutes, including discussion; for multiple co-authors, the name of the presenting author is marked by *; the order of talks in the list below is the chronological order of abstract submission; the schedule will to be sent by email to the participants):
Applying Machine Learning to Real World Data. Cauligi Raghavendra, University of Southern California, USA
A Reflection on Teaching Computer Science in the GenAI Era. Marco Aiello, University of Stuttgart, Germany
Balancing Accuracy and Energy Costs: Experiments and Simulations on Adapting AI Models for Effective Image Classification. A. Orłowski*, K. Gajowniczek, M. Bator, R. Budzyński. Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW, Poland
Scaling and Diversifying in Remote Alerting Systems. Stiliyan Kalitzin. Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland (SEIN) & University of Utrecht, Netherlands
A Quantum-Annealing-Inspired HPC Hybrid Computing Platform for AI-Accelerated Data Analysis. Hiroaki Kobayashi. Tohoku University, Japan
Improving CEM Diagnosis through Ordinal BI-RADS Modelling and Multiview Deep Learning Fusion. Valeria Popello (a, c), Chiara Zucco (a, b), Mario Cannataro (a, b). (a) Università Magna Graecia di Catanzaro, Italy (b) Data Analytics Research Center, Università Magna Graecia di Catanzaro, Italy (c) Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Italy
How AI-Driven Prescribing Tools Optimize Clinical Decision Making. K.P.A. van Apeldoorn, M. Postma, T. Fens, A.B.D. van Doorn*. University of Groningen, Netherlands
A Brain-Inspired Approach to Language Learning. Herwig Unger, Tim Harrison, Elen Petrevska. FernUniversitaet in Hagen, Germany
RBMs for Time Series Regression/Prediction. R W Harrison. Georgia State University, USA
Transferable Schema with the Cloned GraphLearner. T. Harrison*, H. Unger. Univ. of Hagen, Germany
From Generalist to Specialist: Integrating Expert's Domain Knowledge into Medical Vision-Language Models. Ismail Ben Ayed. ETS Montreal, Canada
Predicting Excess Returns: A Comparative ML Study with Novel Feature Selection and Fundamental Indicators. Ozancan Ozdemir*, Nicolai Petkov. Univ. of Groningen, Netherlands
Cortisol Dynamics and Identifiability analysis of models. S.Bhatkar*(a) , W.Arlt (b,c), K.Bunte (a). (a) Univ. of Groningen, , Netherlands; (b) Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Sciences, (c) Imperial College London, UK
Adapt or Collapse: Graph Neural Networks at Test Time. Huy Truong* (a), Alexander Lazovik (a), Victoria Degeler (b). (a) Univ. of Groningen, (b) Univ. of Amsterdam, Netherlands
When AI Gets Creative: Controlling Quality in Mass-Generated Product Images. Juergen Nuetzel*, Fahad Mansuri. deenovum Technologies AG, Germany
Real time, Resilient, Sustainable - When AI runs the water. Hydroinformatics team, Vitens, Netherlands
Operationalizing AI. E.Lazovik*, S. ben Aziza, K. Helmholt. TNO, Netherlands
“Compositionality, priors and unlearning: rethinking vision models in the ReVision project”. N. Strisciuglio. Univ. of Twente, Netherlands
Generic schedule, Mo-Fr: 10:00-11:30 Talks, 11:30-12:00 Refreshments; 12:00-13:30 Talks; Sat/Sun: working groups and PC meetings
Social events:
(i) Monday, 18:00-19:00 welcome drinks and snacks at restaurant La Lonja (Las Canteras area)
(ii) Tuesday 17:00-18:00 visit to Museo Casa de Colon, Vegeta; 18:00 drinks nearby
(iii) Wednesday 20:00 conference dinner at restaurant La Marinera at La Puntilla of Playa de las Canteras
(iv) Thursday 17:30-19:20 visit to Castillo de Mata
APPIS accepts submissions of abstracts using this ABSTRACT SUBMISSION FORM. After submitting the form you will receive an email with a link that you can use to edit your submission later.
Each accepted contribution must be presented by one of the authors and accompanied by at least one full registration fee payment.
We do not plan to publish conference proceedings before the conference. We will consider publication of proceedings after the conference depending on the quality of the presented contributions and authors’ interest.
Important dates
Abstract submission – till 20 December, 2025
Abstract acceptance notification – a few days after you submit
Registration: Please, fill in this REGISTRATION FORM which is only for registration and information for the organizers and not for payment. After you fill the form you will receive a confirmation email with a link which you can use to edit your response. Please, keep that email with the link to your response.
Payment: You can use one of the following two web-sites:
Via the web-shop of the University of Groningen (Netherlands) https://santu.com/dqu652 before December 15, 2025 you can pay by credit card (Mastercard or Visa) or debit card (iDEAL system) or bank transfer. You need to specify name, email and billing address. Accompanying persons do not need any separate registration. If the payment is by bank transfer, include in the payment information the following: 'cost account 190135821, APPIS2026, <your name>'. For correct renderring of the payment site, it is recommended not to use a VPN.
OR
Via the web-site of Fundacion Parque Cientifico Tecnologico de ULPGC (Spain)
https://fpctserver.upe.ulpgc.es/fpctcursos/matricula.php?curso=FP-0370&forcelang=en you need to register in their system and provide name, ID number (Spanish public organizations need an ID number of the payer when they receive payments), address, email and telephone number. Accompanying persons need a separate registration and payment. You can pay by credit card or bank transfer. If the payment is by bank transfer, include their code of the event codeTBA and your name ("FP-0370_FULL NAME OF THE ATTENDANT") in the payment information.
Conference participation fee
The prices are as follows, depending on the day of payment (not on the day of registration):
Early: 225 euro, till 1 December 2025
Standard: 255 euro, 1 December 2025 till 14 December 2025
Late: 275 euro, 15 December 2025 till 16 January 2026 (only via the ULPGC site)
On-site: 285 euro
Accompanying person – conference dinner: 60 euro
Accompanying person – conference dinner and social events: 100 euro
Accompanying person – conference dinner, social events and refreshment breaks: 130 euro
You can fly to the airport of the island of Gran Canaria.
When you arrive on the airport of Las Palmas, you can go to the town by:
– Taxi (around 35-40 Euro) is the easiest option. Taxis are fast, reliable and will give you a receipt if needed. Usually you can pay by credit card.
– Bus: follow the boards ‘Bus (Global)’, some 5 minute walk inside the airport; take a bus to Las Palmas – e.g. to Santa Catalina if your hotel is in the Las Canteras area, or to San Telmo near the La Vegueta area, see http://www.globalsu.net/lineas/linea91.pdf, ticket around 3-4 Euro, put your computer and valuables in a bag to take inside the bus as you will be requested to put suitcases and trolleys in the baggage compartment. There are mainly two bus companies: Global Salcai-Utinsa S.A. and Guaguas.
– Rental car: finding a free parking slot in the town may be very difficult and you may need to use a paid parking for about 18-20 Euros per 24 hours. You may still wish to rent a car if you want to explore the island of Gran Canaria.
Hotel information
We advise participants to make their own hotel bookings taking into account the following:
The APPIS conference will be in a building of the University of Las Palmas of Gran Canaria ULPGC, TBA.
There are many hotels and airbnb properties in Las Palmas. Participants may wish to take a hotel near the conference venue Campus Universitario del Obelisco or they may wish to stay in the Las Canteras area that has a long beach and promenade. In the latter case (that the organizers prefer and choose themselves), one can reach the conference place by taxi or bus. At previous APPIS conferences, the organizers and many participants chose to take hotels in the Las Canteras area and to travel to the conference venue by taxi or bus that took 15 munutes drive and cost around 8-10 respectively around 2.50-3 Euro.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The conference organizers have not authorised any agency to make any hotel reservations. If participants are contacted by any such agency asking them to fill in a form and give their credit card details, this is likely to be a fraud/scam scheme. In any case of doubt, contact the conference organization.
The temperature in Las Palmas in January is 21-25 degrees in the afternoon - see 28 deg C in the image below - and 16-20 degrees at night. When the sun shines (which is most of the time) the perceived temperature during the day is 3-4 degrees higher. The water temperature is about 20-22 degrees and constant through the year.
Travel visa for Gran Canaria (Spain)
No visa is needed for nationals of the European Union (EU). If you are national of a country outside the EU, you need to check in your country of origin if you need a visa for Gran Canaria (Spain). If you need a visa and are author of an accepted paper or are scientist or professional with proven interest in the area of the conference, we will provide you with a confirmation letter that you have paid the registration fee and are accepted as participant of APPIS. You can use that letter for a visa application.
Some suggestions for activities in your free time.
This is the promenade of the Playa de las Canteras beach. It is around 3.1 km long. At its South end you see the big concert hall Auditorio Alfredo Kraus. Here you can watch people surfing. When you are in front of the statue of the famous tenor Alfredo Kraus, listen on your smarth phone to his interpretation of Una Furtiva Lagrima. The North end is called La Puntilla and it is where the conference dinner restaurant La Marinera is. This end of the beach, called Playa Grande has the broadest sand stripe and is good for a swim as it is in general more quiet w.r.t. waves and wind. Near here, opposite to the big hotel Cristina there are beach volleyball and other sport fields and it is fun to watch.
The aquarium Poema del Mar has been opened several years ago. It is new and very nice. I (NP) visit it every time I am in Las Palmas. It is located near the North end of Las Canteras but it is on the other, Eastern side where the harbour is. Coming from the Las Canteras beach, you need to cross over a highway using a bridge and there are two of them: (i) one called Pasarela Onda Atlantica is near the aquarium, and (ii) the other near Museo Elder of Science and Technology. You need around two hours to see the exhibition in the aquarium but you can spend more time if you read the explanations.
Mercado del Puerto is a covered market with various tapas bars. It is located near La Puntilla. After a visit to the aquarium you can go there via the bridge Pasarela Onda Atlantica for some tapas.
The harbour is near Museo Elder of Science and Technology and the aquarium Poema del Mar. You can go to the upper floors of the shopping mall El Muelle from where you have a magnificent view of the harbour. Very often huge cruise ships are on dock there and seeing them in real from nearby is overwhelming.
You can start from La Puntilla and walk along the cost to the North. You will encounter beautiful views along the way. If you do not stop too often, in half an hour you will reach the Playa del Confital that is another popular surfing area. When you are there, look up to the big cross on the hill. Just below it you can see caves that long ago were inhabited by prehistoric people. You can reach this place by going further to the North around the hill and climbing it from the rear side. When you sit in front of the caves you can listen to the (usually roaring) sound of the ocean and contemplate on the life of the people that used to live in these caves. If you plan to go to the caves you may need about two hours one way, starting from La Puntilla. Check the weather before you start to ensure that there will be no rain.
AC Hotel Gran Canaria, next to Parque de Santa Catalina, is (maybe) the tallest building in the area. Enter the building and without stopping at the reception, confidently go straight to the elevators to get to the top (23rd) floor where the sky cafe/bar is located. Enjoy the views in all directions. I (NP) visit it almost every time I am in Las Palmas.
You can see a real-size model of La Carabela Nina III, one of the ships of Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colom) who stopped at Gran Canaria on his way to America. It is on the North-East side of Parque de Santa Catalina, in front of Museo Elder of Science and Technology.
Museo Elder of Science and Technology
Museo Elder of Science and Technology was the venue of APPIS from 2018 till 2022. On the South side of the museum building you can find the restaurant Terraza Elder where we traditionally have drinks and snack on the first evening of the conference.
It is outside Las Palmas, between the villages Tafira Baja and Tafira Alta. Here you can see more than 500 plant sorts typical of the Canary islands. The easiest way to reach it is by taxi that may cost around 18-20 Euro from La Puntilla or 12-15 Euro from the historical center of La Vegetta.
The historical center is in the part of Las Palmas called Vegeta. Here you can see the Cathedral of Santa Ana and the House museum of Columbus (casa de Colon). The guided tour of APPIS is in the historical center.
There are many restaurants along the promenade of the Playa de las Canteras beach and in the whole Las Canteras area, as well as in the Marina of Las Palmas.
Mercado Central de Las Palmas is a real market where locals actually shop. You can find fresh fish, meat, cheese, nuts, exotic fruit, spices, and some small food stalls. Prices are decent, and the quality is high. It is busiest in the morning. There are two floors and a mix of traditional and modern touches.
El Corte Inglés, Av. José Mesa y López is a a high-end department store and premier shopping destination. You can find here clothes, perfumes, toys, books, auto parts, televisions, kitchen appliances, office supplies, etc. The supermarket, offers a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, wines, fish, and various other food items, many locally sourced. There are several restaurants and cafés within the department store, among them a jamon (cured ham) bar with a large selection of fine jamons and cavas (sparkling wines).
If you have previously been to Las Palmas and have any suggestions, please let us know.
