CLS Background

The Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) and ETH Zurich first joined forces in 2013 by forming a unique Research Network on Learning Systems (RNLS). Under the umbrella of RNLS, several events – including a Summer School with more than 100 participants – were initiated which brought together leading researchers and junior scientists from MPI-IS and ETH for the first time.

Building on this success, MPI-IS and ETH proposed the establishment of the Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems (CLS) with an initial run time of five years. The CLS was officially inaugurated by the presidents of ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Society on November 30, 2015, thus becoming the first joint center between the German Max Planck Society and the world-famous Swiss research institution. The activities of the Center are regulated by an official cooperation agreement signed off by both partners.

In April 2020, following the completion of a successful evaluation, the two partners further strengthened their cooperation with an agreement to extend the joint research venture for another five-year period; this has been further extended until 2030.  Both sides place a high value on this cooperation, believing that strong academic exchange in Europe is vital in order to actively shape developments in modern AI and leads to a higher impact than if every research institution were to forge its own path.