Cansu Demir, BSc. – a master’s student at the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Interfaces at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg – has been accepted into the HORIZON Europe Young Observer Programme of the European Union.

She is one of 51 master’s students across Europe who have been given this special opportunity. Cansu Demir will be supporting the European Research Executive Agency (REA) with her expertise in Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction.

HORIZON Europe

HORIZON Europe is one of the flagship initiatives of the European Year of Youth, which aims to encourage young people to engage in opportunities that can enhance their personal and professional development. This is a unique opportunity to directly witness how the EU budget of the HORIZON Europe research and innovation programme is spent by selecting the best proposals through a fair and impartial evaluation process in a highly competitive environment.

For twelve different evaluations in 2022, 51 Young Observers were selected (59% women, 41% men). The Young Observers are students at 47 different universities in the European Union (Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, Ireland, Romania, Denmark, Hungary, Finland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Netherlands, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece).

Cansu Demir

Cansu Demir, BSc. completed her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg and is currently studying in the Joint Master’s programme Human-Computer Interaction at the PLUS and the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. She received an exclusive scholarship from Salzburg AG in the field of technology, innovation and sustainability as part of her master’s degree.

She has been working as a researcher in the Automotive Team of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexander Meschtscherjakov at the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Interfaces since 2019. She is part of the EU project  HADRIAN, where she is investigating how the interaction between drivers in semi-automated vehicles can be made safer.

Cansu Demir on her success: “I am honoured to be able to support the European Commission with my expertise in computer science and human-computer interaction. I am also very much looking forward to playing a central role in testing this new initiative and attracting young people, especially women, to the IT world and research.”

Further information can be found HERE.