Digitalisation has changed our daily reality. But it has also completely reshaped how companies operate. Big streams of data drive businesses and impact our workspace. Automation, real time-data, algorithms and hyper-personalized customer experiences are no longer vague future ideas but a daily reality. But who solves the legal, technical and ethical challenges of digitalisation? It is exactly those questions that the EMILDAI consortium aims to solve by educating the future experts that will support businesses and public institutions to process data and use AI systems. The European Commission has awarded the Erasmus Master in Law, Data and AI (EMILDAI) consortium a grant of more than €3.5 million to continue research and education of students in the field of law, data and AI. Alberto Quintavalla and Koen Swinnen tell us more about the project, the consortium and its ambitions.
The European Master in Law, Data and Artificial Intelligence is an international, interdisciplinary programme offered by six Partner Universities: Dublin City University, Avignon Université, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Fundação Getulio Vargas, Universidad de León, and Università di Pisa. As a two-year master’s degree, students study at three different universities to explore the legal and technical challenges of digitalisation. Students can choose from four specialisation tracks: Fundamental Rights and Sustainability in Rotterdam, Global Digital Regulation in Rio de Janeiro, Cybersecurity in León, and Data Governance in Avignon. The programme will run from 2026 to 2032 and engages more than 70 public and private organisations, which deliver work placements and seminars.
Working together to face the biggest challenges of our digital future
The programme’s education is deeply integrated with research on the topic of the legal, technical and ethical challenges of digitalisation. This integrated and collaborative approach leads to new academic developments and opportunities, invaluable collaboration and education with a strong focus on current societal challenges, Swinnen explains: “For instance, last year’s EMILDAI summer school in Avignon focused on Public AI, while next year’s event in Rotterdam will focus on data centres. The programme also gave rise to EPILDAI, the European PhD programme in Law, Data and AI, an initiative of the same partner universities that organises events and academic opportunities relevant to early-career researchers in this field”.
The EMILDAI project has been developed as a response to the challenges and opportunities created by digitalisation. Quintavalla explains how the students work on the most pressing challenges of the digital transformations and its impact on our society: “The students dive deep into current issues for example examining the regulation of algorithmic bias in public services, such as welfare fraud detection. By analysing how to enforce transparency and non-discrimination under the EU AI Act, students learn to safeguard human dignity and prevent automated decisions from perpetuating historical biases. This approach directly supports the EU Digital Compass 2030, ensuring that the Digital Public Services pillar is built on trust and fundamental rights so citizens can confidently use online government services without fear of opaque or discriminatory AI”.
Grant to sustain innovative interdisciplinary education and research
The EMILDAI project was awarded a grant of more than €3.5 million to continue educating the future experts in the field of law, data and AI and to promote research in this cutting-edge field. “This significant funding will enable EMILDAI to sustain its innovative interdisciplinary approach to legal and technical education. The grant will facilitate the continuation of the programme’s distinctive three-university study model and the four specialisation tracks and will strengthen EMILDAI’s research activities”, Quintavalla explains.
Commitment to addressing the evolving challenges of the digital age
Both Quintavalla and Swinnen are delighted by this news: “It confirms Erasmus University Rotterdam’s position at the forefront of high-quality education, particularly in the field of digitalisation. This achievement also aligns with broader initiatives at Erasmus University Rotterdam, such as the Sectorplan SSH-Breed on Digitalization, underscoring the university’s commitment to addressing the evolving challenges of the digital age. Moreover, this grant represents yet another achievement by the Erasmus Centre for Law and Digitalization, also providing an opportunity to strengthen existing collaborations with leading research centres across Europe and to establish new partnerships beyond the continent”
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Quintavalla and Swinnen add a word of thanks to all colleagues who were involved for their hard work in making the programme come to life. “We appreciate all colleagues for their patience and support. In particular, we thank Ilva Putzier for her precious feedback and support as coordinator in internationalisation, Klaus Heine and Evert Stamhuis, the current and former directors of the Law and Technology master’s programme into which the new EMILDAI students will be integrated, as well as our Dean and Vice-Dean of Education for their institutional support”.
