Jülich LLM Day 2025
On Thursday the 18th of September, the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) held its inaugural Jülich LLM Day, organised in collaboration with TrustLLM and HPC Gateway. The event gathered more than 50 experts from around 40 companies to exchange insights, challenges, and lessons learned in the fast-evolving field of Large Language Models (LLMs).
The day opened with an informal networking lunch, giving participants the chance to connect with representatives from various projects and associations. Afterwards, Stefan Kesselheim, Head of SDL Applied Machine Learning & AI Consultant Team at JSC, officially welcomed the attendees.
The keynote address was delivered by Jan Ebert on “Trustworthy and European LLMs in TrustLLM.” He emphasised the risks of relying on LLMs developed outside the EU - including data protection concerns and potential security threats - while highlighting the hurdles of building secure, trustworthy models within Europe for the European market.
JSC’s industry engagement activities were then presented by Sohel Herff, Fritz Niesel, and Maria Petrova-El Sayed, who introduced initiatives such as WestAI and JAIF. Their session was followed by Oliver Bücker, who outlined the MATSE apprenticeship program, underscoring its role in training the next generation of AI developers.
In the afternoon, three use cases demonstrated how businesses are putting LLMs into practice:
Philip Reissel (amberSearch) described the challenges of integrating LLMs into everyday business workflows.
Clemens Hasler (u-form) shared how his family’s traditional printing company successfully pivoted to develop an AI-powered exam preparation tool for apprentices.
Omid Hashemi (kumo) highlighted the broader potential of AI tools, arguing that they should be seen not just as chatbots but as full-fledged process partners for companies.
The program concluded with a lively panel discussion featuring Jaroslaw Kutylowski (Founder & CEO, DeepL), Valentina Kerst (Senior Managing Partner, KI Bundesverband), and Stefan Kesselheim (Head of JSC’s Applied AI Lab). A distinctive feature of the panel was its two open chairs, inviting audience members to join the debate in real time.
The event wrapped up with informal networking over drinks and a guided tour of JSC’s facilities.
With its mix of expert talks, case studies, and interactive dialogue, the first Jülich LLM Day showcased both the opportunities and challenges of LLMs in Europe. The event not only fostered collaboration between academia and industry but also laid the groundwork for continued exchange and innovation in this rapidly advancing field.
Fotos: Herwig Zilken, Katherine Cordery
Author: Katherine Cordery