Speakers
Speakers
(in alphabetical order by surname)
Kristian Authen works in the Data and Analytics department at Statnett and focuses on time series forecasting of load and production. He has 15 years of experience with computations and machine learning within the oil and gas, defense and power sector.
Dr. Peet Cremer is a Principal AI Researcher at the Cognite AI Lab, where he works on developing the Darkhorse time-series foundation models. He holds a PhD in theoretical soft-matter physics from the University of Düsseldorf and has lectured on artificial intelligence at the University of Wuppertal. Previously, he developed machine-learning methods and data infrastructure for autonomous-driving perception at Aptiv. His work bridges mathematical modeling, machine learning research, and industrial AI.
Ingar Haaland is a professor at NTNU Business School, having previously been a professor at NHH Norwegian School of Economics where he also obtained his PhD in 2019. Haaland has been giving several master's and PhD courses about how AI is transforming business and society and has done research on integrating AI in economic research, including on how to conduct qualitative interviews with AI and scale behavioral interventions with AI. He is also the principal investigator of a Researcher Project for Young Talents grant from the Research Council of Norway exploring how AI transforms the media market.
Hans Christian Holte is director of KI Norge (AI Norway), a national arena for innovative and responsible use of artificial intelligence. He has extensive experience in public-sector leadership and digital transformation, having previously led NAV, Skatteetaten and Difi.
Folke Jernbert is an integrated PhD candidate affiliated with NorwAI. His research focuses on applications of large language models in healthcare. In spring 2026, he submitted the Master’s thesis in Informatics with specialization in artificial intelligence, at NTNU in Trondheim. His thesis, conducted in collaboration with the health-tech startup Hugin Medical, explored the use of language models to summarize radiology referrals. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity and Digital Infrastructure from NTNU. His PhD supervisors are Benjamin Kille and Kerstin Bach.
Nhien Nguyen is an Associate Professor at NTNU’s Faculty of Economics and Management, Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management. She holds a PhD from NTNU and has been a visiting fellow at Stanford University and MIT Sloan School of Management. Her research interests include innovation management, digital strategy, responsible AI, and human-AI collaboration. Nhien leads the “Innovation Ecosystem” work package at NorwAI and heads the strategic research initiative “Leading Transitions: Co-creating a sustainable future” at her department. She has led and coordinated several EU projects which focusing on integrating Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) into regional and industrial strategies. Additionally, she has guest-edited special issues on organizational learning and unlearning, ambidextrous strategy.
Stephan Oepen is professor in Language Technologies at the Department of Informatics of the University of Oslo. He is co-founder and current chairman of the Norwegian Cluster for Language Modeling (https://språkmodellklynge.no). Before coming to Norway, Oepen has worked, among others, at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, Stanford University, and a failed Silicon Valley start-up. In recent years, he has served as the technical coordinator for the Horizon Europe initiative HPLT (https://hplt-project.org) and the Digital Europe flagship OpenEuroLLM (https://openeurollm.eu).
Tellef Solbakk Raabe is project lead at the Fritt Ord Foundation, working on democracy, media, and technology. He holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Cambridge, where he is an affiliated researcher, and writes on media and AI for Aftenposten.
Alexander Stasik:
-Work package leader "Knowledge embeddings and causal ML", AiD, national AI center
-Work package leader "Algorithms and quantum random walks", QIStar, National quantum center
-PostDoc in Computional Neuroscience and Bio-Inspired AI, UiO
-PhD in particle and astro physics, Humboldt University of Berlin
-Bachelor and Master in Physics, University of Bonn, Germany
Jorunn Thaulow is a physician, specialist in ear, nose and throat diseases, with 20 years of clinical experience from primary, specialist and municipal health services. PhD fellow at the Antibiotic Center for Primary Medicine at the University. Founded in 2024 MEDBRIC together with technologist Jon Espen Ingvaldsen and now delivers AI solutions to 30% of Norwegian general practitioners, over 60 Norwegian municipalities and hospitals throughout Norway. Won this spring the tender of the Health-South-East to deliver speech to text solutions to the country's 4 health authorities which will be rolled out from August. Also recently won a large tender in Denmark where they, together with the Danish General Practitioners' Association, will offer Medbric to all Danish general practitioners.
Inger Anne Tøndel is a Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Directorate of Health, where she is working on digital security and AI. She has a PhD from NTNU, and has previously worked as a researcher at SINTEF Digital.
Astrid Undheim is Executive Director of Technology and Development at SpareBank 1 SMN. She joined the bank in 2020. Before, she
had extensive prior experience from Telenor, most recently heading the research department for Analytics & AI.
She holds a PhD in Communications Technology from NTNU (2009) and a master of Science in Communications Technology from NTNU (2004). She is member of the Council for Statistics Norway (SSB).
Trond Utne is the CEO of Hemit, which is responsible for the technology services for the specialist health services in the region of Central Norway. Trond holds a master’s degree in Industrial Economics and Technology Management from NTNU. He is an experienced leader within technology and consulting, with an extensive track record of driving digitalization and organizational change.
Hanne Dahl Vonen is a 6th year Medical Student at NTNU and educated as an Epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health. She is the founder and CEO of Hugin Medical, a Norwegian startup using AI and LLMs to ensure better priorities of healthcare resources.
Åse Wetås is the National Librarian of Norway and former Director of the Language Council of Norway. She holds a PhD in Nordic Linguistics from the University of Oslo and has extensive experience in language policy, research, and public sector leadership. Throughout her career, she has contributed to national and international initiatives promoting language, knowledge, and cultural heritage.