Together, you're less alone.
- Tine Scheffelmeier
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
May was incredibly busy, hence the slightly delayed newsletter, but it is packed with highlights. Furthermore, the MI4People team will be stepping away from their desks quite a bit this summer; you can catch us at various events across the country, say hello, and get to know us.
We look forward to meeting you!
Foto von Wylly Suhendra auf Unsplash
HOPE: A project comes of age
Since January 2024, we have been working with specialists in addiction counseling and psychiatry to explore how AI and data science can make addiction treatment more personalized and effective. Our goal was to help people struggling with alcohol, drugs, or digital media consumption. We pursued two objectives: First, to support therapists from the outset so they could address individual risks more effectively. Second, to ensure people find the right help in a timely manner, thereby reducing long waiting lists and easing the burden on overwhelmed counseling centers.
The system assists professionals in analyzing individual patient data, proposing suitable treatment plans, and referring those seeking help to appropriate facilities more quickly. It was presented at the 109th Scientific Annual Conference (2025), the Data Festival Munich, and the DHS Specialist Conference in October 2025. The response from the professional community was clear: the need is great, and the approach works!
Impact is created not by holding onto something, but by passing it on; we are now handing the project over to our research partners and hope the work bears fruit.
We extend our thanks to the entire volunteer team, especially Volker Ludwig, Leonardo Chimirri, and Diego Mediel Cuadra, for their exceptional collaboration over the past few years. https://www.mi4people.org/hope
KIISS: Halfway mark reached, 10 spots still available
We have completed half of the project term and can accept ten more organizations starting in September 2026. After that, the funding pool will be exhausted.
First come, first served! Anyone wishing to join this autumn should get in touch!
As a reminder: Through KIISS, climate-focused organizations can receive a GDPR-compliant organizational chatbot, a website bot, or an AI email assistant—fully developed and implemented for them. The organization’s own contribution is €1,200; the remaining 95 percent is covered by funding from the BMWK and ESF Plus. No paperwork or technical expertise is required. Legal status is secondary—associations, non-profit LLCs (gGmbH), or standard LLCs (GmbH) are all eligible, provided the core of the work contributes to climate or environmental protection.
Apply at https://www.mi4people.org/kiiss
AI-SUSTAINS CVD Care: Pilot successfully completed
In Ethiopia, we partnered with local organizations to introduce an AI-powered ECG diagnostic system across nine hospitals, trained over 30 medical professionals, and assisted around 7,200 patients, all within just a few months. In the process, we collected valuable, anonymized ECG data from the Ethiopian population. This is not merely a milestone for local diagnostics; it lays the foundation for the world’s first open ECG dataset specifically focused on African populations. Most existing AI systems for cardiac diagnostics were trained exclusively on data from Western populations, resulting in biased outcomes. Now, we can change that.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Health has publicly pledged its support. The pilot phase was a success, and the consortium comprising MI4People, AHRI, and THM is ready for the next step. We have strong reason to believe that a subsequent funding phase will be approved, enabling us to scale the project to up to 100 hospitals. This will provide access to high-quality cardiac diagnostics for hundreds of thousands of patients annually, people who previously lacked access to professional cardiovascular care.
More details to follow once the news is official. https://www.mi4people.org/en/sustain-ai-ecg
Here’s where you can find us over the coming weeks:
On June 11, we’ll be at the Civic Data Barcamp in Erfurt: https://civic-data.de/barcamp/
On June 18 and 19, we’ll be at the DSEE’s transform_D Summit in Berlin. We’ll have a booth offering AI consultations on both days, plus a talk on June 18 (4:30 PM – 5:30 PM) that you won’t want to miss: "AI4Good: A Reality Check After 5 Years of Experience."
On June 30, as part of Hamburg Sustainability Week 2026, we invite you to the "AI4Sustainability Journey":
An outdoor scavenger hunt through Hamburg’s city center using the Actionbound app (5 PM – 7 PM, starting at Rathausmarkt 1). How can AI help turn the UN Sustainable Development Goals into reality in Hamburg? Come along and find out in a fun, interactive way!
Register here: https://www.mi4people.org/public-event
On July 11, we’ll be at the "Gutes Klima Festival" 2026 in Essen with a booth, offering brief AI consultations: https://gutesklimafestival.de/
The highlight: July 25 and 26 at the IPAI AI Festival, featuring a presentation and a booth offering brief AI consultations: https://ipai-foundation.ai/ki-festival/
There’s a lot happening this summer.
Stay tuned.
