Outreach initiative

Starting in 2021, the Data Management community begins an integrated effort to promote broadening participation of our professional activities. MDM 2026 participates in this effort (alongside SIGMOD, VLDB, SoCC, ICDE, and EDBT/ICDT), which celebrates the diversity in our community and welcomes everyone regardless of age, sex, gender identity, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, country of origin, religion, sexual orientation, physical ability, education, work experience, etc. It also welcomes people and opinions of all political persuasions, as long as they abide by the ACM policy against hate speech and harassment. Specific information can be found on the following dedicated website: https://dbdni.github.io/

As part of these activities, we host a keynote speech by Dr. Georgia Koutrika, Research Director at the Athena Research Center.

We will also support the participation of selected students and young researchers in the conference: Please apply to the Call for Outreach grants here

Outreach Keynote

Georgia Koutrika

(July 1st, 14:00 – 15:15) Will AI Conquer the World - or at Least Data Management?

Speaker: Dr. Georgia Koutrika Research Director at the Athena Research Center in Greece
Abstract: AI is starting to reshape the very core of database systems. Learned query optimizers seek to produce better query plans by drawing on past executions and data characteristics. Meanwhile, LLM-based semantic operators enable systems to interpret, align, and reason over heterogeneous data, schemas, and modalities, extending query processing beyond the traditional relational model. At the same time, these advances raise important questions. Learned optimizers often struggle to generalize and to behave consistently across workloads. Semantic operators are still loosely defined, typically operate at small scale, and lack the formal properties required for systematic optimization. More broadly, proposed architectures vary widely, and evaluation methods make it difficult to compare approaches fairly. In this talk, we will explore AI's growing role inside DBMS internals. We will survey emerging architectures, examine new operator capabilities, and synthesize empirical findings that highlight both the current gaps and the opportunities for building the next generation of query engines.
Short Bio: Dr. Georgia Koutrika is a Research Director at the Athena Research Center in Greece. Previously, she held research positions at HP Labs, IBM Almaden, and Stanford University. Her work explores how artificial intelligence can transform data management, particularly through conversational interfaces, responsible algorithmic design, and AI-driven data management techniques. Dr. Koutrika has authored over 140 publications and holds 19 patents. She is a member of the VLDB Endowment Board of Trustees, the EDBT Executive Board, and the ACM Europe Council. She is coordinating Editor-in-Chief for the VLDB Journal, and chairs the ACM Europe Working Group on Seasonal Schools. She is also the General Chair for VLDB 2027. Her past leadership roles include PC Co-Chair for VLDB 2023, Co-Editor-in-Chief of PVLDB Vol. 16, General Chair for ACM SIGMOD 2016, and member of the PVLDB Advisory Board. Her work has been recognized with several awards, including the EDBT 2023 Test-of-Time Award, Best Demo awards, and industrial honors.