Picture taken by my dear colleague Kateryna Panfilova

Taieb Oussaifi

Grant Manager

Max Planck Institute for Software Systems
Saarland Informatics Campus
Campus E1 5
66123 Saarbrücken

Email: t.oussaifi@mpi-sws.org
Phone: +49 (0)68193039721

Home

My name is Taieb Oussaifi. I was born in September 1995 in Menzah VI, Ariana, Tunisia. I grew up in Rades Mont-Jilles, a coastal charming city on the southern sub-urbs of Tunis. I currently live and work in Saarbrücken, Germany.

I hold a bachelor's degree in English Studies (major: linguistics, minor: literary studies) from the university of Tunis and a master's degree in North American Studies (major: political science, minor: economics) from the University of Bonn. I am trained in North American domestic and foreign policy, micro- and macro-economics and global political economy.

I have a well established professional experience in managing and coordinating research projects, in particular EU-funded research grants. I am currently taking over the responsibilities of management, coordination, and communication of the ERC Synergy Grant "DynAMiCs" at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) under the supervision of Prof. Joël Ouaknine

I am likewise affiliated with the Saarland Informatics Campus (SIC), where I contribute to research proposal development and grant-related work under the guidance of Managing Director Dr. Christian Theres.

Professional Activities

I previously worked on the following projects:

ELSA - European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI

Employer:
CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, Grants Department
Period:
10/2023 - 09/2025

Project Description:
The EU funded ELSA lighthouse is a consortium of excellence consisting of more than 26 leading research institutions and industries spearheading research in the area of trustworthy AI to promote the developement of secure and safe AI systems in Europe. The ELSA lighthouse is funded by the European Union under the programs HORIZON.2.4 - Digital, Industry and Space [Main Program] and HORIZON.2.4.5 - Artificial Intelligence and Robotics through the funding scheme Horizon Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) (Grant ID: 101070617)

Main Responsibilities:

  • Preparing management reports and coordinating deliverables detailing the project's activities and scientific outcomes
  • Supporting the scientific coordinator in preparing project-related talks and presentations.
  • Budget management and monitoring of budget expenditures.
  • Ensuring compliance with EU regulations and guidelines
  • Leveraging data analytics to enhance project activities
  • Management and support to answer the needs of the consortium
  • Planning and management of project meetings, workshops and networking events

Teach About U.S. - Going Green: Education for Sustainability

Employer:
Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Institute of English Studies
Period:
02/2022 - 08/2023

Project Description:
Teach About U.S. was a cooperation between the U.S. Embassy Berlin, Leuphana University Lüneburg and LIFE e.V. Teach About U.S. was an award-winning intercultural blended learning platform that enriched teaching in American Studies, English and Education for Sustainable Development. Special projects such as “Going Green”, “Power to the People,” "U.S. Elections" and “Humboldt 250” brought innovative teaching approaches into German classrooms. Highlights were the U.S. Embassy School Election Projects 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024. The project has had more than 20,000 participants in Germany and the USA over the past 13 years.

Main Responsibilities:

  • Development of a STEM-oriented English language and sustainability teaching course.
  • Conducting Germany-wide teacher training seminars and webinars on sustainability, inquiry-based teaching activities and intercultural competence.
  • Managing communication and dissemination of research findings.
  • Teaching undergraduate students on U.S. American politics and society
  • Preparing project reports and publications

Publications

Below is a list of publications in which I contributed during my role as project manager and research assistant at the Institute of English Studies, University of Lüneburg

  • Oussaifi, T., & Schmidt, T. (2023, Aug 30). Going Green with Gamified Learning: Advancing Sustainability through Interactive Learning. Leuphana Universität Lüneburg. http://blog.asjournal.org/going-green-with-gamified-learning-advancing-sustainability-through-interactive-learning/
  • Kaliampos, J., Schmidt, T., Kohl, M., Oussaifi, T., Ernst, K., Krüger, K., ... & Arboleda, P. S. (2023). Teach About US Handbook: The US Embassy School Election Project 2020. Teacher's Handbook and Printable Worksheets.
  • Kaliampos, J., Schmidt, T., Kohl, M., Oussaifi, T., Ernst, K., Krüger, K., ... & Möller, M. (2023). Teach About US Handbook: Going Green-Education for Sustainability. Teacher's Handbook and Materials.
  • Kaliampos, J., Schmidt, T., Kohl, M., Oussaifi, T., Ernst, K., & Krüger, K. (2023). Teach About US Student Products-Going Green Eco-Challenges 2014-2023.
  • Kaliampos, J., Schmidt, T., Kohl, M., Oussaifi, T., Ernst, K., & Krüger, K. (2023). Teach About US Student Products-Going Green: Education for Sustainability (School Competition Projects 2014-2023).

Scientific Events

I was involved (to different degrees) in the support and organization of the following scientific events:

  • DynAMiCs Workshop on "Mathematical and Algorithmic Aspects of Dynamical Systems," Barbados, 05 - 12 June 2026
  • Dynaverse Workshop on "Algebraic Methods in Dynamics and Particle Physics," Saarbrücken, 15 - 17 October 2025
  • CISPA - ELLIS Summer School 2025 "Trustworthy AI - Secure and Safe Foundation Models", Saarbrücken, 04 - 08 August 2025
  • ELSA General Assembly Meeting, Brussels, 17 - 19 June 2025
  • ELSA Workshop on "Privacy-preserving Machine Learning," Bertinoro, 17 - 21 March 2025
  • ELSA General Assembly Meeting, Windermere, 09 - 11 September 2024
  • ELSA Workshop on "Legal and ethical aspects of machine learning in the light of the EU AI Act," London, 18 March 2024
  • ELSA Workshop on "Generative AI and Creative Arts," London, 18 March 2024
  • International Interdisciplinary Conference on Tradition/ Transformation, University of Tunis, 13 - 15 April, 2017

Teaching

Below is my teaching experience:

(Seminar) U.S. Politics

University: Leuphana Graduate School - Leuphana University Lüneburg
Period: 10/2022 - 02/2023
Module: Area Studies

Description:
Teaching and examining undergraduate students on "U.S. Politics," a course under the module Area Studies that explores the institutional and cultural scene of the United States along domestic and foreign policies. I assisted Prof. Dr. Maria Moss and Dr. Sabrina Völz in several activities under the auspices of the Institute of English Studies

Foundations of Algorithmic Verification (FAV)

Foundations of Algorithmic Verification is a research group headed by Prof. Joël Ouaknine, scientific director at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems. The group consists of PhD and Postdoctoral students who are chiefly interested in foundations of algorithmic verification and theoretical computer science.

Within the group, I am taking over the role of project management and coordination. In particular, I am taking over the responsibilities of (1) management (2) coordination and (3) science communication for the ERC Synergy Grant - DynAMiCs: Dynamical and Arithmetical Model Checking.

Other

Use this section for additional information, such as personal interests or miscellaneous academic activities.