On May 3, 2025, VCLA co-chair Stefan Szeider gave a keynote speech at the 1st International Workshop on Neuro-Symbolic Software Engineering in Ottawa, Canada. The workshop was affiliated with ICSE, the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering, and aimed to discuss challenges within the field of Neuro-Symbolic methods, which involved “how to reason about learning” and “how to learn about reasoning.”

Title: Neural Meets Symbolic: Synergies Between Language Models and Constraint Reasoning

Abstract:

Integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) with traditional solving techniques creates new synergies in automated reasoning. This talk explores both (i) how LLMs can enhance SAT and constraint solving through structural analysis and search guidance and (ii) how formal reasoning can help LLMs tackle hard reasoning and optimization problems. We will present case studies exploring the practical advances and future potential of combining neural and symbolic approaches in computational reasoning.

Stefan Szeider gives a keynote speech at NSE.