ECSS 2018 - Highlights

As always, the Summit was preceded by the popular one-day workshop for deans and department heads to exchange practical strategies on common challenges they face in managing their department and institutes. This year’s main theme was ‘Personal Development’. The inspiring morning session held by Geraldine Fitzgerald (Vienna University of Technology) raised questions like: What makes a good leader? How to improve the communication and motivate others inside the department? How should managers deal with success and with failure? How to handle the multiple demands/stress of being a leader? Around 70 participants from institutions both large and small had the opportunity to exchange their experiences on these topics in small groups and afterwards presented their ideas to all participants. The second part of the workshop was devoted to the discussion of different strategies and best practices of Informatics PhD education in Europe. At the end of the workshop, Michael E. Caspersen and Enrico Nardelli presented an Informatics4All initiative and explained why the widespread Informatics education is essential for Europe. 

For those who could not attend the Workshop, the slides of the talks presented during the event are available for download on the Workshop web-page.

 

The main Summit on October 9 and 10 explored challenges and opportunities that Informatics transformation and renewal brings to all areas of science, technology and society. Prominent speakers from academia, industry and the European Commission provided their perspectives and fueled panel discussions on lively debated topics like Machine Learning, Computational Creativity, Molecular Programming, Quantum Computing, Human-Computer Partnerships, Robots and Autonomous Systems, Open Science Cloud, Digital Education, Ethics of Robotics and AI and its societal impact. Sharing their expert views and insights at ECSS 2018 were Luca Cardelli, Mark Coeckelbergh, Per Delsing, Georgi Dimitrov, Amy Loutfi, Wendy Mackay, John Shawe-Taylor, May Britt Thorseth, Klaus Tochtermann and Hannu Toivonen. Slides of most talks are available on the ECSS 2018 program web-page. 

A special attention at ECSS 2018 was given to the Informatics education – a topic of a panel discussion of leading Informatics educators, computer scientists and European Commission leaders. Panelists - Gianfranco Basti, Michael E.Caspersen, Georgi Dimitrov and Hilde G. Corneliussen  - discussed different perspectives of the ‘Informatics for all’ initiative (Informatics for humanistic departments, women participation in Informatics research) and the near-term future of Informatics education in Europe. 

To complement the ECSS program, chairs and members of Informatics Europe Working Groups on Ethics (James Larus), Research Evaluation (Hélène Kirchner) and Data Collection and Reporting (Svetlana Tikhonenko) presented the progress and important outcomes of their work – “When Computers Decide: Recommendations on Machine-Learned Automated Decision Making”, “Informatics Research Evaluation Report” and “Informatics Education in Europe: Institutions, Degrees, Students, Positions, Salaries. Key Data Report 2012-2017”. 

 

Beyond discussion, presentations, and networking, there was also time for celebration. At a special Award Ceremony, Informatics Europe announced the project ‘Tinkering in Informatics as a Teaching Method’ submitted by Angelika Mader, Ansgar Fehnker and Alma Schaafstal from the the University of Twente (Netherlands) as the winner of the 2018 Best Practices in Education Award. The Faculty of Information Systems and Applied Computer Sciences, University of Bamberg (Germany) won the 3^rd Minerva Informatics Equality Award for their contribution to the enrolment and retention of female students in Computer Science programs. ERCIM, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics, presented the Cor Baayen young researcher award to Martina Lindorfer from Vienna University of Technology. 

Next year, in addition to these three awards, Informatics Europe and ERCIM are going to grant for the first time a new joint ‘Societal Impact Award’ to highlight the societal impact of Informatics researchers.  

 

Post-summit working sessions were another novetly of ECSS this year. Following members and participants request for more opportunities for interaction and discussion, Informatics Europe organized for the first time three parallel Working Sessions after the closure of the main ECSS program. These informal meetings were dedicated to National Informatics Associations; Women in Informatics Research and Education and The Wide Role of Informatics at Universities. More details about the meetings can be found on the Working Sessions web-page.