[ECSS 2024] Presentations of the Leaders Workshop (28 October 2024)

Dealing with Interdisciplinarity and Sustainability in Research Groups and Departments Leaders Workshop ECSS 2024 Chairs Elisabetta Di Nitto —Politecnico di Milano, Italy Kim Mens —Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium Speakers Sasu Tarkoma —University of Helsinki, Finland Gert Jervan —Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia Alessandro Bozzon —Technische Universiteit Delft, The Netherlands Jean-Marc Jézéquel —IRISA / University of Rennes, France YOU Experience sharing and discussion after each speech : floor open to entire audience Let’s make this workshop interactive ; we want to learn from each other’s experiences. Chairs and Speakers Multi-disciplinary: multiple disciplines working independently on a shared problem, each with their own methods and perspective, contributing separate insights; collaboration exists, but integration of knowledge is limited. Inter-disciplinary: goes a step further by actively integrating and combining knowledge, methods, and perspectives from multiple disciplines to address a problem more comprehensively; disciplines work together, blending their approaches, though each retains its boundaries. Transdisciplinary: is the most integrative approach; transcends disciplinary boundaries by developing a new framework or methodology that synthesizes, reorganizes and integrates knowledge from various fields to address complex real-world problems. Link with sustainability: sustainability challenges are inherently complex problems, involving ecological, social, economic, and technological factors. Solutions to sustainability issues therefore often require a multi-, interand even transdisciplinary approach, as they cannot be fully addressed within the confines of a single discipline or even by combining the perspectives of a few disciplines. Some definitions Workshop Planning Time Activity Speaker or Moderator 11:00 -11:15 Opening Introduction Kim Mens 11:15 -12:30 Session 1 Multidisciplinarity in research Sasu Tarkoma Experience sharing & discussion Kim Mens 12:30 -14:00 Break Lunch 14:00 -15:00 Session 2 Multidisciplinarity in education Gert Jervan Experience sharing & discussion Elisabetta Di Nitto 15:00 -16:00 Session 3 Sustainability in research and education Alessandro Bozzon Experience sharing & discussion Kim Mens 16:30 -16:30 Break Coffee 16:30 -17:30 Community corner Jean -Marc Jézéquel Discussion & Feedback Elisabetta Di Nitto Listen carefully to selected presentations Presentations are there to structure and trigger discussions We ask the speakers to focus on sharing experiences We ask the audience to write down questions while listening Afterwards use these questions to start a lively discussion We take notes of the discussions during the meeting and share a small report of the workshop notes after the meeting The report will be circulated among attendees for feedback And will be made available publicly after that What do we expect ? Before we start, any questions or feedback to us? What are your expectations for this workshop? What do you expect ? Workshop Planning Time Activity Speaker or Moderator 11:00 -11:15 Opening Introduction Kim Mens 11:15 -12:30 Session 1 Multidisciplinarity in research Sasu Tarkoma Experience sharing & discussion Kim Mens 12:30 -14:00 Break Lunch 14:00 -15:00 Session 2 Multidisciplinarity in education Gert Jervan Experience sharing & discussion Elisabetta Di Nitto 15:00 -16:00 Session 3 Sustainability in research and education Alessandro Bozzon Experience sharing & discussion Kim Mens 16:30 -16:30 Break Coffee 16:30 -17:30 Community corner Jean -Marc Jézéquel Discussion & Feedback Elisabetta Di Nitto Faculty of Science 4.11.2024 1 INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI'S FACULTY OF SCIENCE: LESSONS LEARNED AND CASE STUDIES Dean Sasu Tarkoma, Faculty of Science Faculty of Science 4.11.2024 2 5,555 STUDENTS 1,207 EMPLOYEES 100 BUDGET (MEUR) FACULTY OF SCIENCE Mission: The faculty builds a sustainable future and fulfills scientific curiosity with research and education utilizing theory, experiments, data and computation. Faculty of Science FROM DEEP UNDERSTANDING TO PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS Data from our stations contribute to European Research Infrastructures Academy of Finland flagship ACCC: The Atmosphere and Climate Competence Center •Potential of land-based climate change mitigation •Air qualityclimate interactions •Climate change impacts& adaptation Academy of Finland Center of Excellence VILMA: Virtual laboratory for molecular level atmospheric Transformations •Next generation models for tackling the enormous chemical complexity of atmospheric air •Novel instruments with robust error estimates •Artificial intelligence designed for and adopted by atmospheric scientists Theory & Modelling AI Experiments Artificial intelligence Faculty of Science April 2024 10 FINNISH QUANTUM FLAGSHIP (FQF) • Brings together Finland’s leading quantum experts in physics, computational science, mathematics, nanoscience & nanotechnology, and economics. •Goals •Initiate new business and research ventures across universities, industry, and research institutions. •Attract, train and retain top local and international talent. •Raise awareness in Finnish society via openaccess courses and training •Activate new relationships with other organizations in the Nordics, Europe and beyond. •8-year project (2024-31) • 13M € budget (first 4 years) •Housed within InstituteQ •Host organizations •Aalto (coordinator) •VTT •University of Helsinki •University of Jyväskylä •Tampere University •University of Oulu •CSC –IT Centre for Science Faculty of Science April 2024 11 QUANTUM IN FINLAND: INSTITUTEQ •550 university & research institute experts. (2022) •307 publications (202122) •19 PhD, 30 MSc (202122) •42 invention disclosures (2021-22) •26 patents (2021-22) •3 spinouts (2021-22) •50 companies (2022) •460 private sector experts (2022) 2x Den, 5x Ger •8 QT start-ups (2022) • 250M € cumulative private investment since 2012 Faculty of Science 4.11.2024 12 TIMELINE FOR DATA SCIENCE AND AI Data Science M.Sc. program HiDATA: Helsinki Centre for Data Science FCAI: Finnish Center for AI 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Continuation as a HIIT program ELLIS Unit Helsinki Preparation for ELLIS Institute European Network of AI Excellence Centres (ELISE, 2020-2024) European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI (ELSA, 2022-2024), Horizon Europe, ELLIS Unit Helsinki European Lighthouse of AI for Sustainability (ELIAS, 2023-2026), Horizon Europe, Univ. Helsinki Affiliated Partner Lessons learned Faculty of Science Helsinki Centre for Data Science (HiDATA) is a world-class hub of Data Science in Helsinki. The large multi-disciplinary network of researchers works on both methods and applications. HiDATA is a joint hub of the University of Helsinki and Aalto University The overarching goal of HiDATA is to leverage the synergies of the network in solving significant societal and industrial challenges related to data analysis ●Core methodology: Develop new data science methodology, algorithms and platform technology ●Collaboration: Increase collaboration between data science, application disciplines and industry ●Infrastructures: Ensure improved use and development of the computational infrastructures ●Open science: Advance open science ●Education: Collaborate in master and doctoral programmes 4.11.2024 14 MISSION OF HIDATA Faculty of Science ORGANIZATION 4.11.2024 15 HiDATA has a Steering Group (management team) HiDATA has an Advisory Group with representatives from different faculties in U. Helsinki and from Aalto University HiDATAcollaborates closely with the AI Flagship (Finnish Center for AI, FCAI) HiDATA contributes to the digitalization programme roadmaps of the universities and has close collaboration with the City of Helsinki Events and internal meetings for principal investigators and supporting the Data Science community in Helsinki Faculty of Science Data-Intensive Computing in Natural Sciences: Professor Jukka Nurminen Parallel and Distributed Data Science: Professor Keijo Heljanko Spatiotemporal Data Analysis for Sustainability Science: Associate professor Laura Ruotsalainen Computer Science and Atmospheric Sciences: Associate professor Kai Puolamäki Machine Learning and AI: Assistant professor Dorota Glowacka Machine Learning and AI: Associate professor Antti Honkela Knowledge discovery in big data: Associate professor Simon Puglisi Privacy-aware and secure data science: Associate professor Nikolaj Tatti RECRUITMENT OF EIGHT HIDATA PROFESSORS Faculty of Science Lessons learned •Community building requires many events and physical spaces •25+ public events organized by HiDATAand bottom-up research meetings and events •The concentrated effort gives a pulse to the community •It is important to identify and leverage synergies •For example, 8 new data science professors connected with the flagships and profiling areas (FCAI, ACCC, Quantum Tech, HELSUS sustainability network) •Infrastructure development and connecting with industries •Alignment of community interests and aspirations with the instruments and their development, communication of the possibilities for collaboration and funding •Crucial to find and empower champions to advance topics •Centers and networks have a life-cycle, renewal after cycle 17 Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence FCAI ●Aims to create new types of AI, which can operate with humans in the complex world, and to renew the Finnish industry and society with this Real AI ●Scientific goals: data efficiency, trust and ethics, understandability Key facts ●Academy of Finland research and impact flagship for 2019–26, volume 250 M€ ●Initiated by Aalto University, University of Helsinki, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland ●Built on the long track record of pioneering machine learning research in Finland, 70 professors and their groups contributing Faculty of Science CONCLUSIONS Bottom-up formation of research and education excellence guided by strategy Meeting-in-the-middle Booster funding for new openings on faculty and university level Synergies of research instruments (national, EU, global) Connecting people, communities, infrastructure Infrastructure development is key Interdisclinary research takes time and patience, it can take several years for building momentum and scientific impact across fields 4.11.2024 25 Faculty of Science DISCUSSION POINTS Breaking Silos: What are the main barriers within our institution that hinder interdisciplinary collaboration? How might we break down these silos to encourage meaningful, cross-departmental work? Reward Systems and Funding: How can we design reward and evaluation systems that recognize and incentivize interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, given that traditional metrics often favor single-discipline achievements? How can we encourage funding bodies and donors to value research that may not fit into traditional categories? Curriculum Development: What would an ideal curriculum look like that genuinely prepares students for interdisciplinary collaboration? How can we equip students with both deep expertise and the adaptability to work across fields? Role of Leadership: What role should academic leaders play in facilitating interdisciplinary research and education? How active should leaders be in guiding the strategic focus of interdisciplinary initiatives, versus allowing organic collaborations to form? Sustainability of Interdisciplinary Programs: What steps can we take to ensure the long-term sustainability of interdisciplinary programs, especially when they do not always align with traditional departmental structures? 4.11.2024 26 Faculty of Science 4.11.2024 27 THANK YOU! 29.10.2024 [email protected] 1 TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY IT ACADEMY - ESTONIAN WAY TO SHAPE ICT EDUCATION Gert Jervan, Dean, School of IT Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY GERT JERVAN MSc TalTech 1998, PhD Linköping University, Sweden 2005 Professor 2012, Dean 2018 Ca. 150+ papers, ca. 20+ projects as PI (incl. ca. 10 EC projects), supervised 8 PhD theses Since 2011 regularly consulted and served REA (EC Research Executive Agency) Research interests: Dependability and reliability of computer-based systems (microelectronics, fiiber-optical networks, IoT, biomedical engineering) 1 2 29.10.2024 [email protected] 2 TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 9000 students 2000 staff 150 m€ revenue TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF IT 4 departments and 1 college: •Departments of Computer Systems, Software Science, Health Technologies, and Electronics •IT College (center of studies) Ca. 370 staff members, of what 232 academic •incl. 24 professor and 65 junior researchers (total 108 PhD students) Ca. 2800 students (2/3 of all Estonian ICT students) The School revenue is ca. 60% research and 40% teaching. 3 4 29.10.2024 [email protected] 3 TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF IT •6 Bachelor’s programmes (3 years), ca. 500+ freshmen annually •5 in Estonian •1 in English •12 Master’s programmes (2 years), ca. 400+ freshmen annually •8 in Estonian •4 in English •1 PhD programme •in English 5 TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF IT FOCUS AREAS Security and trust •cyber security, trustworthy software, systems safety, secure and reliable hardware systems Digital transformation of the society •e-governance technologies, digital health, language technologies Smart environments •5G, IoT, (bio)robotics, intelligent electronic systems 6 EDIH 5 6 29.10.2024 [email protected] 4 TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY TERMINOLOGY TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Multidisciplinary •In a multidisciplinary approach, multiple disciplines work independently on a common topic or problem -The synthesis responsibility is on learner Interdisciplinary •Interdisciplinary education involves integrating knowledge and methods from different disciplines to create a unified understanding of a complex issue -The synthesis responsibility is dividend in-between the learner and the teacher 7 8 29.10.2024 [email protected] 5 TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY WHY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MULTIDISCIPLINARY EDUCATION? Estonia is not a small country Estonia is a VERY small country It’s difficult to provide taylor-made, program specific courses Much bigger role on individual student to tailor his/her education Responsibility is largely on student TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND 9 10 29.10.2024 [email protected] 6 11 12 29.10.2024 [email protected] 7 13 14 The European Voice of Informatics Research and Education October 2024 20 Years of Community Achievements Celebrating Key Milestones in Informatics Research and Education in Europe and preparing for the next two decades Two Decades of Community Impact For the past two decades, Informatics Europe has been at the forefront of strengthening the unity and relevance of the European Informatics research and education community. ECSS 2005 (2 days) IE indep. NGO 2011 ECSS 2024 Leaders Summit ECSS 2006 IE 1st Bylaws 6 Permanent WGs (2022) ACM Europe launched at ECSS 2009 Dep. Evaluation Protocol 1st Key Data on Inf. HE 2013 HE Data Portal 2019 Inf. Edu. in Schools efforts start WIRE 2012 ECSS 3 days Inf. Ref. Framework for School SCHIER launched 1st ALOC 2020 BPE Award Minerva 2016 BD Award 2023 With unwavering support from member institutions and collaborative efforts of researchers, we have achieved remarkable milestones in 3 key areas Strengthening the Standing of Informatics vs other disciplines Two Decades of Community Impact and Remarkable Achievements Promoting Responsible Informatics Teaching & Research Engaging with Society on the Nature & Impact of Informatics Strengthening the Standing of Informatics •Informatics Education Strengthening the Standing of Informatics •Informatics Education •Reliable data on Informatics Higher Education Unique Higher Education Data Portal covering 20+ countries. Strengthening the Standing of Informatics •Informatics Education •Reliable data on Informatics Higher Education •Informatics Research Evaluation recommendations •Academic Departments Assessment •Well-routed, grounded and strategic Leadership Strengthening the Standing of Informatics •Informatics Education •Reliable data on Informatics Higher Education •Informatics Research Evaluation recommendations •Academic Departments Assessment •Well-routed, grounded and strategic Leadership •Community building and empowering National Informatics Associations Promoting Responsible Informatics Teaching & Research Engaging with Society on the Nature & Impact of Informatics Each member institution and individual scientist who’s volunteered time to IE has contributed to these achievements, laying the foundation for future collaborative efforts. 179 Institutions, from 34 Countries: 50K+ researchers Thank YOU! Two Decades Showing the Strength of a United Community Scan for full members’ list