School of Computing Science

[FATA] MSci Talks

Group: Formal Analysis, Theory and Algorithms (FATA)
Speaker: Cara Lowe and Duncan Mather
Date: 28 April, 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:00
Location: Room 422, SAWB

MSci project presentations

Group: Systems Seminars
Speaker: Simone Li, Danial Tariq, David Kelly, University of Glasgow
Date: 29 April, 2026
Time: 14:00 - 15:00
Location: SAWB 404 or Zoom

[FATA] MSci Talks

Group: Formal Analysis, Theory and Algorithms (FATA)
Speaker: Jason Bakes
Date: 29 April, 2026
Time: 16:00 - 17:00
Location: Lilybank Gardens, F121 Conference Room

SICSA Seminar - Generative AI for Medical Computer Vision

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 30 April, 2026
Time: 14:00 - 15:00
Location: https://sicsa.ac.uk/event/sicsa-seminar-talk-title/

Register to attend Join us on Thursday, 30 April for an AI & Data Science Seminar. Dr Hazrat Ali of University of Stirling presents Generative AI for Medical Computer Vision Abstract Before synthetic data became popular, data scarcity was considered a major bottleneck in training AI (deep learning) models for medical imaging. Generative AI enabled the AI research community to feed the data-hungry deep learning models by generating synthetic image data. This talk will explore the potential of Generative AI, particularly Generative Adversarial Networks, in medical imaging applications. The talk will cover some of the advances in; (1) atherosclerotic disease transformation, a project that I undertook at the Umea Biomedical Engineering R&D of Umea University Hospital, (2) Super-resolution of medical images, and (3) Recent shift toward Neural Diffusion Models. Dr Hazrat Ali is Lecturer in AI and Data Science at University of Stirling where his research portfolio spans Generative AI, Medical AI, healthcare, and computer vision, with a specific focus on generative adversarial networks for medical imaging, deep learning for ultrasound medical imaging, and AI for healthcare. Dr Ali developed a new method for disease transformation in ultrasound images, as part of the VIPVIZA project at Umea University, Sweden. In addition, he has developed open-source datasets, including a dataset of natural scene images with Urdu text, the UHaT dataset (the first dataset on Urdu handwritten characters), and a speech corpus for Urdu. These datasets, available on the Kaggle platform, have proven invaluable for AI-oriented tasks and have contributed to advancing the field. He has worked on multiple research positions, including working as a senior researcher at Umea University Biomedical Engineering R&D Center in Sweden, and Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar.

MSci project presentations

Group: Systems Seminars
Speaker: William Hunt, Andrei Ghita, Luke Holmes, University of Glasgow
Date: 05 May, 2026
Time: 14:00 - 15:00
Location: Room 422, Sir Alwyn Williams Building and Zoom

The following students will present their MSci projects:

• William Hunt: Exploring Compiler Optimisations for SME: Towards Energy- Efficient AI Model Execution
• Andrei Ghita: Improving the performance of inference pipelines
• Luke Holmes: Hybrid Fully Homomorphic Encryption

[FATA] MSci Talks

Group: Formal Analysis, Theory and Algorithms (FATA)
Speaker: Andrei Boghean and Josh Duffy
Date: 05 May, 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:00
Location: Room 422, SAWB

Theory Day 2026

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 07 May, 2026
Time: 01:00 - 01:00
Location: University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom

Join us on 7 May 2026 for Theory Day, bringing together researchers from across Scotland working on Theory and adjacent topics. Staff and students are encouraged to register and submit a proposal to be included in the programme.

Pallas: A Data-Plane-Only Approach to Accurate Persistent Flow Detection on Programmable Switches in High-Speed Networks

Group: Networked Systems Research Laboratory (NETLAB)
Speaker: Weihe Li, University of Edinburgh
Date: 07 May, 2026
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 423 Seminar Room

Abstract:

In high-speed data center networks, persistent flows are repeatedly observed over extended periods, potentially signaling threats such as stealthy DDoS or botnet attacks. Monitoring every flow in production-grade hardware switches that feature limited memory, however, is challenging under typical high flow rates and data volumes. To tackle this, approximate data structures, like sketches, are often employed. Yet many existing methods rely on per-time-window flag resets, which require frequent control-plane interventions that make them unsuitable for high-speed traffic. This paper introduces Pallas, a fully data-plane-implementable sketch for detecting persistent flows in high-speed networks with high accuracy, obviating the need for time-window-based resets. We further propose Opt-Pallas, an enhanced variant of Pallas that improves detection accuracy by incorporating flow arrival patterns. We present a rigorous error bound analysis for both Pallas and Opt-Pallas, along with extensive performance evaluations using a P4-based prototype on an Intel Tofino switch. Pallas scales persistent flow detection to line-rate capacity, while state-of-the-art solutions fail to operate beyond a few Mbps. Our results show that Pallas and Opt-Pallas can accurately detect persistent flows in traffic volumes over 60× higher than those handled by the best existing approach. Additionally, even under low-speed traffic, Pallas and Opt-Pallas achieve 4.21% and 7.85% higher lookup accuracy while consuming only 8.5% and 9.7% of switch resources, respectively. Extensive trace-driven results on a CPU platform further validate the high detection accuracy of Opt-Pallas compared to existing methods.

Bio:

Weihe Li is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh. He received his Ph.D. in Informatics from the University of Edinburgh in 2025. His research focuses on the design of approximate data structures for fast and accurate flow detection in high-speed networks, with an emphasis on practical deployment on programmable switches. His first-author work has appeared in top-tier venues, including ACM SIGMOD 2025, ACM WWW 2024 and 2025 (Best Student Paper Award, 2024), IEEE ICNP 2025, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking (ToN), and IEEE Transactions on Computers (TC). He has also conducted research in related networking areas, including video streaming and load balancing in data center networks.

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Group: Systems Seminars
Speaker: Yuxin Qin, University of Glasgow
Date: 12 May, 2026
Time: 14:00 - 15:00
Location: Room 422, Sir Alwyn Williams Building and Zoom

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SICSA Seminar - Dr Abd Alsattar Ardati presents Teaching Product Judgement

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 19 May, 2026
Time: 11:00 - 11:00
Location: Jack Cole Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews

Teaching Product Judgement: Rethinking the Student Experience in Software Product and Project Management with Dr Abd Alsattar Ardati Abstract: Software engineering students are often well prepared to think about implementation and delivery, but less often asked to reason about value, prioritisation, uncertainty, and strategic trade-offs. In this talk, I will present the pedagogical design of CS5034, a Master’s-level module in Software Product and Project Management at the University of St Andrews, and reflect on how it was used to reshape the student experience around product judgement rather than delivery alone. The module combines a standards-based foundation in software product management through ISPMA with discovery-led teaching, a shared fictional startup case, studio-style tutorials, and coursework built around revision and feedback. I will discuss how this design makes assumptions, trade-offs, and strategic reasoning more visible to students, and what this experience suggests for educators seeking stronger connections between software engineering education and contemporary product practice. Dr Abd Alsattar Ardati is a Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of St Andrews where his work spans human computer interaction, software engineering, and digital inclusion, with a focus on participatory design and socio-technical systems that connect universities, industry, and communities. This seminar will be hybrid from University of St Andrews. Register to receive meeting link.

[FATA Seminar] Constraint Solving During a RAM Crisis - CP in 300 Kilobytes

Group: Formal Analysis, Theory and Algorithms (FATA)
Speaker: Guido Tack, Monash University
Date: 19 May, 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 422 Seminar Room

Constraint solving is a way of describing decision problems using variables and rules, and then automatically finding solutions that satisfy those rules. It is widely used in applications such as scheduling, assignment, configuration, routing, and rostering. The systems used for solving these problems are usually designed for desktop and server machines with abundant memory. This talk explores whether constraint programming can be reengineered for microcontroller-class hardware instead, where processors are increasingly capable, but RAM is often limited to only a few hundred kilobytes. I will present Thornbill-CP, a constraint programming solver architecture designed for that environment, and discuss what changes are necessary when constraint solving is pushed into such a tight memory budget. The talk will explain briefly how traditional constraint solvers work, and then cover the main architectural ideas behind Thornbill-CP, early results from running it on ESP32 and RP-series devices, and the kinds of embedded applications that could benefit from on-device constraint solving.

"Abuse Risks are Often Inherent to Product Features": Exploring AI Vendors' Bug Bounty and Responsible Disclosure Policies

Group: Networked Systems Research Laboratory (NETLAB)
Speaker: Yangheran Piao, University of Edinburgh
Date: 21 May, 2026
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 423 Seminar Room

Abstract:

As vendors adopt AI technologies, security researchers are working to uncover and fix related vulnerabilities, which is important given AI systems handle sensitive data and critical functions. This process relies on vendors receiving and rewarding AI vulnerability reports. To assess current practices, we analyzed the vulnerability disclosure policies of 264 AI vendors. We employed a mixed-methods approach, combining snapshot and longitudinal qualitative analysis, as well as comparing alignment with 320 AI incidents and 260 academic articles. Our analysis reveals that 36% of AI vendors have no established policy, and only 18% mention AI risks. Data access, authorization, and model extraction vulnerabilities are most consistently declared in-scope. Jailbreaking and hallucination are most commonly declared out-of-scope. We identify three profiles that reflect vendors' different positions toward AI vulnerabilities: proactive clarification (n = 46), silent (n = 115), and restrictive (n = 103). Our alignment results suggest that vendors may address AI vulnerability disclosure later than academic research and real-world incidents.

Bio:

Yangheran (Lawrence) Piao is a third-year PhD student at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh. His research explores usable security, security economics, and cybercrime, with a specific focus on the vulnerability disclosure ecosystem, bug bounties, and AI vulnerability reporting. Yangheran’s work has been published and presented at premier security venues, including USENIX Security, IEEE S&P (Oakland), and WEIS.

Computing for Whom? Capital and Participation in Computing Higher Education

Group: Computing Science Education Research and Practice
Speaker: Thom Kunkeler, Uppsala University
Date: 21 May, 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:00
Location: F121 Lilybank Gardens and Online

Computing education in Western countries has traditionally been characterised by low levels of participation and diversity amongst its student population. In order to broaden participation in the field, it is fundamental to understand why students engage with computing, and what they aspire to get out of their education. In my PhD research, I apply Bourdieu’s framework on social, cultural, and economic capital to address the issue. During this informal research discussion, I present findings from a nationwide population study examining transitions into computing education in Sweden. Using administrative register data covering all 1,014,519 upper secondary graduates between 2014 and 2024, the analysis identifies 8,916 individuals who completed a computing-related higher education degree as their first qualification. The study examines how upper secondary programme choice, academic performance, family education, income, parental occupation, and geography shape transitions into computing. The results show that computing graduates are disproportionately drawn from technical and science programmes and from families with higher levels of educational and socioeconomic capital. These findings highlight how early educational pathways and social background structure access to computing education, with implications for broadening participation in the field.

[FATA Seminar] TBA

Group: Formal Analysis, Theory and Algorithms (FATA)
Speaker: Ricardo Almeida, FATA
Date: 26 May, 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 422 Seminar Room

TBA

Scottish Argumentation Day 2026

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 29 May, 2026
Time: 01:00 - 01:00
Location: University of Dundee

Scotland has a particularly high concentration of research groups working in the AI subfield of computational argumentation. Scottish Argumentation Day has previously been attended by researchers based both in Scotland and further afield, and has enabled the Scottish argumentation community to present their work in an informal setting, share feedback, and strengthen professional links. SAD began with Aberdeen 2011, and most recently took place in Edinburgh 2024. In continuing this series, our aim is threefold: (i) enable Scottish argumentation researchers, and especially PhD students, to mutually present their work; (ii) affirm Scottish argumentation research as a recognisable presence; (iii) provide a concrete opportunity for Scottish researchers to network. At SAD 2026 we aim to improve visibility for Scotland-based researchers, especially PhD students and early-career researchers, to encourage knowledge- and skill-exchange at all levels, and to foster cross-institution relations and collaborations. Participation is free but registration is required. ————————————————– We invite abstracts of up to 250 words to be presented as a short talk or poster. Participants at all levels are encouraged to present work, so that everyone can come away with a view of the current Scottish argumentation landscape. We invite abstracts at a range of levels, including: Overview of a specific research project or a lab’s area of work Recent work Work in progress, recent findings or initial results PhD projects and project plans PhD students are especially encouraged to present their projects and project plans to benefit from wider feedback in a supportive atmosphere. Abstract submission form: https://forms.gle/qCVGqi1sahCKATJv6 ————————————————– The day will be scaffolded by three keynote talks by John Lawrence of the University of Dundee, Elena Musi of the University of Liverpool and Henning Wachsmuth of Leibniz University Hannover. ————————————————–

TBC

Group: Networked Systems Research Laboratory (NETLAB)
Speaker: Jinming Yang
Date: 04 June, 2026
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 423 Seminar Room

EASE 2026: International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 09 June, 2026
Time: 01:00 - 01:00
Location: James McCune Smith Learning Hub, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW

EASE is an internationally leading venue for academics and practitioners to present and discuss their research on evidence-based software engineering, and its implications for software practice. EASE is ranked as A conference in CORE. The 30th edition of EASE will take place in Glasgow, Scotland. EASE 2026 welcomes high-quality submissions, describing original and unpublished research for the following tracks: full research papers, short papers & emerging results, industry, posters & vision, journal-first, and a doctoral symposium. There will also be co-located events, including workshops and tutorials, and a track planned for journal-first presentations. See conference website for submission tracks and deadlines. EASE 2026

S3CIX 2026 - Symposium and Summer School on Computational Interaction

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 16 June, 2026
Time: 01:00 - 01:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, University of Glasgow, 18 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8QN, United Kingdom

Registration for the 10th Symposium and Summer School on Computational Interaction will open 1 February and close 14 March 2026. View programme, event details and registration process at S³CIX 2026. This year S³CIX is expanding from a Summer School format to also include a 4 day long academic Symposium. We anticipate about 30 students and 40 academics and invited speakers to attend. There will also be two workshops. Computational interaction often involves elements from machine learning, signal processing, information theory, optimisation, inference, control theory and formal modelling. Computational interaction would typically involve at least one of: an explicit mathematical model of user-system behaviour; a way of updating that model with observed data from users; an algorithmic element that, using this model, can directly synthesise or adapt the design; a way of automating and instrumenting the modelling and design process; the ability to simulate or synthesise elements of the expected user-system behaviour.”

TBC

Group: Networked Systems Research Laboratory (NETLAB)
Speaker: Muhammad Arif
Date: 18 June, 2026
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Location: Lilybank Gardens, F121 Conference Room

10th Summer School and Symposium on Computational Interaction (S³CIX)

Group: Inference, Dynamics and Interaction (IDI)
Speaker: multiple
Date: 20 June, 2026
Time: 09:00 - 16:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 422 Seminar Room

Welcome to the Symposium and Summer School on Computational Interaction! This year we are expanding from a Summer School format to also include a 4 day long academic Symposium. We anticipate about 30 students and 40 academics and invited speakers to attend. There will also be two workshops.

SPLV’26: Scottish Programming Languages and Verification Summer School 2026

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 03 August, 2026
Time: 01:00 - 01:00
Location: TBA

The 2026 edition of SPLV will be held at the University of Glasgow, with the main courses running from within the Gilbert Scott Building. The school is aimed at PhD students in programming languages, verification and related areas. Researchers and practitioners are welcome, as are strong undergraduate and masters students with the support of a supervisor. Participants should have a background in computer science, mathematics or a related discipline. Prospective students may contact the organisers if they have any concerns about background knowledge. Registration will open March 2026. View full programme at SPLV 2026 | SPLV