School of Computing Science

Xiaoyu Zhang IR Seminar

Group: Information Retrieval (IR)
Speaker: Xiaoyu Zhang, Shandong University
Date: 06 January, 2025
Time: 15:00 - 16:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 422 Seminar Room

TBC

GIST Seminar - Cities, Farms and Futures: Emergent Understanding through Storytelling

Group: Human Computer Interaction (GIST)
Speaker: Bill Gaver, University of Northumbria
Date: 09 January, 2025
Time: 13:00 - 14:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 423 Seminar Room

Summary:
In this talk, I describe three recent projects in which storytelling has played a pivotal role. The first explores how cities could be better designed for the benefit of nonhuman inhabitants, leading to a radical reorientation towards humans and other living beings. The second envisions the potential societal effects of digital farming, highlighting the potentially complex entanglements of farms, communities, business and politics that may emerge. Finally, the third imagines what the world might be like 25 years from now, and the sorts of interactive devices that we might find there. In each case, storystelling allowed us to extrapolate and particularise trends and possibilities, deepening our understanding and allowing new perspectives — and design ideas — to emerge.

Bio:
Bill Gaver is Professor of Design and co-leader of the Interaction Research Studio at the University of Northumbria, London. He came to Design as a lapsed psychologist and cognitive scientist with a background in HCI and Politics and long-standing engagements with Sociology and STS. This has allowed him to make distinctive contributions to a portfolio of work that includes research products, methodologies and conceptual insights for and about practice-based design research, with an emphasis on ambiguity, ludic design, and emergence.

Francesco L. De Faveri IR Seminar

Group: Information Retrieval (IR)
Speaker: Francesco L. De Faveri, University of Padua
Date: 13 January, 2025
Time: 15:00 - 16:00
Location: Sir Alwyn Williams Building, 422 Seminar Room

TBC

Learning and Teaching Scholars Leadership Workshop

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 01 March, 2025
Time: 00:00 - 00:00
Location: TBA

This is a workshop for our Learning and Teaching Scholars which will be delivered by Robin Henderson from My Consultants.

Moray Game Jam 2025

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 07 March, 2025
Time: 09:00 - 16:00
Location: UHI Moray

The Moray Game Jam will take place at UHI Moray from Friday 7 March to Sunday 9 March 2025. Hosted by UHI Moray, teams will have 48 hours to create a video or board game based on a theme which will be unveiled at the event launch. There will also be exciting workshops hosted by guest speakers before the jam ends with the gaming playground where members of the public can try out all the games and vote for their People’s Choice. Register today for Moray Game Jam.

Women in Data Science

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 02 April, 2025
Time: 01:00 - 01:00
Location: Heriot-Watt University, United Kingdom

The event aims to tackle the underrepresentation of women in data science by creating a supportive space for them to share ideas and experiences. This event will provide a platform for: Sharing knowledge and experiences through talks and discussions Networking opportunities for women in the field Encouraging collaboration and career development The registration link will be available in the New Year.

Theoretical Computer Science Education (TCSEd) in Scotland: Current Practices and Future Directions

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 14 April, 2025
Time: 01:00 - 01:00
Location: University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom

This one-day workshop, TCSEd: Current Practices and Future Directions, aims to bring together theoretical computer science (TCS) educators from across Scottish universities to share their experiences, reflect on challenges, and discuss the future of TCS education. The workshop will feature short, contributed talks where participants will present their teaching experiences, highlighting specific challenges and innovations related to particular TCS topics or courses. This will provide a platform for educators to engage in practical discussions about how TCS is taught as well as how emerging technologies impact pedagogy. This event is designed to facilitate reflection on both the breadth and depth of TCS topics offered across institutions, from introductory courses to advanced topics such as computational complexity theory, quantum computing, algorithmic game theory, model checking, programming language theory and semantics, to name a few. A central theme of the workshop will be exploring how TCS can continue to serve as a foundational element of computer science education. A key aspect of this workshop is its connection to the SICSA research themes “Theory, Modelling and Computation” and “Scottish Programming Language Institute”, in which many TCS educators are also active researchers. By connecting this workshop with the research themes, we aim to foster a stronger link between the theoretical foundations taught in TCS courses and their practical applications in ensuring software robustness and reliability. Some TCS courses blend theoretical foundations with practical applications, often drawn from research, while others focus on purely foundational theory. For the latter, the challenge often lies in keeping students engaged and demonstrating relevance in light of emerging technologies like generative AI. Registration links will be available soon.

45th IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems

Group: Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA)
Speaker: SICSA Event, SICSA
Date: 19 July, 2025
Time: 00:00 - 00:00
Location: TBA

The annual IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS) is a premier international forum for researchers, developers and users to present, discuss and exchange the cutting edge ideas and latest findings on topics related to any aspects of Distributed Computing Systems. ICDCS 2025 is held in the vibrant and compact city of Glasgow, Scotland. Registration will open next year.