News and Announcements

The e-Skills for Jobs 2014 campaign aims to raise awareness of the need for citizens to improve their command of ICT skills for work. The campaign is a response to the growing demand for ICT-skilled professionals which is currently not met, despite high level of unemployment in Europe.

The campaign comes under the umbrella of the Commission’s Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs, an EU-wide multi-stakeholder partnership helping to address a shortfall in the number of European citizens with ICT professional skills, and to exploit the employment creation potential of ICT.

The professor of the Department of Digital Systems, Panagiotis Demestichas, participated in the “Panel 3. Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs – A conversation with the Youth”. Watch the video: http://www.livemedia.gr/video/76343#moment1888.

The professor of the Department of Digital Systems, Sokratis Katsikas, participated in the “Workshop I: Reinforcing a competitive Digital Economy”.

More details here.

We are pleased to announce that Oracle Hellas is organizing the 1st JAVA DAY in Greece following the acquisition of Sun Microsystems, under the auspices of the Greek Research & Technology Network (GRNet), and in close cooperation with the Java Hellenic User Group, inviting Java gurus, users, developers, architects, students, researchers, and all the community members to a technology day that aims to create a long lasting tradition for the Java Community in Greece for years to come. The event will take place on May 7th, 2014 at The Cotsen Hall.

Have something interesting to present to the first large-scale gathering of Java developers and community members in Greece since 2008? Innovations implemented with Java? Important projects based on the Java technology that change the way we interact and do business? We want to hear from you, and so do the attendees at Java Day 2014. Submit your proposal now for a chance to share your expertise and experiences!

Terms, conditions, deadlines, and useful information are attached here.

3-30 July 2014, at NCSR “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece

Deadline for applications (for participation): March 7, 2014

The Summer School is organized by the Software & Knowledge Engineering Lab (SKEL) at the Institute of Informatics & Telecommunications of NCSR “Demokritos” (http://www.iit.demokritos.gr/), and the Interactive Robots and Media Lab ((http://www.irmllab.com). This is the fifth summer school in a sequence initiated by the Interactive Robots and Media Lab. For the second time in a row, it will take place in Greece at NCSR “Demokritos” (located in Athens, Greece) between July 3 and July 30, 2014.

The Summer School has an innovative format: it is Research-Centered, with a strong focus on mini-projects of month-long duration, carried out by multiple teams of 3-4 students including a mix of academic levels (Postdoc, PhD, undergraduates). Selected seminars and lectures will also take place; but not exceeding two hours per day.

The outcome of the summer school includes both numerous scientific publications, as well as longer-term collaborations. For example, the scientific output from the last summer schools has already led to a number of papers in leading conferences and journals with several more underway.

This year’s topic and research project areas focus on the cognitive systems or the data analysis viewpoint, as pertaining to:

• Human Robot Interaction
• Dialogue Systems
• Computer Vision
• Information Visualisation
• Data and content analytics – data mining
• Social Media Analysis
• Semantic technologies and the Web of data
• User Modelling and Recommendation systems
• Intelligent Agents and Multi-agent Systems
• Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics
• Autonomous Creative Systems
• Event processing

More specifically, an initial plan includes projects on:

• Social Media analysis,
• Big Data analytics,
• Argument extraction and sentiment analysis,
• Robot Navigation and Vision,
• Analysis of biological/biomedical data
• Computational tools supporting creativity,
• Constrained optimization,
• Complex event recognition

These projects will be supported by a number of international and national research projects. They will be supervised by world leading researchers from several universities and research centers.

Furthermore, NCSR’D’ has significant expertise in all these subject areas, and can support the projects with computational tools, robotic equipment, as well as with the appropriate personnel who will co-supervise these projects. In terms of computational resources, there is access to high-performance computation, as well as multiple workstations. There is also close contact with numerous world-class institutions and companies in the field, and numerous distinguished invited lecturers and supervisors will be joining us for the summer school, as it was the case in IRSS-2013 (http://irss.iit.demokritos.gr/content/invited-speakers).

The relevant information will be announced at the IRSS site in the coming weeks.

Furthermore, the school will not be all work and no fun! A few exciting cultural events and excursions are planned to take place during the weekends so that the participants can relax and visit some of the best tourist attractions in Greece.

Applying for the Summer School

We are welcoming applications at multiple levels (final-year B.Sc, M.Sc., PhD, and postdoc levels). Necessary prerequisites include any one, and ideally a mixture of the skills below:

• Programming in C++, Java or Matlab
• Pattern Recognition, Data Mining, Machine Vision, or Natural Language Processing
• Psychological/Interaction experimental design and data analysis
• Information Visualization
• Social Media Analysis
• Sentiment analysis
• Optimization

But most importantly, the creative imagination and the strong motivation to produce innovative results in any of the main theme areas.

The registration fee for the school is 400€, which will be used to cover part of the school’s expenses, such as the expenses of the invited speakers, the lunch and coffee breaks for the participants, as well as cultural and social events.

We are in the process of securing sponsorships, so that we can give a number of scholarships that will cover the registrations fees, and/or the accommodation costs of selected participants.

To apply, kindly send your CV, including emails of two referees, to irss@iit.demokritos.gr, by 7 March 2014.

For more information visit the School’s webpage: http://irss.iit.demokritos.gr/

A number of PhD bursaries are available at Middlesex University in the UK.

http://www.mdx.ac.uk/research/applications/fees/bursaries/
http://www.findaphd.com/search/PhDDetails.aspx?CAID=2401
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/employer/middlesex-university

Fully funded studentships available: Autonomous Intelligent Machines and Systems (AIMS) PhD programme

NSN and the Department of Digital Systems (through the memorandum of understanding signed by NSN and University of Piraeus Research Center, after the respective initiative driven by the Department of Digital Systems) will intensify their collaboration in the context of the following scientific and technological areas:

1. LTE Advanced, Evolved Packet Core Technology
2. 5G Technology
3. Self Organizing Networks
4. Cognitive Networks, Autonomic Networks
5. Pervasive Networks
6. Telecommunications on the Cloud
7. Software Defined Networking – Network Function Virtualization
8. Big Data, data analytics, machine learning

The collaboration will include:

1. European Research programs
2. State Research programs
3. Bilateral programs between the Parties
4. Diploma, Master, PhD thesis conduct of common interest

The collaboration will be realised through regular meetings, co-organisation of events (such as information-days, seminars, lectures, conferences, etc) and in general through exchanging expertise.

Summer Undergraduate Research Internship
in Computer Science
@ the University of California, Irvine

We welcome applications for a newly launched summer undergraduate research internship program at the UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences. Selected students will get an opportunity to visit UCI during the summer of 2014 and spend roughly 8-10 weeks working with faculty on exciting research projects. Projects are expected to cover a wide variety of topics including artificial intelligence, data management, embedded systems and architecture, machine learning, networking, systems and software, secure computing, and theoretical computer science.

Who should apply?
The internships are open to both domestic and international students enrolled in an undergraduate Computer Science program (or related field) who are currently in their junior or senior year. (In exceptional cases, recent graduates also will be considered). The internships are suitable for highly motivated undergraduate students, potentially interested in exploring doctoral studies, who wish to gain valuable research experience. It is especially well suited for students considering UCI as a possible destination for their doctoral study. The internship provides an opportunity for students to visit UCI, discover the charm of Southern California, get to know our faculty, and participate in research projects that are changing the computing landscape.

How many internships are available?
We expect to have 8-10 internship positions. The program will cover travel expenses to/from Irvine, and interns will have the opportunity of earning up to $450 a week to cover living expenses.

What types of research projects will I work on?
Click here for examples of research projects available through this internship program.

Will the entire internship program focus on research?
While the program emphasizes research experience, it will include social activities so interns get to know one another and experience some of what Southern California has to offer.

How do I apply?
You may apply online at http://summerinternship.ics.uci.edu/apply; you must create an account to access the application and submit the required information, which includes your transcript(s), two letters of recommendation and a short personal statement. We will accept applications through January 15, 2014, and expect to notify selected interns by early February.

Will housing be provided?
Students must arrange their own housing. Information about off-campus housing options is available here.

Can you tell me more about UCI?
Located in coastal Orange County, near a thriving employment hub in one of the nation’s safest cities, UC Irvine was founded in 1965. One of only 62 members of the Association of American Universities, it’s ranked first among U.S. universities under 50 years old by the London-based Times Higher Education. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. UC Irvine has more than 28,000 students and 1,100 faculty and offers 192 degree programs. It’s Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $4.3 billion annually to the local economy. The university is about 5 miles from the Pacific Ocean, 45 miles from Los Angeles and 80 miles from San Diego. The beach cities of Orange County that neighbor Irvine are among the top tourist destinations in the United States.

Can you tell me more about UCI’s computer science program?
The Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences is the only computing-focused school in the University of California system. UCI holds the No. 28 spot in the most recent U.S. News and World Report ranking of computer science programs, and Microsoft’s Academic Search website ranks the Bren School faculty as the 21st most influential group in the United States. Students graduating with a Ph.D. from the Bren School at UCI have flourished in positions in industry, industrial research labs, government and academia. For more information about our school and alumni, visit: http://www.ics.uci.edu/about/about_factsfigures.php

Who do I contact for more information?
For questions about the UCI summer undergraduate internship program in computer science, please email summerinternships@ics.uci.edu.

The external evaluation of the Department of Digital Systems took place in the time frame from the 7th until the 11th of October.

The results are extremely positive, acknowledge the tremendous efforts of all its members, and provide motivation and momentum for continuing towards even higher standards of quality and productivity.

Final Conclusions of the External Evaluation:

“The bottom line of our evaluation is the pleasant and, somewhat surprising, realization that a unit created as recently as 1999 and with a current faculty size of only 22 individuals (with a healthy, but improvable, mix of genders) has created a world-class programme both in teaching and research with impressive accomplishments and success stories across the board of its coverage areas (that include both traditional areas like infrastructure systems, telecommunication networks, etc., as well as innovative application areas like e-learning, health systems, and security). This is not common in the Greek academic environment.”

The associated Report can be found here.

Graduate students of the Department of Digital Systems of the University of Piraeus have acquired, through the undergraduate and postgraduate programs, knowledge that is relevant to at least 30 of the 100 best specializations of the future as these were published by CNNMoney Survey for Best Jobs in USA 2013.

Best Jobs in USA 2013 – CNNMoney/ <http://www.payscale.com> PayScale’s top 100 careers with big growth, great pay and satisfying work

http://money.cnn.com/pf/best-jobs/2013/full_list/index.html

1. Biomedical Engineer

3. Software Architect

7. Software Developer

8. IT Configuration Manger

12. User Interface Engineer

14. Database Administrator

15. Video Game Designer

16. Telecommunications Networks Engineer

22. Application Engineer

30. ERP Consultant

31. Consulting Software Engineer

32. IT Data Scientist

36. Forensic Computer Analyst

38. Computer Security Specialist

42. IT Business Analyst

46. Network Manager

47. Informatics Nurse

53. Computer System Integrator

57. Network Security Manager

58. Data Management Analyst

60. Software Development Manager

65. IT Training Specialist

68. Employee Trainer

69. Database Manager

73. Technical Support Engineer

76. Instructional Designer

77. Business Intelligence Manager

78. Software Quality Assurance Manager

91. Public Health Educator

93. Education Program Manager

The Department of Digital Systems of the University of Piraeus has recently joined the “Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs” of the European Union. The “Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs” constitutes part of a range of activities of the Digital Agenda for Europe in the axes of Life & Work/Skills & Jobs.

More information on the objectives of the “Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs” can be found in: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/grand-coalition-digital-jobs-0

The Department of Digital Systems aims at strengthening its access to the  needs of ICT organisations and companies with respect to human resources. Furthermore, it aims at creating frameworks, structures and networks that will support and facilitate relevant matchings between qualifications/alumni and requirements/employers.

For more information, please visit: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/node/67232/