Department of CS newsletter

Friday 15^th November – Children in Need

Online Auction - Opens from 11th November - we still need more items for the sale - please donate unwanted gifts, bottles, teddies, books, and other antiquities!!!  Bring donations to ACSO, Kilburn 2.3.  Get bidding now!

http://staffnet.cs.manchester.ac.uk/acso/charity.php

Bake Sale - 11am – 2pm, on the LF Floor by SSO

All proceeds donated to charity

Join us for a special Children in Need bake sale on LF floor Kilburn (just outside the Student Support Office, LF21) between 11am – 2pm (or until all the cakes run out…..)

How to contribute:  If you would like to contribute to the bake sale, please donate your home made (or shop bought) bakes to the Student Support Office from Thursday 14^th November onwards. They will keep them safe until the bake sale. Alternatively you can bring your contribution along on the day. To ensure we have enough tables and plates, we would be grateful if you could confirm if you will be contributing by emailing compsci-sso@manchester.ac.uk. Surprise bakes on the day are of course welcomed, along with any shop bought treats!

So why not dust off your cook books and whip up a showstopper for a great cause!

The bake sale will start at 11am – all are welcome to come and enjoy some treats whilst raising money for a fantastic charity. Remember to bring lots of change!

EPSRC just announced the upcoming next (4th) round of prosperity partnerships.

https://epsrc.ukri.org/funding/calls/advance-notice-prosperity-partnership-fourth-round/

Expression of Interest

Opening date: 7/Jan/2020

Closing date: 20/Feb/2020

Typical project size is £5m with around £2.5m from industry.

If there is anyone in your department who is interested in applying, please inform Professor Lin Li, Associate Dean for Business Engagement and Innovation, lin.li@manchester.ac.uk, who will be co-ordinating the faculty submissions.

Deadline: 04-Nov-2019
https://epsrc.ukri.org/funding/calls/advance-notice-prosperity-partnership-fourth-round/ 

Please contact Prof. Lin Li, FSE Associate Dean (Business Engagement and Innovation) directly if you are interested in applying.

EPSRC is launching a Fourth Round of Prosperity Partnership soon, hoping to launch the Expression of Interest Stage in December or early next year. Awarded projects will start approximately in October 2020.

Deadline: 03-Feb-2020
 
www.esu.org/lindemann
The Lindemann Trust, in partnership with the English-Speaking Union, offers up to five 2-year fellowships, each worth $50,000 a year for postdoctoral scientists to carry out research in the USA (with £1000 travel grant). Fellowships are awarded to graduates of exceptional promise in both the pure and applied physical sciences who have shown capacity for producing original research. These Fellowships enable postdoctoral scientists to pursue research in the USA without financial difficulty, and without being obliged to take up paid employment.
 
The Lindemann Trust supports research in the fields of:
 
- Astronomy
- Biophysics
- Chemistry
- Engineering (including Computer Science)
- Geology
- Geophysics
- Mathematics
- Physics
 
To be eligible to apply, candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Hold British, Irish or Commonwealth citizenship AND be normally resident in the UK
- Either be in the final stages of your doctoral studies at a UK university, or have completed a doctorate at a UK university within the last three academic years

Anticipated Call Deadline: 14-Feb-2020

Explainable Machine Learning-based Artificial Intelligence (XAI) - explanation of decisions made by AI systems is seen as important for the trust and social acceptance of AI. It is likely in the future that there will be a ‘right to an explanation’ for decisions that affect an individual. The objective of research on this topic is to make machine learning-based AI explainable.

Researchers are encouraged to start discussing possible projects with prospective partners. The call will require that projects are submitted by international consortia with minimum of three eligible and independent partners requesting funding to organisations in the call from at least three different participating countries (including minimum 2 EU Member States or EU Associated Countries). Additional partners from other countries may be part of a consortium if they can secure their own funding (UKRI is likely to fund UK proposals).

CHIST-ERA is a consortium of research funding organisations in Europe and beyond supporting use-inspired basic research in ICT or at the interface between ICT and other domains. The CHIST-ERA consortium is itself supported by the European Union’s Future & Emerging Technologies (FET) programme. CHIST-ERA promotes novel and multidisciplinary research with the potential to lead to significant technology breakthroughs in the long term. The funding organisations jointly support high risk and high impact research projects selected in the framework of CHIST-ERA, in order to reinforce European capabilities in promising emerging topics.

In November, DMPonline will be given a makeover so that it looks and feels like other University services. You’ll notice a new URL (https://dmponline.manchester.ac.uk) and the distinctive University purple branding and font.
 
DMPonline’s functionality will remain the same so you don’t need to do anything differently. Your account, the data management plans (DMPs) you’ve already created, and the way you use the service will not change.
 
Academics can can seek further advice on their DMPs by requesting a review of your completed plan. Just click the ‘Request’ button under the ‘Share’ tab of your plan and we’ll respond within 10 working days.
 
If researchers would like to discuss any of this further, or need any help accessing or navigating the site, please get in touch at researchdata@manchester.ac.uk or phone +44 0161 27 57853.
If you’re new to research data management then see our website and online resources for an introduction to a range of topics and advice, which can help you complete your DMPs.
 

The Technical Excellence Award 2019

The Technical Excellence at Manchester (TEaM) network invite entries/nominations for the Technical Excellence Award 2019. The award is aimed at recognising the contribution of technical staff to the working life of the University. All staff members (including technical and non-technical PS staff, and academic staff) are encouraged to nominate any technical member of staff that they believe deserve recognition for their work.

The award will be judged by a panel of external technical staff and the contribution to be recognised should have been made between September 2018 and September 2019. Nominations should be submitted to technical.excellence@manchester.ac.uk by Monday 16th December. The awards will be announced at the next TEaM Annual Event.

Please email technical.excellence@manchester.ac.uk for an entry form and guidelines. Please include Technical Excellence Award in the subject title.

Sponsored by SPORTICIPATE at the Wellbeing Rooms, Simon building – 7^th December 9.30 – 4.30pm

Come and enjoy a great day of Yoga, relaxation and socialising. You will have the opportunity to participate in three styles of Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Vin to Yin and Yoga for Digestion. A 10 minute massage is also included which you can book your time slot on arrival to the venue. Refreshments and a light lunch will be provided throughout the day. We will finish the day with a relaxation and meditation session.

To book your place click - Here

Donate toys, books, toiletries and gifts for older children to Wood Street Mission’s Christmas Appeal 2019

The Mission is not asking for donations of food but instead toys, books, toiletries and gifts for older children up to the age of 18.

Wood Street Mission has been planning the 2019 Christmas Project since earlier in the year. They want to ensure that no child goes without a new toy on Christmas Day and they will not be able to achieve this without your support.

Please drop off any donations with Mel in room 2.4 Kilburn who will arrange for them to be transported. any questions please get in touch.  Deadline for drop off is 6^th December

Please do not wrap any presents. You can, if you wish, donate sheets or rolls of wrapping paper for them to give to the families to wrap the gifts themselves.

As always Wood Street Mission is incredibly grateful for your support and would like to thank you in advance for your help with their Christmas Appeal.