The School has been made a regional centre for Computing At School (CAS), which is a tremendous recognition for all the work that staff and students have put into helping secondary schools come to terms with the new Computer Science curriculum. This development should further help to ensure that schools encourage stduents into the discipline and see Manchester as a leading university for Computer Science.

The Three Minute Thesis ®(3MT) competition challenged PhD students to present a compelling spoken presentation of their research topic and its significance in just three minutes.

From 61 applicants, 46 presenters and 12 finalists, final year Computer Science PhD student, Farideh Jalalinajafabadi was awarded the People’s Choice prize. The audience chose Farideh's presentation, entitled '3MT: Computerised measurement of voice quality conforming to the GRBAS scale,' as the People's Choice and a £100 prize. Farideh said:

'The competition gave me the opportunity to learn that any PhD topic can be demonstrated in three minutes for an audience who is not familiar with the research area.'

Farideh's full thesis title is 'Objective voice quality assessment using digital signal processing and machine learning conforming to the GRBAS scale' (supervised by Dr Barry Cheetham and Dr Mikel Lujan).

You can see the finalist’s performances here: http://www.engagement.manchester.ac.uk/highlights/3_minute_thesis/index.html

Deadline for responses: 22 May 2015.

The European Commission is evaluating the success of its most recent research funding programme, Framework Programme 7. They want to hear from those who have received funding from the programme, or have views on its impact. You can fill in the questionnaire.

Consumer data: what’s in store for you?

Event: 15 April 2015

Join us on 15 April to hear what your weekly supermarket shop can reveal about you, and discuss the safeguards that should be in place. Speakers will include Giles Pavey, Chief Data Scientist at dunnhumby, the company behind supermarket loyalty cards; ethicist and Royal Society fellow Baroness Onora O’Neill and the Director of the Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies in Oxford, Professor Jane Kaye.

 

Conference on Machine Learning

Event: 9am-5pm 22 May 2015 (London)

This conference is the first in a new series of conferences which will bring together industry, academia and government to address the major scientific and technical challenges of the next decade. Join the event to discuss the current and future technical, social and economic impacts of machine learning and their potential policy implications.

Pre-proposal application deadline: 15:00 28 April 2015

http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/funding/opportunities/2015/healthy-diet-for-healthy-life/ 

The JPI HDHL has launched a joint transnational call for research proposals on intestinal microbiomics. Multidisciplinary transnational research consortia should submit research projects which propose a mechanistic approach to investigate causal relationships between diet, intestinal microbiota and health.

The call will be supported in the UK by cross-council funding from BBSRC and MRC of up to €0.5M, out of an international total of around €7M.

Multidisciplinary research consortia should submit research projects addressing data sharing and data integration amongst other things.

There is an International Human Microbiome Consortium (IHMC) that is focused on generating a shared comprehensive data resource that will enable investigators to characterize the relationship between the composition of the human microbiome (or of parts of the human microbiome) and human health and disease. However, there is a need for joint research activities in the area of intestinal microbiomics with the aim to share and integrate data for performing meta-analyses and standardise methods to analyse and understand the human diet-gut microbiome interaction. 

Quantum Technologies Strategic Capital Investment Call

Closing Date:           16:00 02 June 2015

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/quantumtechstrategicinvestment/

The National Quantum Technology Programme wishes to augment its existing network of capability through further capital investment. Proposals for capital funding are invited that will contribute to the expansion of the UK's quantum technology capability in one or more of four areas of strategic focus:

1. Building technical capability;
2. Manufacturing tools;
3. System / subsystem design; and
4. Acceleration of innovation.

Important: each institution can only submit one bid - please contact sarah.chatwin@manchester.ac.uk if you are interested in this.

 

Training and Skills Hubs in Quantum Systems Engineering: invitation for proposals

Closing Date:           16:00 02 June 2015

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/quantumhubs/

EPSRC intends to augment the UK's existing research, innovations and skills investments by inviting institutions, or consortia of institutions, to submit proposals for Training and Skills Hubs in Quantum Systems Engineering. Hubs will contribute to the development of quantum technologies by delivering a coherent package of skills training, co-working and mobility, and career development initiatives to develop high-level skills in quantum engineering.

Quantum technologies are those that enable the creation, control and manipulation of sensitive and fragile quantum effects within single systems. In recognition of the transformative potential of these new technologies, the multi-stakeholder UK National Quantum Technologies Programme was established in 2013 following a £270 million investment by government. The Programme's investments include the establishment of a national network of Quantum Technology Hubs by EPSRC and funding for EPSRC CDTs in quantum technologies. EPSRC intends to augment the UK's existing research, innovations and skills investments by inviting institutions, or consortia of institutions, to submit proposals for Training and Skills Hubs in Quantum Systems Engineering. Hubs will contribute to the development of quantum technologies by delivering a coherent package of skills training, co-working and mobility, and career development initiatives to develop high-level skills in quantum engineering.

Training and Skills Hubs will act as nodes within the national network of Quantum Technology Hubs, whose aim is to harness and exploit the research and training strengths that exist across the UK academic landscape, facilitate partnering with industry, and tackle the key technological challenges that need to be overcome to realise the promise of quantum technologies. Accordingly, Training and Skills Hub proposals will be required to explain their plans for working with the existing network of Quantum Technology Hubs and other large investments, to develop an integrated network of research, innovation and skills capability.

Up to £15 million in funding is available to support three to five Hubs for a five year period.
please contact sarah.chatwin@manchester.ac.uk if you are interested in this.

 

EPSRC/ Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) Challenge Fellowships

Closing Date:            16:00 10 June 2015

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/lwecchallengefellowships/

EPSRC is inviting Outline Proposals for EPSRC Challenge Fellowships in the LWEC theme. Fellowships are offered at both the Postgraduate Fellowship and Early Career Fellowship level.

The latest Cybertalk edition http://www.softbox.co.uk/cybertalk-issueseven (page 12) features Daniel Dresner's article 'The knowing of things'. 

Closing date: 16 April 2015.

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/ukictpioneers2015/

The competition is an exciting and unique partnership between Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and key stakeholders that aims to recognise the most exceptional UK doctoral students in ICT-related topics who are able to communicate and demonstrate the excellence and exploitation potential of their research. The 2015 competition is being sponsored by: Dstl, HP, EPSRC, BCS, BT, Facebook and Samsung.

The competition has opened and we are seeking entries from students enrolled at UK research institutions in the final two years of their doctoral training. They must be undertaking research in an ICT-related subject. Their doctoral training does not have to be funded by EPSRC to participate in this competition.

Each one of 4 category winners wins £2000 prize money and the overall winner collects an extra prize of £1000... making a total prize for this years winner of £3000!

Details for this years competition can be found here http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/ukictpioneers2015/ on the call page and here https://www.facebook.com/UKICTPioneers on our Facebook page. Please ‘like’ it!