Department of CS newsletter

It was drawn to my attention that there was an inaccurate statement in the previous issue of the Newsletter (07/04/2021). I have contacted the author and asked for them to amend it. The archive version of the Newsletter is now also annotated with the amendment.

Alan Turing did not lead the team that developed the Manchester Baby. Tom Kilburn and Freddie Williams were the leaders of that team. This error has been raised with the University Media Team and the national news media that originally made the error.

Topic: CS PDRA (PostDoc) Tea/Coffee time

Time: Fridays 2:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/98391031705

Meeting ID: 983 9103 1705                          

Join us for the next Computer Science Mercury talk with Ahmed Ibrahim. Wednesday 26th May 2021 at 2pm (online)

Joining details: https://zoom.us/j/96153946704

Meeting ID: 961 5394 6704

Host: Ian Pratt-Hartmann

Title: Recognising Intrinsic Motivation using Smartphone Trajectories

Abstract: Human behaviours that are motivated by and indicative of personal interests can be utilised to personalise behavioural recommendations used to promote health and well-being. Behavioural and psychological studies show that (1) personal interests are demonstrated differently in individuals' daily activities; and (2) drawbacks of self-reporting methods, such as forgetfulness and providing socially accepted answers rather than actual ones, may negatively impact the reliability and validity of the recognition process. To address these two challenges, we propose an adaptive approach that infers personal interests from continuously- and passively-sensed smartphones location data. We evaluate our approach based on two longitudinal datasets gathered by human participants going about their normal daily activities. Our results indicate that our approach successfully identifies interests consistent with those reported by participants, matching or outperforming alternative approaches. We also see high inter-personal variation, suggesting a future role for personalisation in our approach.

FSE are now accepting applications to the 2021/22 EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship. This year, recruitment to the fellowship will be done in two phases to accommodate students that receive an extension due to COVID-19. The indicative timetable for each phase is as follows:

The EPSRC Doctoral Prize is a prestigious scheme aimed at developing the very best EPSRC funded students beyond the end of their PhD and help them launch a successful career in research as potential future research leaders.

Successful applicants will be expected to take their research to the next level and undertake significant new research; the Prize must not be viewed merely as an opportunity to continue/complete PhD work although the continuation of specific work from the applicants’ PhD that will result in publications may be permitted.

Successful applicants will be awarded a tax-free living allowance of £24,370 per annum (pro rata).

For more information please visit: https://www.se.manchester.ac.uk/our-research/funding/

Deadline: Open Call

https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/rbe/beke/knowledge-exchange/icf/

The purpose of this scheme is to support the provision of expert advice, analysis and interpretation, over a short and defined period, by academic staff to an external party in order to address specific problems.

*Please note that EPSRC IAA Consultancy scheme funds need to be spent by 30th June 2021, therefore, projects must start as soon as possible and be costed to finish by the spend deadline. Extensions cannot be permitted for this funding. The Call will close once all of the funding allocation has been awarded / when we reach the expenditure deadline.

The EPSRC has awarded UoM an additional £200k towards the University’s Impact Accelerator Account (IAA), which will provide additional support towards the increase and acceleration of impact generated through the University’s EPSRC research outputs.

The overall aim of the IAA Consultancy Scheme is to support the development of The University of Manchester (UoM) groups, centres and facilities to enable continued growth and expansion of projects with industry partners and to grow capacity within the group, centre or facility.

Prior to applying, academics are strongly advised to contact a member of the KE Team for support. Initial contact should be made via ke@manchester.ac.uk  

https://www.raeng.org.uk/grants-prizes/grants/support-for-research/bhattacharyya-award/how-to-apply?dm_i=4S2P,HIC1,S4S4G,22JQG,1

Deadline: 31 May 2021

The Bhattacharyya Award is a new annual award to celebrate collaboration between academia and industry. This prize of £25k will be awarded to the team who best show how industry and universities can work together. The award is open to UK universities and colleges and institutions are invited to submit a single entry based on any area of their work that meets the award criteria. Please let sarah.chatwin@manchester.ac.uk know if you are interested in applying.

Deadline: 08-Jun-21

https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/research-into-inclusive-ageing/

These bids must be >50% social sciences, however there may be some CS elements that are relevant or could enhance proposals. There are no internal demand management requirements for the call (no sifts) but please contact sarah.chatwin@manchester.ac.uk if you are interested in applying. Sarah can link you to other potential bids that we know of across UoM.

Up to £2.5M is available over 5 years. Your project must address how earlier life experiences affect inequalities in later life and go beyond only describing inequalities and focus on both:

• improving understanding of how social and economic inequalities affect people in later life
• identifying practical ways to improve inclusivity in later life.

https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/develop-guidance-for-better-research-methods/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Deadline: 10-Jun-21

Up to £60k is available for 18 months, to develop new guidance on biomedical and health research methods. There's a 2-stage MRC review process. Upon award, teams must begin the proposed work within 6 months to ensure that the resulting guidance for better methods retains its relevance as assessed when awarded.

The guidance should aim to improve the understanding and use of better methods related to the remit of MRC or National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), and be accessible to those without specialist methodology knowledge.

Funding should typically support:

• background or scoping review
• consensus development
• open access publication
• production of other learning resources, if required.