Author: Kath Williamson

Five PhD projects underway

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Our CIRES family is growing! 

Our first cohort of PhD students has commenced at the ARC Training Centre for Information Resilience (CIRES). Welcome Krishna Dermawan, Samual MacDonald, Daisy Xu and Hechuan Wen pictured here at CIRES HQ at The University of Queensland.

Krishna Dermawan will be working on the Improving Sepsis Management through Better Data and Rapid Learning project in collaboration with our government partner Queensland Health, and supervised by Professor Marta Indulska and Dr Ida Asadi-Someh.

Samual MacDonald will be working on the Advancing Deep Neural Network Reliability During Dataset Shift project in collaboration with our industry partner Max Kelsen, and supervised by Dr Fred Roosta-Khorasani.

Hechuan Wen will be working on the Using Data to Overcome Wellbeing Challenges Across the Life Spectrum project in collaboration with our government partner Health & Wellbeing Queensland, and supervised by Dr Tong Chen and A/Prof Hongzhi Yin.

Daisy Xu will be working on the Defining and Measuring Analytics Value project in collaboration with our industry partner Aginic, and supervised by Professor Marta Indulska and Dr Ida Asadi-Someh.

Welcome also to Lufan Zhang who has commenced at Swinburne University of Technology working with Paul Scifleet, Amir Aryani and the team at Astral.

VLDB Journal: 17-point Information Resilience Manifesto

Posted on by Kath Williamson

On behalf of the research team at the ARC Training Centre for Information Resilience (CIRES), I am delighted to share our vision for Information Resilience, outlined in our recently published paper in the VLDB Journal, Special Issue on Responsible Data Management. The cross-disciplinary team at CIRES presents Information Resilience as the nexus of responsible and agile approaches to information use, and outlines a 17-point manifesto for Information Resilience.

Read the full paper at https://lnkd.in/gAKAzbSs and reach out to us at CIRES to join the efforts to realise the manifesto together with our industry and government partners.

Third Round of PhD scholarship opportunities at UQ

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Applications closed 10th April 2022.

To register your interest for future PhD scholarship opportunities, please email cires@uq.edu.au

 

CIRES is seeking highly motivated PhD researchers to join the Centre for exciting projects with industry and government partners Max Kelsen, Queensland Police Service, and Queensland Health.

This is an opportunity to be part of an innovative HDR training program. As a PhD researcher with CIRES, you will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with university and industry partner supervisors on research with real world impact. During your degree, you will undertake a one-year (equivalent) placement with the industry or government partner.

We offer a generous scholarship package of $34,938 per annum (2022 rate) and top up scholarships from $5,000 per annum. We are now recruiting for the three projects below. All positions are based at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia Campus in Brisbane.

Any questions? Contact the CIRES Team via cires@uq.edu.au

Applications close 10 April 2022.

PhD scholarship opportunity, Swinburne

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Applications closed 30th November 2021.

To register your interest for future PhD scholarship opportunities, please email cires@uq.edu.au

 

Applications have closed for our PhD project “Information Architecture and Forensic Data Analysis” based at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne working with Chief Investigator Dr Paul Scifleet and industry partner Astral Consulting.

This project investigates how can we improve information architectures to support more effective data discovery and the responsible sharing of data. What methodologies can best support the effective exchange of information inherent in enterprise information architecture? This PhD research project will investigate how organisations can leverage human & AI/ML approaches to improve the forensic discovery and analysis of organisational data across multiple and complex information architectures.

In the CIRES program, you will work collaboratively with university and industry partner supervisors who are leading research with real world impact. Your research will build on strong foundations of responsible data management, focusing on curating data at scale and building trusted data relationships. Over the period of your degree, you will also undertake a one-year (equivalent) placement with the industry partner, Astral Consulting Services Pty Ltd, and will collaborate and participate in industry-led projects.

Applications close 30th November 2021. For further PhD project opportunities, please visit our Study with Us page.

The Conversation article: Digital tech is the future, but Australia risks being left in the past

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Centre Director Professor Shazia Sadiq and colleague Thas Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas have authored this article in The Conversation to accompany the new report released today “Australia’s Digital Future a nation of users or leaders?.” The Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering have jointly issued an urgent call to action, asking the government and industry to recognise the importance of emerging digital technologies as a national science priority.

The report makes several key recommendations:

  1. elevate emerging digital technologies as a national science and innovation priority
  2. include research and innovation in emerging digital technologies in the 2021 Research Infrastructure Roadmap
  3. recognise emerging digital technologies as an independent growth sector.

Read the full strategic plan here.

Second Round of PhD Scholarships at UQ

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Applications closed 24 October 2021.

 

We are seeking highly motivated PhD researchers to join the Centre for exciting projects with the following industry & government partners: Aginic, Max Kelsen, Allianz Partners, Queensland Department of Education, Health & Wellbeing Queensland, Queensland Police Service, and Queensland Health.

Now open for application: 11 x PhD scholarships offered by the ARC Training Centre for Information Resilience [CIRES] .

Only domestic or onshore international candidates are eligible to apply.

PhD Scholarship applications now open!
Deadline 24 October 2021
For January or April 2022 start

This is an opportunity to be part of an innovative HDR training program. As a PhD researcher with CIRES, you will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with university and industry partner supervisors on research with real world impact. During your degree, you will undertake a one-year placement with the industry partner.

We offer a generous scholarship package of $34,627 per annum (2021 rate) and top up scholarships from $5,000 per annum. We are now recruiting for the following projects. All positions are based at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia Campus. Applications closed 24th October 2021.

For full details and how to apply visit our Study With Us page

If you have any questions about CIRES or applying for these projects, please contact our Centre Manager Kate Aldridge k.aldridge@uq.edu.au

The Brilliant article: How one scientist is cleaning up the world’s dirty data

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Centre Director Professor Shazia Sadiq was featured in this piece by The Brilliant looking at how data underlying algorithms is collected and the biases embedded in them. The way to disrupt this cycle of bias is information resilience, which means understanding how information is collected, and identifying all opportunities for bias to be introduced.

When Amazon developed an automated recruitment tool, the hope was that an unbiased, logical algorithm could read a CV and identify the best candidates. The algorithm turned out to be an engine of sexism, which was not only biased towards male resumes, but actively downgraded candidates if they came from one of two women’s universities in the USA. The problem was that the tool sought applicants whose CVs resembled previously successful job seekers; as most of these were men, the algorithm learned to reject women. It was stunning proof that algorithms are not neutral. They work according to the biases of the people who program them – a problem that computer scientist and Professor Shazia Sadiq is acutely conscious of.

Read the full feature article from The Brilliant here.

Associate Professor Hongzhi Yin awarded ARC Future Fellowship

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Congratulations to University of Queensland Researcher and Centre Chief Investigator Associate Professor Hongzhi Yin who has been awarded a prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship for the project “Decentralised Collaborative Predictive Analytics on Personal Smart Devices”. The 2021 ARC Future Fellowships scheme will see 100 new research projects funded at universities around Australia, focused on areas of national priority. Future Fellowships provide successful researchers with an opportunity to dedicate four years to their research endeavours in Australia. Hongzhi’s project will tackle the challenging problem of personalised predictive analytics with resource-constrained personal devices and massive-scale data.

See the full ARC media release here.

Momentum Article: Fixing data gone wrong

Posted on by Kath Williamson

The top 5 capabilities all businesses need to build an information resilience plan

Recent industry reports identify ‘data gone wrong’ as the biggest risk factor for emerging digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and autonomous decision making. However, with the right planning, a business can build information resilience to make embracing new technologies less risky, according to Centre Director Professor Shazia Sadiq. Read the full article in Momentum, The University of Queensland’s Business School magazine.

First Round of PhD Scholarships

Posted on by Kath Williamson

Applications closed 12 September 2021.

Be the first to know about the next round of CIRES PhD Scholarship opportunities, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

We’re recruiting! 5 PhD positions available.

CIRES is seeking highly motivated PhD researchers to join the Centre for exciting projects with the following industry partners: Queensland Health, Queensland Police Service, and Max Kelsen.

This is an opportunity to be part of an innovative HDR training program. As a PhD researcher with CIRES, you will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with university and industry partner supervisors on research with real world impact. During your degree, you will undertake a one-year placement with the industry partner.

We offer a generous scholarship package of $34,627 per annum (2021 rate) and top up scholarships from $5,000 per annum. We are now recruiting for the following projects. All positions are based at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia Campus. Applications close 12th September 2021.

For full details and how to apply visit our Study With Us page

If you have any questions about CIRES or applying for these projects, please contact our Centre Manager Kate Aldridge k.aldridge@uq.edu.au

 

Centre for Information Resilience Commences!

Posted on by Kath Williamson

We are delighted to announce that the Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Information Resilience (CIRES) has officially commenced. Our Collaborative Research Agreement has been finalised and our important work can begin.

CIRES aims to build workforce capacity in Australian organisations and help them achieve information resilience. Our Centre brings together end-users, technology providers, and cutting-edge research, to lift the socio-technical barriers to data driven transformation. We will train a new generation of research leaders in collaboration with our Industry Partners: Aginic, Astral, Allianz Partners, Health & Wellbeing Queensland, Max Kelsen, Queensland Department of Education, Queensland Health, and the Queensland Police Service.