Category: Centre News

On 5 November, CIRES hosted the Thesis Whisperer herself Professor Inger Mewburn at UQ. This full-day intensive workshop focused on managing difficult research projects. Here are some testimonials from our attendees:

“I’ve learnt project management before, yet the workshop gave me many new and practical tools to manage my PhD research. Inger ensured the event was interactive, and I loved her techniques for managing time, both personally and professionally. Thank you, CIRES, for the opportunity to learn!” Nova Sepadyati, PhD Researcher, UQ

“Learning about how AI tools can support project management was really eye-opening, and it was fun to see that some of the tactics we covered—like using a bullet journal and keeping a research reflection diary—are practices I already use. The ideas around the ‘right-to-left’ mindset, the different AI and collaboration tools, and even the formulas for estimating task times were all super insightful. Honestly, this workshop was totally worth it—a valuable and enjoyable experience from start to finish!” Lufan Zhang, CIRES PhD Researcher, Swinburne

“A truly engaging workshop and a great demonstration of how to leverage technology to make your research projects, and your life, easier to manage” Prof. Marta Indulska, CIRES Research Director

“I’m just about to submit my PhD thesis and am at the early stages of planning my first research project as a Postdoc. This workshop was timely and without a doubt the best workshop on Project Management I have been to! Inger not only talks about useful AI tools that are effective at saving time and deliver better project outcomes but she shows you how to integrate them and make them work with your own projects. The workshop was eye-opening, insightful and a lot of fun! Tracey Read, PhD Researcher, ARC Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites.

Thank you Inger for such an insightful and practical hands-on workshop and to all our attendees from The University of Queensland, QUT (Queensland University of Technology), Swinburne University of Technology, RMIT University, and Griffith University for your excellent participation!

We finished the week on a high on 31 October by hosting our Centre’s end-of-year celebration at CIRES HQ. The event recognised the contributions and achievements of our research cohort of Postdocs, PhD researchers, Data Engineers, & Research Assistants, with outstanding testimonials from their supervisors. Key highlights were publications (including firsts!), completion of PhD milestones, project delivery, leadership of Centre initiatives, fellowships, and successful research studies & surveys, including with industry partners. It was wonderful to have our Swinburne University of Technology colleagues with us Luhan Cheng, Pa Pa Khin, Hui Yin, and Lufan Zhang.

Congratulations to our research superstars on a successful 2024!

A key highlight of the day was celebrating our wonderful Centre Coordinator Kathleen Williamson and her 35-year work anniversary at The University of Queensland. Kath is instrumental to the success of the Centre and is an incredibly valued member of CIRES & the UQ School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. We bottled thank-you messages and testimonials from CIRES and UQ colleagues past and present to capture the gratitude we have for getting to work with her, and for her unwavering support throughout the years. And of course it wouldn’t be a celebration without cake!

Congratulations to our CIRES Centre Director Professor Shazia Sadiq who has been elected as one of five new members to the Computing Research and Education Association of Australasia (CORE) Academy for 2025!

The CORE Academy is established to honour and recognise individuals who have made significant and cumulative contributions to the development of computing disciplines in Australasia.

As a researcher and educator in data and process management within the UQ School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Shazia’s work has focused on dismantling socio-technical barriers to technology-driven transformation. As director of CIRES, she has helped link research and industry through industry-informed PhD training programs. Shazia actively engages in policy advice and science advocacy activities, including the development of national strategic plans and expert submissions to government initiatives on emerging digital technologies, and was a core author on the government’s Rapid Response Information Report (2023) on Generative AI.

She is also a champion for equity and diversity through her work with the first Australian ACM-W student chapter and DEI@DB, an international group that leads diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for the database community.

Congratulations Shazia for this well-deserved recognition!

A big welcome back to Brisbane and the Centre to Professor Felix Naumann! Felix is a Professor for Information Systems from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany, and is spending a six month sabbatical with CIRES at The University of Queensland.

Felix is a member of the Centre’s International Expert Panel, was a guest speaker at our inaugural PhD School in 2022, and we are so excited to have him join us as a keynote speaker for this year’s PhD School at UQ in October 2024.

He’ll be collaborating with CIRES Director Professor Shazia Sadiq and Chief Investigator Assoc. Professor Gianluca Demartini, and his research will focus on data quality.

“CIRES is a world-renowned centre for excellent research in all things data. I look forward especially to collaborating with faculty and students to advance research in data quality assessment methods. As an academic visitor, I also hope to learn from a new and exciting research environment, gain new insights into research and teaching methods, and ultimately find new academic partners.”

Welcome Felix!!

A warm Brisbane spring welcome to Sarah Pinon who joined us this week from Belgium! Sarah is a visiting PhD researcher from the MINDIT @ NaDI – Management of Information and Digital Transformation research centre at the Université de Namur.

“I’m trilled to join CIRES for the next three months. This incredible collaboration will support a new research project developed with CIRES CIs, Drs. Ida Asadi Someh & Tapani Rinta-Kahila, focusing on the creation of an evaluation framework for the promising new AI generation. Beyond the project, I’m looking forward to fully integrating into life at CIRES through participating in seminars, exchanging ideas, and building lasting connections with researchers from diverse disciplines. I’m excited to see where this journey will lead!”

Welcome Sarah!!

On Wednesday 7 August, CIRES hosted our third Information Resilience Symposium. This year’s event explored the important topic of learning in the age of AI, featuring state-of-the-art insights through a dynamic panel discussion and two thought-provoking keynotes from Dr Kristen Dicerbo, Chief Learning Officer at Khan Academy, and Associate Professor Paul Denny from The University of Auckland. The event also included an engaging Information Resilience Escape Room, which added a layer of fun, positive engagement, and mild competition, making the experience both educational and entertaining. Congratulations to the symposium chair Hasan Khosravi, and CIRES Director Shazia Sadiq and the team, who also celebrated the year three milestone of the Centre at the event – with a fabulous looking cake!

CIRES turns 3!

From left: Dr Hasan Khosravi [Symposium Chair] with special guest panelists Professor Kelly Matthews [The University of Queensland], Professor Jason Tangen [The University of Queensland], Professor Xiaofang Zhou [CIRES International Expert Panel], Dr Aneesha Bakharia [The University of Queensland] and Professor Shazia Sadiq [CIRES Centre Director]

On 1 August, CIRES Centre Director, Shazia Sadiq was a panellist for the Business Matters event “Building business success from AI and digital innovation” hosted by Business Chamber Queensland, in partnership with the Australian Retirement Trust. Joining Shazia on the panel were Brett Lightfoot (Queensland State Director, Microsoft) and Jamie Wilson (Founder & Executive Chairman, Cryptoloc Data Security) with the discussion moderated by Business Chamber Queensland CEO, Heidi Cooper. The discussion focused on the opportunities for Queensland businesses to gain significant competitive advantages from AI and advanced digital transformation, and the innovation and productivity gains that can be realised through workforces and systems.

On 26 February, CIRES welcomed Dr Barb Wixom and Dr Alan Thorogood from the MIT CISR (MIT Center for Information Systems Research). Barb is the Principal Research Scientist at MIT CISR & member of the CIRES International Expert Panel. She is a world authority in data with three decades of impactful academic work, & her insights uniquely bridge academia & industry. Her new book Data is Everybody’s Business aims to inspire workers across organisations to engage in data monetization.

CIRES CI Dr Ida Asadi Someh from the UQ Business School is a long-time collaborator with Barb. “Barb is simply an inspiration for me & the whole data field. She has been providing thought leadership into organisational aspects of data & has significantly shaped research & practice in this topic. Her new book really translates in-depth scientific work into concepts, approaches, frameworks that every professional will need to know & use as AI becomes an integrated part of every job. She is democratizing the knowledge we all need to upskill for the future.”

Yesterday’s workshop “Data Monetization Fundamentals: Decoding Three Decades of Academic Research about Data Value for Practice Success” included an interactive seminar covering the core concepts of data monetization, & a deep-dive forum on how companies can establish acceptable data use practices as a foundational step toward ensuring responsible AI.

The workshop audience included representatives across Australian industry, government, & academia, including the Centre’s PhD researchers, Postdocs, & Engineers who were keen to learn from Barb.

CIRES PhD researcher Daisy Xu. has utilised some of Barb’s case studies to inform her own research. “Barb has a very admirable skill in communicating research outputs to a wide audience, making academic work highly accessible and practical. I found the Data Monetization Capability Framework to be particularly inspiring. It can be immediately useful for practitioners; for instance, they can use it to self-assess their readiness for monetizing their data assets after participating in a benchmarking survey. What’s truly remarkable is that her team collaborates with many Australian organizations that are at the forefront of the data space.”

CIRES PhD researcher Jorge Retamales said “I’m really appreciative of Barb’s visit. She conveyed important ideas with such clarity. I especially liked the improving-wrapping-selling framework. It provides an easy vocabulary where anyone can understand how tangible value can be obtained from data. I also liked her practical advice on data capabilities. It’s a great tool for organisations to enable productive conversations to plan their data monetization goals while considering their current context.”

Our thanks again to Barb for such a dynamic & insightful session & to everyone who joined us for this event.

VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY HERE

How do you think explainable (generative) AI and the ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind AI’s decisions could transform our trust in technology and its role in our lives?

CIRES CI, A/Prof Hassan Khosravi is thrilled to announce the publication of “Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) 2.0: A Manifesto of Open Challenges and Interdisciplinary Research Directions” in the prestigious Journal of Information Fusion.

Read the paper open access at https://lnkd.in/gRJrXb3n

January 2024

Centre Director, Prof Shazia Sadiq was interviewed by ABC National Radio on the AI regulation plans announced by federal government.

The Australian Government has released an interim report on supporting responsible AI. This discussion paper focuses on governance mechanisms to ensure AI is developed and used safely and responsibly in Australia. These mechanisms include regulations, standards, tools, frameworks, principles and business practices. The paper builds on the recent Rapid Research Report on Generative AI delivered by the government’s National Science and Technology Council.

Comparatively, here are links to UK’s Bletchley Declaration and EU’s AI Act.

December 2023

Centre Director, Prof Shazia Sadiq, and CIRES CIs A/Prof Gianluca Demartini and Dr Rocky Chen networked with key leaders in AI at the National AI Leadership Summit in Sydney on 8 December. CEDA and CSIRO’s National Artificial Intelligence Centre presented a flagship Summit, convening leading voices on how AI can be leveraged in a positive and inclusive way to transform industries and advance the Australian economy. The Summit will outline how leaders can position their organisations, and Australia more broadly to enable the take up of responsible AI at scale.

CIRES CI A/Prof Gianluca Demartini was interviewed by  The Guardian about the use of Artificial Intelligence in law enforcement. ‘Some mistakes will happen’. Here is a link to the article.

An exciting week for AI as the Australasian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence [AJCAI] at The University of Queensland yesterday from 28 Nov – 1 Dec 2023 with an agenda packed day of tutorials and workshops.

CIRES students, Hongliang Ni and Zirui Tan, participated in the AJCAI PhD Forum. Additionally, CIRES Centre Director Professor Shazia Sadiq chaired the conference keynote by Professor H. Peter Soyer internationally recognised leader in the field of dermatology.

Professor Soyer is internationally recognised in the field of dermatology, and a pioneer and world leader in the field of dermoscopy of pigmented skin lesions, a non-invasive diagnostic method. He has lead the development of the morphologic classification system currently used worldwide.

AI has made significant advancements in the field of dermatology, offering a wide range of applications and benefits. His talk will focus on some key areas in which AI is being used within this domain, including: Skin Cancer and Skin Disease Diagnosis; Telemedicine and Teledermatology; Clinical Decision Support; Research and Drug Development; and Wearable Devices and Monitoring.