Conference Chairs

Ivica Crnkovic, Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg

Enrico Nardelli, Informatics Europe President, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata"

Program Chairs

​Letizia Jaccheri, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Pekka Orponen, Aalto University

Organisational Committee

Cristina Pereira, Informatics Europe

Svetlana Tikhonenko, Informatics Europe

Register for the ECSS 2018 and/or the Pre-Summit Workshop in three quick steps:

1. Select the registration by clicking on the relevant highlighted link (with the prices) below
2. Enter information about you, optionally book a hotel with pre-booked rooms
3. Execute the payment (bank transfer or credit card).

Upon registration you will receive a registration confirmation. You can also update your registration later by following the links in the confirmation letter. If you have any questions or need help with your registration, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Prices 

Normal registration (after September 8)*

• Informatics Europe or ERCIM Members
  • Pre-Summit Workshop (8 October): SEK 1600 (EUR 150)
  • ECSS (9-10 October): SEK 4750 (EUR 450)
  • ECSS + Pre-Summit Workshop (8-10 October): SEK 5800 (EUR 550)

• Non-Members
  • Pre-Summit Workshop (8 October): SEK 2100 (EUR 200)
  • ECSS (9-10 October): SEK 5800 (EUR 550)
  • ECSS + Pre-Summit Workshop (8-10 October): SEK 6850  (EUR 650)

The early registration discount is only valid until September 8. Register early to benefit from the discount!

Registration fees

The registration fee of the Main Conference (9-10 October) covers:

• Participation in all activities of the Summit
• Coffee breaks, lunches
• Conference Welcome Reception on Monday, 8 October*** 
• Conference Dinner on Tuesday, 9 October***
• Conference materials

The registration fee of the Pre-Summit Workshop for Deans and Department Heads (8 October) covers:

• Participation in all activities of the Workshop
• Coffee breaks, lunch
• Conference Welcome Reception on Monday, 8 October***
• Workshop materials

Participants from institutions which are not yet member of Informatics Europe can profit of a special offer. See more details here.

* All prices shown are excluding VAT**, and in Swedish Krona (SEK). Approximate prices quoted in EUR between parentheses are given for information only according to the SEK/EUR exchange rate on 30.04.2018. For current exchange rate see the Swedish Central Bank or Online currency converter.

** VAT rules - VAT 25% will be added for specific categories of participants:

• Swedish organizations: Have to pay VAT 
• EU organizations with a VAT or equivalent tax identification number: DO NOT need to pay VAT, provided that they report the VAT or Tax identification number of the organization.
• International organizations with a tax identification number or a valid company name:  DO NOT need to pay VAT. 
• None of the above: Have to pay VAT. 

 ***Companion invitations for the Welcome Reception and Dinner are available for purchase (Extra Tickets). They are not included in the registration fee.

ECSS 2018 and the Pre-Summit Workshop for Deans and Department Heads was held at:

Download the PDF with detailed maps of the venue.

Chalmers Conference Center is a modern conference facility made for creative meetings in an inspiring venue. It is centrally located in Gothenburg within the Campus Johanneberg of the Chalmers University of Technology, just a few minutes away from the Avenue and Götaplatsen. 

ECSS 2018 is hosted by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, joint between Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg. With about 70 teachers/researchers and about as many PhD-students from 30 different countries, the Department has gained highest international recognition. It creates a dynamic research environment with several world renown research groups. Research spans the spectrum from theoretical underpinnings to applied systems development.

Oct. 08           Oct. 09             Oct. 10

The slides of talks given during the conference are available for download on the program below 

Venue: Chalmers Conference Center - Chalmersplatsen 1 -  41258 Göteborg

• 08.10.18 - Pre-Summit Workshop for Deans and Department Heads, Chalmers Conference Center (Scania hall)
• 08.10.18 - Welcome Reception at "The House of William Chalmers"
• 09-10.10.18 - ECSS Main Conference, Chalmers Conference Center (Conference hall RunAn) 
• 09.10.18 - Conference Dinner, Chalmers Conference Center (Restaurant “Kårrestaurangen”)
• 10.10.18 - ECSS Working Sessions (by invitation only)

Monday, 08 October 2018

08:30-09:00 Registration

09:00-17:00  Pre-Summit Workshop for Deans and Department Heads

18:30-20:30 ECSS 2018 Welcome Reception at The House of William Chalmers (Södra Hamngatan 11, 411 14 Göteborg)

Tuesday, 09 October 2018

8:30-09:00  Registration

09:00-09:10  Conference Opening

• Enrico Nardelli (Informatics Europe President)
• Stefan Bengtsson (President of Chalmers University of Technology)

09.10-10.40  Session 1 "Intelligence"

Session Chair: Enrico Nardelli (Informatics Europe President)

• John Shawe-Taylor - University College London 
  "Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence" [Slides]
  
• Hannu Toivonen - University of Helsinki  
  "Computational Creativity" [Slides]
  

10:40-11:00  Coffee Break

11:00-12:30  Session 2 "Society"

Session Chair: Lynda Hardman (CWI / Utrecht University)

• May Britt Thorseth - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  "Ethics in the Age of Informatics, Big Data and AI" [Slides]
• Klaus Tochtermann - ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics
  "Towards the European Open Science Cloud - The Role of Computer Science" [Slides]

12:30-13:30  Lunch

13:30-14:30 Informatics Europe - ERCIM 2018 Awards Ceremony (Public Session) [Slides]

• 13:30-13:50 Winner Announcement (Michael Kölling, King's College London) followed by short talk by Winner Representatives  [Slides] 

• 13:50-14:10 Winner Announcement (Panagiota Fatourou, FORTH and University of Crete) followed by short talk by Winner Representatives   [Slides]
  

• 14:10-14:30 Winner Announcement (Jos Baeten, President ERCIM) followed by short talk by Winner   [Slides]

14:30-16:00 Session 3 "Education" 

Session Chair: Michael Caspersen (It-vest - networking universities)

• 14:30-15:05  Georgi Dimitrov - European Commission, Directorate General Education and Culture
  "EU Perspectives on Digital Education"

• 15:05-16:00 Panel on Informatics Education 

16:00-16:30  Coffee Break

16:30-17:15 Special Session Informatics Europe Activities

Session Chair: Cristina Pereira (Informatics Europe Executive Director)

• 16:30-16:45 When Computers Decide: Recommendations on Machine-Learned Automated Decision Making - James Larus (EPFL) [Slides]
• 16:45-16:55 Informatics Research Evaluation Report - Hélène Kirchner (INRIA) [Slides]
• 16:55-17:05 Informatics Education in Europe: Institutions, Degrees, Students, Positions, Salaries. Key Data Report 2012-2017 - Svetlana Tikhonenko (Informatics Europe) [Slides]
• 17:05-17:15  Industry Funding for Academic Research in Informatics in Europe - Pilot Study - Svetlana Tikhonenko (Informatics Europe) [Slides]

17:15-18:45 Informatics Europe Annual General Assembly

Session Chairs: Enrico Nardelli (Informatics Europe President), Cristina Pereira (Informatics Europe Executive Director)

19:00-22:00  Conference Dinner (Chalmers Conference Center, Restaurant “Kårrestaurangen”)
                    

Wednesday, 10 October 2018

08:30-09:00  Registration

09:00-10:30  Session 4 "Interfaces"

Session Chair: Letizia Jaccheri (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

• Wendy Mackay - INRIA 
  "Creating Human-Computer Partnerships" [Slides]
  
• Amy Loutfi - Örebro University 
  "Robots and Autonomous Systems for All"

10:30-11:00 Coffee Break  

11:00-12:30  Session 5 "Directions"

Session Chair: Pekka Orponen (Aalto University)

• Luca Cardelli - Microsoft Research and Oxford University
  "Molecular Programming" [Slides]
• Per Delsing - Chalmers University of Technology
  "Quantum Computers, How do They Work and What Can They do?" [Slides]

12:30-14:00 Lunch Seminar and Closing Session

Session Chair: Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic (Chalmers University of Technology / University of Gothenburg)

• 12:30-13:15 Lunch
• 13:15-14:00 Mark Coeckelbergh - University of Vienna
  "Ethics of Robotics and AI: Moral Responsibility and Societal Challenges" [Slides]
• 14:00 Closing the Conference

14:15-17:30  Working Sessions (in parallel, by invitation only)

• Meeting of National Informatics Associations

Session Chair: Hélène Kirchner (INRIA)

• Women in Informatics Research and Education

Session Chair: Lynda Hardman (CWI / Utrecht University)

• The Wide Role of Informatics at Universities

Session Chair: Susan Eisenbach (Imperial College London)

Click here for a detailed program

Every year, jointly with the ECSS main Summit, Informatics Europe organises a special Workshop for Deans and Heads of Informatics Departments to address specific challenges they encounter in their role. The workshop is a unique networking forum for leaders of Informatics institutions, and focuses on concrete issues and practical solutions.

The 2018 workshop was held on October 8 at Chalmers Conference Center, co-chaired by Erika Abraham, Computer Science Department, RWTH Aachen University, Gregor Engels, Department of Computer Science, Paderborn University, and Mehdi Jazayeri, Faculty of Informatics, University of Lugano.

The theme of the 2018 Pre-Summit Workshop is

Personal Development

with main focus on special skills and management training needed by deans and professors on the one hand; and PhD strategy and career training on the other hand.

Focus:

Deans need a variety of special skills to lead and represent a Computer Science faculty or department, but they usually do not get any special training before they start their term. They must be able to unite and lead professors who are leaders themselves, students and other faculty/department members, and represent their opinions and interests within and outside their university. In the first half of the workshop we offered a platform for inspiration, exchange and discussion of problems and best practices, covering topics like:

• How to be a leader of leaders?
• How to organize management structures in faculties/departments? How to create a collaborative support culture? What environments enable people to do good work?
• How to represent Computer Science to the outside? How to strengthen it strategically inside the university?
• Which typical problems do deans face and which solutions exist?
• How to handle the multiple demands/stress of being a leader?

The contents and forms of PhD education in Europe are diverse. The second half of the workshop was devoted to the discussion of different approaches and strategies:

• How to recruit good PhD students?
• What are the forms and contents of the PhD training? Do lectures need to be visited? Secondments and internships? English required? Paid or unpaid? Besides research, which skills should be trained, how and who pays for it? Thesis or cumulative dissertation? Exams at the defence? External examiners?
• How to train PhD students for different career paths?
• How to deal with increasing interdisciplinarity?
• What is the role of industry in doctoral training?
• How to organize and lead training networks (like the European Marie Curie Networks)?

Format:

The workshop was a mixture of talks, discussions/knowledge sharing/exchange in smaller groups and a consolidation and presentation of the results to all participants.

Benefits for participants:

• Learning best practices from heads of prominent Informatics departments and research labs;
• Taking advantage of a networking platform for heads of European Informatics departments and research labs;
• Inspiration for developing as a leader and for improving departmental processes.

Confirmed Speakers:

• Michael E. Caspersen, It-vest- networking universities, Denmark
• Michel Chaudron, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
• Gregor Engels, Paderborn University, Germany
• Geraldine Fitzpatrick, Vienna University of Technology, Austria
• Manfred Nagl, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
• Enrico Nardelli, University of Roma "Tor Vergata”, Italy

Program

The workshop was held at Chalmers Conference Center on Monday, 8 October 2018.

The slides of talks given during the workshop are available for download on the program below

08:30-09:00 Registration

Session 1: Leading Leaders

09:00-09:10 Welcome

9:30-10:30 European Deans’ Café: Round-table Dialogues on Leading Informatics Departments/Faculties

10:30-11:00 Coffee break

Session 2: Leading Leaders 

11:00-11:30  Reports from the European Deans’ Café

12:30-13:30 Lunch

 Session 3: PhD Education in Europe

15:00-15:30 Discussion

15:30-16:00 Coffee break

 Session 4: Informatics4All

ECSS is known to bring prominent and high calibre speakers on stage. ECSS 2018 is no exception. 

The following keynote speakers are confirmed for ECSS 2018:

Luca Cardelli

Oxford University

Mark Coeckelbergh

University of Vienna

Per Delsing

Chalmers University of Technology

Georgi Dimitrov

European Commission, Directorate General Education and Culture

Amy Loutfi

Örebro University

Wendy Mackay

INRIA

John Shawe-Taylor

University College London

May Britt Thorseth

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Klaus Tochtermann

ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics

Hannu Toivonen

University of Helsinki

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• Luca Cardelli

  Molecular programming
  
  Abstract
  
  Digital computers allow us to manipulate information systematically, leading to recent advances in our ability to structure our society and to communicate in richer ways. They also allow us to orchestrate physical forces, transforming and optimizing our manufacturing processes. What they cannot do very well, is to interact directly with biological organisms or in general orchestrate molecular arrangements. Thanks to biotechnology, nucleic acids (DNA/RNA) are particularly effective 'user-programmable' entities at the molecular scale. They can be directed to assemble nano-scale structures, to produce physical forces, to act as sensors and actuators, and to do general computation in between. We will be able to interface this new class of devices with biological machinery, to detect and cure diseases at the cellular level under program control. The theory of computability directed the design of digital computers, and it can now inform the development of new computational fabrics, at the molecular level, that will eventually give us control of an entirely new domain of reality.
  
  Short Bio
  
  Luca Cardelli has a M.Sc. in computer science from the University of Pisa, and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Edinburgh. He worked in the USA at Bell Labs, Murray Hill, from 1982 to 1985, and at Digital Equipment Corporation, Systems Research Center in Palo Alto, from 1985 to 1997, before assuming a position at Microsoft Research, in Cambridge UK, where he was head of the Programming Principles and Tools and Security groups until 2012. Since 2014 he is also a Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Oxford. His main interests are in programming languages and concurrency, and more recently in programmable biology and nanotechnology. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, an Elected Member of the Academia Europaea, and an Elected Member of the Association Internationale pour les Technologies Objets.

  Read More

• Mark Coeckelbergh

  Ethics of Robotics and AI: Moral responsibility and societal challenges
  
  Abstract
  
  Robotics and AI raises many questions, fears, and expectations, both among experts and in public discussions. This talk looks beyond the hype and discusses some urgent ethical issues and potential societal consequences of current developments in these areas. Particular attention will be given to issues concerning responsibility in situations where there is a high degree of automation, including the case of self-driving cars. The talk also explores some implications for technology development and innovation policy and reflects on how to bring together philosophy and technological practice.
  
  Short Bio
  
  Prof. Dr. Mark Coeckelbergh is a full Professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Vienna and President of the international Society for Philosophy and Technology. His expertise focuses on ethics and technology. He is the author of 9 books and numerous articles in this area, including New Romantic Cyborgs (MIT Press, 2017). He is currently a member of various entities for the support of policy building in the area of robotics and embedment of ethical standards in AI system such as the High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence which advises the European Commission, the Robotik-Rat Council – established by the Austrian Government to support policy building in the area of robotics, the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, and the IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems. Previously he was the co-Chair of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Technical Committee on Robot Ethics. He is involved in interdisciplinary collaborations in the context of European research projects such as INBOTS (Inclusive Robotics for a better Society), DREAM (robot-enhanced therapy) and previously SATORI (ethical impact assessment of research and innovation).

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• Per Delsing

  Quantum computers, how do they work and what can they do?
  
  Abstract
  
  Quantum computers are predicted to outperform classical computers for certain problems. This is possible because the quantum computer exploits truly quantum properties such as superposition and entanglement. The basic building block of the quantum computer is called a qubit; an individual quantum system that can be placed in a superposition between two states. A single qubit can thus represent two numbers, 0 and 1, simultaneously. A register of N qubits can represent 2N numbers simultaneously, resulting in a massive parallelism which can be exploited for simulation and computing. Qubits can be implemented in different technologies, presently the two main technologies build on superconducting circuits or ion traps. The operation of a quantum computer is rather different than for a classical computer, typically microwave or laser pulses are sent to the quantum processor to manipulate individual qubits or to create entanglement between different qubits.
  
  Short Bio
  
  Per Delsing received his Ph.D. degree from the Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg Sweden, in 1990, for his studies in single electron tunneling. After a few years as an assistant and an associate professor at Göteborg University, he returned to the Chalmers University of Technology as a full professor in 1997. His main research interest is quantum physics of single electron devices and superconducting qubits. He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He is presently the director of the Wallenberg Center for Quantum Technology (WACQT).

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• Georgi Dimitrov

  EU perspectives on digital education
  
  Abstract
  
  In his talk, Georgi will address current EU initiatives related to the digital education including the Digital Education Action Plan and go into some more specific issues related to the role of computer science and informatics today.
  
  Short Bio
  
  Georgi Dimitrov, Deputy Head of Unit Innovation and EIT (DG EAC) joined the European Commission, Directorate General Education and Culture, as a Policy Officer in 2008. He was involved in various roles in setting up the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Georgi has managed the HEInnovate initiative launched in November 2013 by the European Commission and the OECD. Before joining the Commission, Georgi worked for a leading multinational telecommunication company in Germany. Prior to that, he worked in a software start-up for four years, also in Germany. Georgi studied at the University of Bonn (M.A.), the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (PhD) and the Open University UK (towards MBA in Technology Management).

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• Amy Loutfi

  Robots and autonomous systems for all
  
  Abstract
  
  The marriage of artificial intelligence and robotics has opened new venues and applications of autonomous systems. One such area is in homes and domestic environments where these systems have a potential to assist humans in daily living for an active and healthy ageing. This talk will describe our experiences from developing such systems, and describe the core technological challenges in adopting AI for physically embedded systems. The talk will also list a number of lessons learned when early prototypes have been fielded in real home throughout Europe.
  
  Short Bio
  
  Amy Loutfi is a Professor in Information Technology at Örebro University, she also heads the Center for Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems. She has a long experience of working with robotic platforms and sensor platforms that are used for eldercare. In particular, she has developed techniques in AI to improve the functionality of many of these platforms. She has also examined techniques to validate and test these methods with end user groups.

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• Wendy Mackay

  Creating human-computer partnerships
  
  Abstract
  
  The classic approach to Artificial Intelligence treats the human being as a cog in the computer's process -- the so-called “human-in-the-loop”. By contrast, the classic approach to Human-Computer Interaction seeks to create a ‘user experience’ with the computer. We seek a third approach, a true human-computer partnership that takes advantage of machine learning, but leaves the user in control. I describe how we can create interactive systems that are discoverable, appropriable and expressive, drawing from the principles of instrumental interaction and reciprocal co-adaptation. Our goal is to create robust interactive systems that grow with the user, with a focus on augmenting human capabilities.
  
  Short Bio
  
  Wendy Mackay is a Research Director, Classe Exceptionnelle, at INRIA, France, where she heads the ExSitu (Extreme Situated Interaction) research group in Human-Computer Interaction at the Université Paris-Sud. After receiving her Ph.D. from MIT, she managed research groups at Digital Equipment and Xerox EuroPARC, which were among the first to explore interactive video and tangible computing. She has been a visiting professor at University of Aarhus and Stanford University and served as Vice President for Research at the University of Paris-Sud. Wendy is a member of the ACM CHI academy, is a past chair of ACM/SIGCHI, chaired CHI'13 and recently received the ACM/SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Service Award and is Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Aarhus. She also received an ERC Advanced Grant for her research on co-adaptive instruments and has published approximately 200 peer-reviewed research articles in the area of Human-Computer Interaction. Her current research interests include participatory design, creativity, co-adaptive instruments, mixed reality and interactive paper, and multidisciplinary research methods.

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• John Shawe-Taylor

  Machine learning and artificial intelligence
  
  Abstract
  
  Machine learning has made significance advances in recent years both in terms of theoretical underpinnings and in reliable applications with notable impact in computer vision and natural language processing. These developments and applications of Reinforcement Learning in for example AlphaGo have lead to advances in Artificial Intelligence that have long seemed an elusive goal for computer science. The talk will explore some of these developments trying to understand what has driven these advances and where we should focus in order to maintain the momentum that has been created.
  
  Short Bio
  
  John Shawe-Taylor obtained a PhD in mathematics at the University of London in 1986 after which he moved into computer science taking a lectureship initially at Royal Holloway, but later becoming a professor at the University of Southampton where he lead the ISIS research group. In 2006, he moved to University College London (UCL) to become the founder director of the Centre for Computational Statistics and Machine Learning. John Shawe-Taylor is currently Head of the Computer Science Department at UCL where he has overseen a significant expansion and witnessed its emergence as the highest ranked Computer Science Department in the UK. Under his leadership, the department has developed an innovative education program at both undergraduate, masters and research level that engages students directly with industrial projects and has led to UCL Computer Science playing a leading role in the growth of London as a hub for start-up tech companies.
  
  John Shawe-Taylor has contributed to a number of fields ranging from graph theory through cryptography to statistical learning theory and its applications. However, his main contributions have been in the development of the analysis and subsequent algorithmic definition of principled machine learning algorithms founded in statistical learning theory. This work has helped to drive a fundamental rebirth in the field of machine learning with the introduction of kernel methods and support vector machines, driving the mapping of these approaches onto novel domains including work in computer vision, document classification, and applications in biology and medicine focused on brain scan, immunity and proteome analysis. He has published over 300 papers and two books that have attracted over 42000 citations. He has also been instrumental in assembling a series of influential European Networks of Excellence. The scientific coordination of these projects has influenced a generation of researchers and promoted the widespread uptake of machine learning in both science and industry that we are currently witnessing.

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• May Britt Thorseth

  Ethics in the age of Informatics, Big data and AI
  
  Abstract
  
  In her talk, Prof. dr. May Thorseth will bring up some urgent ethical issues that are topical in the field of Informatics, in particular in information technology today. Being in the very core of emerging technologies, Informatics raises ethical challenges of which we were not sufficiently aware in the shaping of these technologies. This leaves us with a Janus face: while surveillance provides us with great improvement of some kinds of security and protection, it does at the same time imply a potential threat to privacy and misuse of data. Further, huge search engines make choices for us, and may lead to weakening of autonomous choices. This again connects to a different, but still related problem, having to do with democracy and the problem of filtering: while the Internet facilitates accessing all kinds of information, including news, it also enables individuals to create their own newspaper "Daily Me" (ref. C. Sunstein). This may compromise sharing and exchange of viewpoints, which is basic to democracy.
  
  Short Bio
  
  Prof. dr. May Thorseth is a full professor of philosophy at Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies since 2008 and a director of NTNU’s Programme for Applied Ethics since 2001. Being a vice-chairman of NTNU’s Research ethical committee since 2014, she is also a member of management group of interdisciplinary research area NTNU Sustainability since 2014, a member of The Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board and a past member of regional and national commitees of medical and health research ethics. May Thorseth co-edits the journal "Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics". Previously, she was a jury member of European Foundation Awards for Responsible research and innovation (RRI) and, currently, she is a member of Task force RRI as part of CESAER. Her areas of expertise and current research interests covers research ethics, information ethics and environmental ethics.

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• Klaus Tochtermann

  Towards the European Open Science Cloud - The role of Computer Science
  
  Abstract
  
  The idea of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is to leverage European research data management to the next level of excellence. The EOSC will connect existing and future research data centres with one another and will offer a free point of use, open and seamless services for storage, management, analysis and re-use of research data. Based on the experiences made during the German contribution to the EOSC, namely the GeRDI project (Generic research data infrastructure), and during the international GoFAIR initiative, the talk will highlight technical challenges from a computer science perspective. This will include the design of a micro-service architecture, the role of standards for metadata, the design of a central search index to allow cross-repository search and retrieval as well as the role of large storage and computing capacities.
  
  Short Bio
  
  Prof. Dr. Klaus Tochtermann studied Computer Science at the University of Kiel and the Technical University of Dortmund (Germany). After his PhD he spent 1 year as a Post-Doc at the Center for the studies of digital libraries at Texas A&M University (USA). From 2000-2010 he has been the director of Austria's competence center for knowledge management (Know-Center) and professor for Computer Science at Graz University of Technology (Austria). Since 2010 he has been the director of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics and professor for digital information infrastructures at the University of Kiel. He is a member in various scientific and governmental advisory boards, among them the high level expert group "European Open Science Cloud" for the European Commission. His field of research includes open science, research data management and digital information infrastructures.

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• Hannu Toivonen

  Computational creativity
  
  Abstract
  
  Computational creativity is the study of creative systems. It involves the scientific principles and philosophy of creative systems, as well as their engineering and applications. As a research field, computational creativity is in many ways comparable to artificial intelligence. Both aim to give computers the ability to do something valuable in a non-trivial, autonomous manner. There are major differences however: while AI systems typically aim to solve or optimise a given problem, creative tasks typically are open. “Write a poem” is an ill-defined task, where part of the task is to decide what the objective is in this particular context with these particular capabilities and constraints. In this talk, Hannu will give a brief introduction to the field of computational creativity and some of its key concepts and questions.
  
  Short Bio
  
  Hannu Toivonen works in the areas of artificial intelligence and data science, more specifically in computational creativity and data mining. Hannu obtained his PhD in 1996 on data mining. Since then, he has introduced and solved several novel research problems in the area of data mining; his definitions and algorithms have become standard references and textbook material in the field. His current research focus is on using data science for computational creativity, on self-aware and creative systems, and on analysis and generation of natural language. Hannu has published some 200 papers and has been cited over 20,000 times.
  
  Hannu is a professor of computer science at the University of Helsinki since 2002. He has meanwhile served as Head of the Department of Computer Science (2007-09) and as director of the Helsinki Doctoral Programme in Computer Science (2007-11); he is the founding director of the Data Science MSc programme (2016-) and the Vice Dean for teaching of the Faculty of Science (2018-). Hannu has six years of industrial experience at Nokia Research and also holds 10 patents.

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The European Computer Science Summit 2018 gathered over 120 deans, departments heads, research directors and senior academics from 25 countries in Gothenburg, Sweden. 

See conference highlights and photos.
Download the slides of the various talks on the ECSS 2018 program page.

Quick Links:

• Conference Program
• Program of the Workshop for Deans and Department Heads
• Keynote speakers and talks summaries

ECSS 2018 is the 14th Summit of Informatics Europe. It is the only place, once a year, where leaders and decision makers in Informatics research and education in Europe gather to debate strategic themes and trends related to research, education and policies in Informatics. It is a unique opportunity to meet leaders in the field and discuss critical issues of the discipline related to education, research, funding, entrepreneurship, management, career development, and policies.

ECSS conferences are organised by Informatics Europe in collaboration with a host institution, active member of the association. ECSS 2018 was hosted by the the Department of Computer Science and Engineering of Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden, 8-10 October 2018.  The Summit was co-chaired by Enrico Nardelli - Informatics Europe President, Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic and Ivica Crnkovic, Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg. Program Chairs were ​Letizia Jaccheri, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Pekka Orponen, Aalto University. 

The central topic of the 2018 Summit is "Informatics Transforms and Renews"

Keynote Speakers

ECSS 2018 features keynote talks by prominent academics, researchers, industry leaders and policy makers, who will present their latest findings and debate the future of the field:

• Luca Cardelli, Microsoft Research and Oxford University
• Mark Coeckelbergh, University of Vienna
• Per Delsing, Chalmers University of Technology
• Georgi Dimitrov, European Commission, Directorate General Education and Culture
• Amy Loutfi, Örebro University
• Wendy Mackay, INRIA
• John Shawe-Taylor, University College London
• May Britt Thorseth, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
• Klaus Tochtermann, ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics
• Hannu Toivonen, University of Helsinki.

Pre-Summit Workshop

• Pre-summit Workshop for Deans, Department Chairs and Research Directors
  October 8, co-chaired by co-chaired by Erika Abraham, RWTH Aachen University, Gregor Engels, Paderborn University, and Mehdi Jazayeri, University of Lugano.

Audience

The ECSS audience includes anyone with a stake in the future of Information and Communication Science and Technology in Europe. Traditionally, many department heads, directors of both industrial and academic labs, and other decision makers make up a substantial share of ECSS participants. However, the scope of the conference is much broader and professionals from all levels and all sectors (academia, industry, government) would benefit from the discussions and critical debate on the future of the discipline.

Purpose of the European Computer Science Summit:

• Debate the future of the discipline, its role and influence in both academy and society.
• Expand the international network of deans, heads of departments, and research directors in Informatics.
• Provide a forum for discussion and the exchange of solutions and best practices on common issues.
• Examine ways in which deans, department heads, and research directors in Informatics can work together to improve teaching and research, implement the Bologna process, can influence the policies of their universities, governments and the EU, and take joint initiatives on many other issues.
• Provide opportunities for liaisons with other groups pursuing relevant interests.

ECSS 2018 is organised by

Sponsored by