DataScientia Event 2024: Reflections from Partners
The DataScientia Event: Community, Projects, and Education 2024 was successfully held in Trento from September 27 to 29, bringing together participants for three days of collaboration, innovation, and learning. The program featured a dynamic lineup of presentations, including innovative AI projects, inspiring keynote speeches, interactive discussions, and hands-on workshops.
The goal of the DataScientia event was to unite scholars and experts from partner universities while also welcoming researchers and professionals eager to explore potential collaborations. We are proud to highlight our success in achieving this goal, as we brought together 65 participants from around the world who actively engaged in the event and became part of our growing community.
DataScientia aims to expand our reach even further next year by encouraging more collaborations and bringing together a diverse group of participants to grow globally. We were pleased to see so many experts from different countries and continents come to Italy, demonstrating the growing interest in our community. We believe in establishing solid partnerships and continuing to work together on our initiatives while welcoming new ideas.
After our event, we embraced the opportunity to gather feedback from participants to understand their impressions. We aimed to discover their motivations for attending, their expectations, and their favourite moments. The goal was not only to identify key highlights but also to gather valuable feedback for next year’s planning. With a commitment to promoting diversity and enhancing community engagement, we appreciate hearing the thoughts and reflections of our attendees.
We had the chance to speak with Professor O. Olugbara, the Executive Dean and Professor of Computer Science at Durban University of Technology, after the event’s third day. He expressed his appreciation for the event and shared his inspiration for hosting a similar event in 2026 in South Africa to present the projects they are working on.
Professor Olugbara shared his enjoyment of the event, stating that it was well-organized and engaging, with full of commitment. He emphasized the importance of academics and researchers staying updated with field trends. “In my area of computer science, particularly in shared intelligence, this program aligns perfectly with my interests,” Olugbara remarked.
He enthusiastically shared their exciting data science, AI, and big data projects, facilitated by collaborating with the University of Toronto. “There are also plans to launch an innovative ICT program focused on data science,” says Olugbara.
In a post-event interview about Knowledge Graph Embedding, Amarsanaa Ganbold, an Associate Professor in the Department of Information and Computer Sciences at the National University of Mongolia (NUM), and Rui Zhang, an Associate Professor at the College of Computer Science and Technology at Jilin University, mentioned their participiation in this year’s DataScientia event.
Professor Ganbold mentioned that he had the opportunity to meet with Fausto Giunchiglia, the founder of Data Scientia, after the event to discuss various collaborations, including education and research. Besides, he commented that learning about other partners’ work over the past few years was enlightening.
Professor Jahna Otterbacher delivered the speech that had the greatest impact on Amarsanaa Garnbold. He stated, “I learned about integrating research with teaching and considered the full potential of research in AI education. It presents a valuable opportunity to collect data through the iLog.” He also mentioned that he found the language component of the sessions particularly appealing.
Rui Zhang says that his interest includes knowledge representation related to neural networks, utilizing machine learning and deep learning techniques. The professor aspires to work with Data Scientia in both research and education.
He finds The DataScientia Event: Community, Projects, and Education 2024 an ideal platform for establishing new partnerships. He particularly appreciates Simone’s efforts in fostering collaboration in teaching, especially in Knowledge Graph Embedding (KGE) courses, which are organized into various categories that present opportunities for potential collaborations.
Rui Zhang also acknowledges the significant contributions of Fausto Guinchiglia, who consistently brings original and expansive ideas to the data-sharing domain. He remarked that he has already discussed a collaboration proposal in DataScientia. Besides, he noted Mongolian universities’ interest during the teaching presentations and expressed a desire for future collaborations. Rui Zhang also demonstrated his enthusiasm about the growing involvement of African universities in the project.
Bringing together all the insights expressed, the interviewers had a positive impression of the event and arrived with various goals and expectations. It underscores the value of bringing together academics and researchers to exchange ideas and promote diversity. Feedback from participants reveals a strong desire to unite as a community and work toward shared objectives. DataScientia wholeheartedly embraces this vision, and we are committed to advancing it further.
We sincerely appreciate all the valuable insights and feedback our partners share, which help us improve and grow. We always welcome new participants and strive to make the event even more enriching. Stay tuned for updates on DataScientia 2025!
Keywords: collaboration, partnership, interview, diversity.
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Tetiana Bihun
Author, Content Creator
