INESC ID, INOV and INESC MN together in the 1st INESC LX annual meeting
On November 3rd, 2023, took place the first joint Meeting of INESC Lx, a consortium of the INESC institutions based in Lisbon: INESC-ID, INOV and INESC MN. Over 270 members of the three institutions met at Hotel Golf Mar, near Lisbon, for a full day of discussion and networking. The main goal of the meeting was to present the work being developed by the three R&D Institutes, all committed to advancing scientific research, technological development, and innovation, while building a networking environment to strengthen the collaborative work among the INESC Lx group.
Leonel Sousa, President of INESC Lx, opened the Welcome Session highlighting INESC Lx mission and R&D+i activities since it was launched in 2020, followed by a video message by José Tribolet, Founder, and ex-President of INESC (Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores), and Instituto Superior Técnico Emeritus Professor.
Teresa Almeida, the President of the Commission for Regional Development and Coordination of Lisbon and Tagus Valley (CCDR LVT), participated as an invited speaker and gave an overview of the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region (RLVT) numbers and initiatives in the field of R&D. According to Teresa Almeida, the region has almost 40% of the country’s researchers and 43% of the R&E activities. In her opinion, INESC serves as an important player in this region, being involved in a high number of Agendas of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The meeting featured both joint and parallel sessions, offering an overall perspective of each Institute’s competences and main accomplishments.
After the Opening Session, INESC ID hosted its own parallel session providing an overview of the Institute’s activities by the Board of Directors. Inês Lynce, President at INESC ID, opened the session with an insightful look into the Institution’s history and main activities, followed by a presentation by Nuno Roma, Chief Financial Officer, on its financial performance. João Paulo Carvalho, Director of HR, spoke about the Institute’s human resources and presented the most recent collaborators, including researchers and support staff. Finally, Luís Rodrigues, President of the Scientific Council, introduced the main challenges expected for the next year, namely the upcoming FCT Evaluation of the R&D Units.
At the end of the session, INESC ID presented its two annual distinctions: Rui Castro was named the Best 2023 Researcher and Ricardo Rei the Best 2023 Ph.D. student.
In the afternoon, the second INESC ID session was fully dedicated to its Ph.D. students, being the first time, all doctoral students were invited to attend the annual event. The “Through the eyes of Ph.D. students” discussion panel, chaired by Susana Vinga, member of INESC ID Board of Directors, was an opportunity for students Ana Rita Baião, Catarina Botelho, David Calhas, Diogo Carvalho, Diogo Nunes and Renata C. Branco to share their experience at INESC ID, talk about the main challenges they face, and offer valuable inputs to the Institution’s Governance and community of researchers on what can be done to improve their experience.
At the end of the day, the room was again full for the Closing session that had the privilege to count on the presence of the Portuguese Minister of the Economy and Maritime Affairs, António Costa Silva. The minister highlighted the work being done by INESC Lx and the importance of its participation in several mobilizing agendas and European projects, challenging the group to keep its significant contribution to the R&D sector in Portugal.
The first INESC Lx meeting was surely a privileged platform to share ideas and foster new research opportunities, exploring the potential for future technological advancements and collaborations between all three Institutions.
Upcoming Events
NII International Internship Programme Presentation and Q&A by Emmanuel Planas
On April 30, Emmanuel Planas, the acting director of the Global Liaison Office (GLO) and responsible for the internationalisation program at the National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Tokyo, Japan, will give a presentation to introduce the NII and its internship program to INESC-ID students and IST’s Master’s in Computer Science students.
Date & Time: April 30, 14h00
Where: Sala Polivalente, Técnico – Taguspark
“The NII International Internship Program is an exchange activity with students from institutions with which NII has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement. This incentive program aims at giving interns the opportunity for professional and personal development by engaging in research activities under the guidance and supervision of NII researchers.
The NII Internship Program is open to Research Master’s and PhD students who are currently enrolled at one of the partner institutions that have signed an MOU agreement with NII.”
Educational Workshop on Responsible AI for Peace and Security (UNODA)
On June 6 and 7, The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) are offering a selected group of technical students the opportunity to join a 2-day educational workshop on Responsible AI for peace and security.
The third workshop in the series will be held in Porto Salvo, Portugal, in collaboration with GAIPS, INESC-ID, and Instituto Superior Técnico. The workshop is open to students affiliated with universities in Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa, Oceania, and Asia.
Date & Time: June 6 a 7
Where: IST – Tagus Park, Porto Salvo
Registration deadline: April 8
Summary: “As with the impacts of Artificial intelligence (AI) on people’s day-to-day lives, the impacts for international peace and security include wide-ranging and significant opportunities and challenges. AI can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but its dual-use nature means that peaceful applications can also be misused for harmful purposes such as political disinformation, cyberattacks, terrorism, or military operations. Meanwhile, those researching and developing AI in the civilian sector remain too often unaware of the risks that the misuse of civilian AI technology may pose to international peace and security and unsure about the role they can play in addressing them. Against this background, UNODA and SIPRI launched, in 2023, a three-year educational initiative on Promoting Responsible Innovation in AI for Peace and Security. The initiative, which is supported by the Council of the European Union, aims to support greater engagement of the civilian AI community in mitigating the unintended consequences of civilian AI research and innovation for peace and security. As part of that initiative, SIPRI and UNODA are organising a series of capacity building workshops for STEM students (at PhD and Master levels). These workshops aim to provide the opportunity for up-and-coming AI practitioners to work together and with experts to learn about a) how peaceful AI research and innovation may generate risks for international peace and security; b) how they could help prevent or mitigate those risks through responsible research and innovation; c) how they could support the promotion of responsible AI for peace and security.”