[ecoop-info] ECSS 2018 - First Call for Participation

[Svetlana Tikhonenko]

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14th European Computer Science Summit – ECSS 2018
<http://www.informatics-europe.org/ecss/home.html>
"Informatics Transforms and Renews"
8 – 10 October 2018, Gothenburg, Sweden

Pre-Summit Workshop for Deans and Department Heads 
<http://www.informatics-europe.org/ecss/workshop.html>
"Personal Development"
8 October 2018, Gothenburg, Sweden
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The 14th European Computer Science Summit – ECSS 2018 – is the meeting 
place for anyone interested in issues of research, education and policy 
in Informatics. This is a unique opportunity to meet some of the 
prominent decision makers in the Informatics research and education and 
discuss critical issues for the discipline.

ECSS 2018 will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, October 8-10, 2018 and 
will be hosted by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, 
joint between Chalmers University of Technology and University of 
Gothenburg. The summit is co-chaired by Ivica Crnkovic 
<http://www.ivica-crnkovic.net/> and Gordana Dodig Crnkovic 
<https://www.chalmers.se/en/staff/Pages/gordana-dodig-crnkovic.aspx>, 
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chalmers University of 
Technology and University of Gothenburg, and Enrico Nardelli 
<http://www.mat.uniroma2.it/%7Enardelli/>, Informatics Europe President, 
Università di Roma "Tor Vergata". The Program Chairs are Letizia 
Jaccheri <https://www.ntnu.edu/employees/letizia>, Department of 
Computer Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology and 
Pekka Orponen <https://people.aalto.fi/pekka.orponen>, Department of 
Computer Science, Aalto University.

The Summit is devoted to important and timely strategic issues and 
trends regarding all aspects of Informatics, including research, 
education, entrepreneurship, funding, career development, management and 
policies. The ECSS 2018 will bring together:

  * Heads (deans, chairs) of academic Informatics / Computer Science / 
IT departments (schools, faculties, institutes);
  * Research directors and managers of research centres, institutes and 
laboratories, both in public institutions and in industry;
  * Faculty members and researchers from both academia and industry;
  * Members of funding and governmental agencies at European, national 
regional and local level;
  * Experts, advisors and thinkers of numerous key issues like ethics, 
the relation between Informatics and other sciences, the discipline’s 
future and its influence on the academic world and society.

The main theme of the 2018 Summit is: *Informatics Transforms and 
Renews.* Informatics has become a pervasive element of our reality that 
is transforming essentially all areas of science, technology and 
society, bringing with it new insights and new opportunities, yet also 
new risks and challenges. The ECSS 2018 aims to explore this continuing 
process of transformation and renewal set in motion by Informatics, and 
its future outlook, from three perspectives:

  * /Informatics transforms science and technology:/ What radical 
changes are being brought about by Informatics in other sciences, and 
even in the scientific process itself? How is Informatics transforming 
our fundamental technologies and industries, e.g. through digitalisation 
and artificial intelligence?

  * /Informatics transforms society and life/: Is an open society ideal 
sustainable in a world of big data and social media? What is the effect 
of artificial intelligence on the future of work? The reciprocal 
relationship between art and Informatics. The technics and ethics of 
autonomous systems

  * /Informatics in transformation:/ What are the radical Informatics 
ideas emerging now and impacting the future? How to maintain the 
momentum in Informatics research and education, especially in Europe?

*Invited Speakers*

ECSS 2018 will gather a selection of distinguished speakers to address 
the opportunities and challenges that the Informatics transformation 
brings about; it will feature talks on selected “hot” topics, panel 
discussions and examples of successful stories.

A list of speakers includes:

  * Luca Cardelli, Microsoft Research 
<https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/people/luca/>
  * Per Delsing, Chalmers University of Technology 
<https://www.chalmers.se/en/staff/Pages/Per-Delsing.aspx>
  * Georgi Dimitrov, Deputy Head of Unit Innovation and EIT, European 
Commission <https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgi-dimitrov-65aa113/?ppe=1>
  * Amy Loutfi, Örebro University 
<https://www.oru.se/english/employee/amy_loutfi>
  * Wendy Mackay, INRIA <https://www.lri.fr/%7Emackay/>
  * Judith Simon, University of Hamburg 
<https://www.inf.uni-hamburg.de/en/inst/ab/eit/team/simon.html>
  * Klaus Tochtermann, ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics 
<http://www.zbw.eu/en/research/klaus-tochtermann/>

More speakers will be announced soon. Follow the ECSS 2018 website 
<http://www.informatics-europe.org/ecss/home.html> and our Twitter 
<https://twitter.com/informatics_eu> with hashtag #ECSS_2018 
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/ECSS_2018?src=hash> for up to date information.

*Pre-Summit Workshop for Deans and Department Heads* 
<http://www.informatics-europe.org/ecss/workshop.html>

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 workshop will be held on Monday, October 8, co-chaired by Erika 
Abraham <http://www-i2.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/i2/eab/>, Computer 
Science Department, RWTH Aachen University, Gregor Engels 
<https://cs.uni-paderborn.de/en/dbis/staff/arbeitsgruppe/associates/prof-gregor-engels/visit-card/>, 
Department of Computer Science, Paderborn University, and Mehdi Jazayeri 
<http://www.inf.usi.ch/faculty/jazayeri/>, Faculty of Informatics, 
University of Lugano.

The theme of the 2018 Pre-Summit Workshop is *Personal Development*, 
with main focus on deans and professors on the one hand, and PhD 
students on the other hand.

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 offer 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 will be 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)?

Confirmed Speakers:

  * Geraldine Fitzpatrick, Vienna University of Technology 
<http://igw.tuwien.ac.at/hci/people/gfitzpatrick>

The workshop will be a mixture of talks, discussions/knowledge 
sharing/exchange in smaller groups and a consolidation and presentation 
of the results to all participants.
A detailed program and more speakers will be announced soon. Follow the 
Pre-Summit Workshop website 
<http://www.informatics-europe.org/ecss/workshop.html> for up to date 
information.

*Venue/Travel *

*ECSS 2018 Venue Location*

ECSS 2018 and the Pre-Summit Workshop for Deans and Department Heads 
will be held at Chalmers Conference Centre. Chalmers Conference Centre 
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 
<https://www.chalmers.se/en/departments/cse/Pages/default.aspx>, joint 
between Chalmers University of Technology 
<https://www.chalmers.se/en/Pages/default.aspx> and University of 
Gothenburg <https://www.gu.se/english>. 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.

*How to reach ECSS 2018 Venue*

The nearest airport is Gothenburg Landvetter Airport 
<https://www.swedavia.com/landvetter/> which is conveniently located 
close to the center.

  * /By public transportation:/

To reach the conference venue from the Airport, you can take the airport 
bus <https://www.flygbussarna.se/en/landvetter> to "Nils Ericsson 
terminal" in the centre of Gothenburg. Then, take bus 16, destination 
Högsbohöjd, from the stop Nordstan, just outside the terminal, to stop 
Chalmers. From Drottningstorget, also just outside the central station, 
you can take tram 13, heading “Sahlgrenska”, to Chalmers. From 
Brunnsparken, approximately 500 meters from the central station there 
are additional tram lines that go to Chalmers. Please visit Västtrafik 
<https://www.vasttrafik.se/> for details.

  * /By taxi:/

The taxi costs approximately SEK 420 (around 40 EUR) to/from Landvetter 
Airport. It’s recommended to ask for a fixed price and avoid unlicensed 
taxis. The driver should have a taxi ID card clearly displayed in the 
vehicle. Service is included in the taximeter price.

Recommended taxi:
Taxi Göteborg: +46 (0)31 650 00
VIP Taxi: +46(0)31 27 16 11
Taxi Kurir: +46 (0)31 27 27 27

*Accommodation*

You can check the following hotels close to the conference venue 
recommended by the local organising committee:

  * Hotel Scandic Rubinen****
<https://www.scandichotels.com/hotels/sweden/gothenburg/scandic-rubinen>

  * Elite Park Avenue Hotel****
<https://www.elite.se/en/hotels/gothenburg/park-avenue-hotel/>


*Special Offer for Prospective Members*

If your organisation is planning to join Informatics Europe 
<http://www.informatics-europe.org/>, we have a special offer in 
combination with ECSS 2018: your conference registration fee(s) will be 
discounted from the annual membership fee of your institution when 
joining Informatics Europe.

The offer includes the discount of one individual registration fee per 
institution (ECSS main Summit and/or Pre-Summit Workshop) up to the 
value of maximum one annual membership.

For details about membership, please visit our Membership page 
<http://www.informatics-europe.org/membership/why-join.html>.

For further information about this offer, please contact 
administration at informatics-europe.org 
<mailto:administration at informatics-europe.org>.

*Registration to ECSS 2018 will open by end of June.*

*Join us in Gothenburg and connect to the community!*