Computational Neuroscience, Neurotechnology and Neuro-inspired AI Autumn School

About the School

The Autumn School will be held at the Intelligent Systems Research Centre (ISRC), a major research unit within the School of Computing, Engineering and Intelligent Systems at Ulster University in Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland. This is the second ISRC-CN³ Autumn School. The ISRC is dedicated to the creation of intelligent computational systems, taking inspiration from, and learning from, biology and neuroscience. Its research is focused on the design, development and implementation of intelligent computational systems that are capable of learning, reasoning, adapting and evolving and interacting with their environment in a manner which humans would consider “intelligent”.

Academic researchers at the ISRC and invited external speakers will contribute to the delivery of this 5-day School, which consists of lectures and labs. Labs will consist of modelling and analysing data related to the lectures to consolidate the lectures’ content and encourage active and creative participation. Attendees will have the opportunity to present and share their research work on the final day. Class materials will be made available in advance of the event. Required software (Python and MATLAB) should be downloaded and configured before the event. Foundational topics in mathematical techniques and computer programming will be provided.

In-person attendees are limited to 40 people. Selection of in-person applications will be based on suitability of research interests, reason(s) and motivation(s) for attending, and a mandatory support/reference letter – information will be requested during application.

The School aims to be inclusive by providing high accessibility including those who are underrepresented and/or with caregiving responsibilities, disabilities, and limited funds, and bursaries may be available (please state this in the application). In light of the ongoing pandemic, the School will adopt a hybrid (physical and virtual) format, and if the pandemic situation becomes worse, it will be a completely virtual event.

Who should apply to this School?

Although the School will focus on research communities especially within the Island of Ireland due to its lack of such training, wider participations are welcomed. We particularly encourage applications from advanced undergraduate, masters, graduate diploma, early-stage career (Ph.D. students and postdoctoral) researchers, clinical researchers, and research scientists and engineers in industrial and clinical sectors. Ideally, participants will have some mathematical background at the UK GCE A level / Irish Leaving Certificate level, some familiarity in computer/scientific programming in languages such as Python or MATLAB, or some background knowledge in biology, neuroscience, medicine or psychology.

What costs will be covered for selected participants?

For in-person attendees, lunches, tea/coffee breaks and a formal dinner on the 27th October (Day 4) will be covered. There will also be a city tour and social activities on the 24th October (Day 1).