Human Brain Project Workshop
Published: 24 January 2020
Modern trends in cognitive systems: HBP Curriculum Workshop hosted in Glasgow
As part of the Human Brain Project’s Curriculum Programme “Interdisciplinary Brain Science”, 35 early-career researchers and senior scientists from all over Europe met at the University of Glasgow School of Psychology from 11-13 December 2019 to discuss “Modern trends in cognitive architectures and systems: From theory to implementation in natural and artificial agents”.
The workshop was organised as a collaboration of the Human Brain Project (HBP) Education Programme, Prof. Lars Muckli (University of Glasgow) and Prof. Tony Prescott (University of Sheffield). Young researchers from within and outside the HBP, coming from fields such as neuroscience, psychology, computer science or robotics, met to learn about the latest advances in the understanding of how the brain works, computes and generates behaviour and how this understanding can be implemented in artificial cognitive systems and robots.
The three-day workshop offered a variety of talks on modelling brain activity and social behaviour, designing artificial agents as well as insights into human-robot interaction. The talks were complemented by hands-on tutorials on analysing and visualising brain imaging data and programming the MiRo robot, during which participants could apply the input of the talks. In addition, participants also had the chance to discover the places where data is gathered during visits of the various University of Glasgow Glasgow School of Psychology’s labs. They visited an MEG lab, witnessed an MRI experiment, got to know the Face Research Lab and engaged with social robots.
The workshop also provided an opportunity for participants to talk about their own research and discuss their projects with both fellow students and senior researchers during the poster and student presentation sessions. Social gatherings and a panel session about current challenges and trends in cognitive systems opened further time for discussions.
These three days fully packed with new insights and discussions were not only very informative for participants, but also enabled them to get in touch with fellow students from all over Europe and laid the foundation for future collaborations. The HBP Education Programme Team thanks the local organisers as well as all participants and speakers for their valuable contributions and some exciting days in beautiful Glasgow.
Judith Kathrein, MSc
Project Manager
Human Brain Project - Education Programme
First published: 24 January 2020