Objectives
Key objectives for the HLC area were identified by the
community during the MI20 HLC meeting (October, 2016). We aim to
order these community-generated objectives into a series of
Roadmap Themes which relate to key topics associated with the
development of HLC from Foundational Components of HLC
(Years 1+2), Scaling-up HLC systems (Year 3) to Applications
of HLC (Years 4+5).
| Year |
Phase |
Topic 1 |
Topic 2 |
| Y1 |
Foundational (1) |
Comprehensibility |
Representation Change |
| Y2 |
Foundational (2) |
Small data learning |
Memory and forgetting |
| Y3 |
Scaling-up |
Bridging high and low-level |
Verbal and non-verbal |
| Y4 |
Applications (1) |
Intelligent tutoring |
Programming assistance |
| Y5 |
Applications (2) |
Social agents |
Scientific assistance |
The topics above will be used by the Management and Grants
Committee as a guide to preferred areas for funding of submitted
Kick-Start projects in successive years of the network. Although
Kick-Start submissions will be encouraged in the indicated
areas, the committee will also support strong Kick-Start
applications in other areas of HLC research.
Activities
The following are the key activities which will be carried out by the network.
- International Workshops International workshops will be held biennially, and will provide an opportunity for HLC research developed both within the network to be presented at a special-purpose venue. The format will follow that of a Machine Intelligence workshop, e.g. MI20-HLC (2016), consisting of around 20 invited talks and an equal number of short paper presentations.
- Summer school/tutorials The biennial workshop will be preceded by a summer school in which invited specialists provide in depth introductions to new research areas. The lectures will provide an introduction to the area for PhD students and post-doctoral researchers in the area.
- Scientific Advisory Commitee The committee will be biennial and will immediately follow the conferences. The committee will assess ongoing work presented at the conference and submit a report assessing progress and advising new areas for development.
- Management and grant committee meetings Management meetings will be conducted on an annual basis. The committee will review progress of the grant and update the roadmap document. They will select Kick-Start projects, travel grants and outreach/workshop activities to be funded from those that have been submitted at a preceding advertised submission deadline.
- Outreach/workshops Up to three grants will be supported per year. They will be aimed at extending work to SMEs and other non-academic partners who may benefit from the research conducted as part of the network. Funding will be provided for a proposed series of two-way visits between an academic group and an identified SME. Each visit will involve presentations and discussions on joint research. A report on the outcome of the activity will be submitted to the Management and Grant Committee for review and feedback.
- Feasibility collaborative Kick-Starts These projects will provide funds of up to £40k for inter-discplinary research studies in HLC. They will be aimed at providing initial work, which if successful could be developed into a larger scale application to the UK Research Councils or other funders. When assessed, projects will be prioritised relative to the themes associated with the appropriates Kick-Start study calls (see table above).
- Travel grants Travel grants will be provided to
successful applicants for travel associated with research
visits between network members and local and overseas groups
in pursuit of HLC research. The travel grant is for up to £1K
for travels within the UK and up to £2k for international
visits (per person, per year). A maximum of two will be
granted per year.
- Industrial engagement funding Funding of up to £2K
will be provided against matched funding for
events/tutorials/projects involving engagement with UK-based
companies. Applicants are encouraged to ask advice from the
Knowledge Transfer Network (email: ali.anjomshoaa at
ktn-uk.org) on possible companies to approach. Success of such
events will be taken into account in consideration of Innovate
UK grant submission endorsement.
- Innovate UK grant submission endorsement The
Committee will review applications for endorsements to the
Research Council of projects to be submitted by HLC members to
Innovate UK. Applications must be accompanied by the Case for
Support and Budget summary for an Innovate UK
application. If successful, endorsements will be
provided in the form of a Letter of Support from the HLC
network.
- EPSRC grant submission endorsement The Committee will
review applications for endorsements to the EPSRC of projects
to be submitted by HLC members. Applications must
be accompanied by the Case for Support and Budget
summary for an EPSRC application. If successful,
endorsements will be provided in the form of a Letter of
Support from the HLC network.