The following workshops will form part of the 2024 ACSW in-person program. Attendance at the workshops is open to anyone attending ACSW in-person.
Building Genuine Educational Partnerships with Industry
Tuesday 30 January 2024, 14:35 – 17:30
Conveners
- Prof. Richard Buckland, University of New South Wales
- A/Prof. Rachel Cardell-Oliver, University of Western Australia
Co-teaching university courses with industry is an area of increasing interest because it gives students rich insights into professional practice and grows the teaching pool for the very large cohorts of students studying computing subjects. This hands-on workshop will explore how to create and maintain effective educational partnerships. The first part of the workshop will show and explore examples of successful partnerships. Following afternoon tea, participants will do some planning for getting started themselves and get feedback and suggestions on it.
Keynote speaker: Professor Richard Buckland, UNSW
Professor Richard Buckland leads the SECedu Australian network of educators and professionals. Founded as a partnership between UNSW and Commonwealth Bank, SECedu combines the talents of Australia’s top computer science schools with the country’s largest and most respected cyber security teams to train the next generation of cyber security professionals. The network aims to address the growing need for cyber security professionals in today’s digitally invested world, by building industry capacity to battle the menace of cyber intrusions, identify theft, malware attacks and a host of other online perils.
Useful Links (workshop pre-reading):
- SECedu: Empowering the cybersecurity community of tomorrow
www.sec.edu.au
Improving ARC Success Rates for Computer Science research
Wednesday 31 January 2024, 16:00 – 17:30
Conveners
- Dr Robert Mun, Former ARC Executive Director, Engineering and Information Science, 2018-2023
- Prof Leon Sterling, University of Melbourne
- A/Prof Rachel Cardell-Oliver, University of Western Australia
A regular discussion topic at ACSW meetings is concerningly low ARC success rates for Computer Science proposals.
For example in 2023: ARC funding: Crisis, what crisis?
Only 11% of proposals were successful in the latest funding round. Comparative funding success rates were 19% last year, 17% the year before, and 31% the year before that for a similar number of applications. The problem and its causes are complex, but there are things CS academics can do as a community to improve the situation.
This workshop is an opportunity to have a serious chat … Come along and have your say.
Workshop (1.5 hours):
- Keynote: Dr Robert Mun, Former ARC Executive Director, Engineering and Information Science, 2018-2023
Observations of Computing proposals - Reviewing: How to write a quality review for a Computer Science grant
- Grant writing: Feedback on common mistakes people make in initial drafts of their proposal, including overuse of technical terms, and over-claims.
Useful Links (workshop pre-reading):
- ARC: How to write a quality review: https://www.arc.gov.au/funding-research/peer-review/how-write-quality-peer-review
- ARC: How to Pitch an EOI (new DP 2-stage application process): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEFrZABjVPQ&feature=youtu.be
Workshop on Generative AI, Problems, Risks, Opportunities and Responses
Thursday 1 February 2024, 11:30 – 13:00
Convener
- Geoff Webb, Monash University Data Futures Institute
Large Language Models have made extraordinary advances in recent times. On the back of its spectacular success, many knowledgeable voices have been forecasting doomsday outcomes whereby AI systems may subjugate humanity. This workshop will start with a talk by Geoff Webb in which he will share his thoughts on the potential benefits and likely risks of generative AI and what we should be doing about them. Participants will then discuss the issues in small groups before reporting back and concluding.