Friday, December 11, 2015
YodaQA
n the eClub Summer Camp, Peter Baudis has developed the YodaQA, question answering system. Today we are publishing the first presentation of the technology.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Five years at CVUT
I celebrate a five years anniversary at the CVUT Faculty of Electrical Engineering. The academic year 2014/15 is ending and this is an opportunity to a little summary.
I have left Google five years ago and joined the CVUT FEL. That time the startups movement was flourishing in Czechia and I had started the eClub as a platform helping the student’s startups. The idea was to inspire students and show them different career options. I have organized numerous motivational presentations and meetings with successful entrepreneurs. Especially at the beginning I was happy to attract crowds of students. However, after some time I have realized that there are many more students who are interested in doing something real, but do not want to be involved in business.
Beside the entrepreneurial activities my main job was teaching. I was giving classes in the Internet Applications Development and the last two years also the Big Data courses. I have met many great students interested in the latest technology as well as in math and programming. I also was excited to guide many MSc and BSc students and helping them with theses projects. I am also coaching many PhD students, but over the years I have met only a minimum number of students who had created a startup.
Not too many, startups is it strange? Here are some reasons: the PhD’s are attracted by research and theoretical work. MSc and BSc students are very busy to complete all the school exercises. I would say the more responsible students with better grades the less they are tempted by startups. In between many new accelerators and incubators are attracting the students team and are helping them to start the entrepreneurial carrier.
Al in all these reasons led me to slight modification of the original eClub idea and I have organized the first eClub Summer Camp (ESC) last year. I simply created a web page inviting students to join us working on industrial projects during the summer. I was surprised, I have found students interest to work with the Cloud Computing Center (3C) team. The results were also very good and students were happy. Many students work with us till today.
We start this year again with a new round the ESC 2015. Our focus is again on Big Data, Analytics and Mobile. Since last year we have also gained a great support from the industry. We acquired great partners Seznam.cz, AVAST, Alza, Jablotron, Altron, Certicon etc. who are helping us with scholarships. The money is great but the most important is they are asking us to solve real problems. For each problem we get a mentor, a company employee and on top of that we get the real data. This is essential for our machine learning and AI research. There is no better data than more data.
Another big step ahead for eClub is the new offices space we have opened at the beginning of this year. Certicon one of our partners is kindly sponsoring the rent.
Cloud Computing Center (3C) is my group at the CVUT FEL researching the same field as eClub. Here are concentrated all the PhD's, here you can find the latest MSc a nd BSC projects. The eClub is very complementary to the 3C research activities and this is giving us many opportunities for research as well as for teaching. There is a great correlation between the 3C and eClub projects. Many eClubbers continue working with PhD students in research or on their theses. The Summer Camp became a good selection for finding talented students. I believe, that the eClub Summer Camp is complementary and there are not too many opportunities of this type for students. eClub is filling this gap.
I am also not forgetting about the startups. Certainly, teams interested in building a startup will be welcomed in eClub. I am volunteering as a mentor in several incubators and I am trying to follow the whole landscape of new high tech companies. I hope, some of the eClubbers will became great researchers as well as entrepreneurs in the future.
If you still want to join us, check our web pages. Stay tuned an follow me, I will try to report about projects and progress too.
I have left Google five years ago and joined the CVUT FEL. That time the startups movement was flourishing in Czechia and I had started the eClub as a platform helping the student’s startups. The idea was to inspire students and show them different career options. I have organized numerous motivational presentations and meetings with successful entrepreneurs. Especially at the beginning I was happy to attract crowds of students. However, after some time I have realized that there are many more students who are interested in doing something real, but do not want to be involved in business.
Beside the entrepreneurial activities my main job was teaching. I was giving classes in the Internet Applications Development and the last two years also the Big Data courses. I have met many great students interested in the latest technology as well as in math and programming. I also was excited to guide many MSc and BSc students and helping them with theses projects. I am also coaching many PhD students, but over the years I have met only a minimum number of students who had created a startup.
Not too many, startups is it strange? Here are some reasons: the PhD’s are attracted by research and theoretical work. MSc and BSc students are very busy to complete all the school exercises. I would say the more responsible students with better grades the less they are tempted by startups. In between many new accelerators and incubators are attracting the students team and are helping them to start the entrepreneurial carrier.
Al in all these reasons led me to slight modification of the original eClub idea and I have organized the first eClub Summer Camp (ESC) last year. I simply created a web page inviting students to join us working on industrial projects during the summer. I was surprised, I have found students interest to work with the Cloud Computing Center (3C) team. The results were also very good and students were happy. Many students work with us till today.
We start this year again with a new round the ESC 2015. Our focus is again on Big Data, Analytics and Mobile. Since last year we have also gained a great support from the industry. We acquired great partners Seznam.cz, AVAST, Alza, Jablotron, Altron, Certicon etc. who are helping us with scholarships. The money is great but the most important is they are asking us to solve real problems. For each problem we get a mentor, a company employee and on top of that we get the real data. This is essential for our machine learning and AI research. There is no better data than more data.
Another big step ahead for eClub is the new offices space we have opened at the beginning of this year. Certicon one of our partners is kindly sponsoring the rent.
Cloud Computing Center (3C) is my group at the CVUT FEL researching the same field as eClub. Here are concentrated all the PhD's, here you can find the latest MSc a nd BSC projects. The eClub is very complementary to the 3C research activities and this is giving us many opportunities for research as well as for teaching. There is a great correlation between the 3C and eClub projects. Many eClubbers continue working with PhD students in research or on their theses. The Summer Camp became a good selection for finding talented students. I believe, that the eClub Summer Camp is complementary and there are not too many opportunities of this type for students. eClub is filling this gap.
I am also not forgetting about the startups. Certainly, teams interested in building a startup will be welcomed in eClub. I am volunteering as a mentor in several incubators and I am trying to follow the whole landscape of new high tech companies. I hope, some of the eClubbers will became great researchers as well as entrepreneurs in the future.
If you still want to join us, check our web pages. Stay tuned an follow me, I will try to report about projects and progress too.
Friday, April 17, 2015
eClub Summer Camp, the best way to enjoy summer
I am proud to announce the eClub Summer Camp (ESC) 2015. Students join us to work on Big Data, Machine learning, Mobile apps, IoT etc. We offer great projects and scholarships. Startups and students with their own projects are welcomed too.
About twenty five students joined us in eClub Summer Camp (ESC) last summer. ESC participants were excited and many already asked when we start this summer.
When do we start? The good news is we are already opened in the new eClub incubator in The Blox, Evropská 11, 160 00 Praha 6.
Who can join?. ESC is for students, foreign students, doctoral students, anybody who is interested in building something new and innovative. We will also welcome startups teams with their own interesting projects.
What are the requirements? ESC will be opened for all university students in academic year 2015/16. We require a commitment of working minimum of 6 consecutive weeks in the ESC incubator on a chosen project.
What are the benefits? You may chose from a large number of interesting industrial projects. eClub will provide experienced mentors to help getting productive as soon as possible. We will organize presentations about new technologies, entrepreneurship introductory talks delivered by top experts etc. We will offer a scholarships up to ten thousands CZK per month. You will gain access to a large computer cluster.
What are the projects? We have attracted many more partners this year. ČVUT and companies Seznam, Avast, Jablotron, Certicon, Alza, Altron and the ČVUT Medialab foundation will support us not only with scholarships, but they are also providing interesting projects and data. The projects focus on Data, Mobile and Startup. The Data category includes projects from many areas, such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence etc. In Mobile we want to welcome students or teams focusing on mobile devices, wearables and Internet of Things. We will also consider any suggestions for interesting projects in any high-tech field.
If you are interested let us know by filling-in this questionnaire, please. Stay tuned we will get back with more details soon. If you have any questions, just ask. Make your summer productive!
About twenty five students joined us in eClub Summer Camp (ESC) last summer. ESC participants were excited and many already asked when we start this summer.
When do we start? The good news is we are already opened in the new eClub incubator in The Blox, Evropská 11, 160 00 Praha 6.
Who can join?. ESC is for students, foreign students, doctoral students, anybody who is interested in building something new and innovative. We will also welcome startups teams with their own interesting projects.
What are the requirements? ESC will be opened for all university students in academic year 2015/16. We require a commitment of working minimum of 6 consecutive weeks in the ESC incubator on a chosen project.
What are the benefits? You may chose from a large number of interesting industrial projects. eClub will provide experienced mentors to help getting productive as soon as possible. We will organize presentations about new technologies, entrepreneurship introductory talks delivered by top experts etc. We will offer a scholarships up to ten thousands CZK per month. You will gain access to a large computer cluster.
What are the projects? We have attracted many more partners this year. ČVUT and companies Seznam, Avast, Jablotron, Certicon, Alza, Altron and the ČVUT Medialab foundation will support us not only with scholarships, but they are also providing interesting projects and data. The projects focus on Data, Mobile and Startup. The Data category includes projects from many areas, such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence etc. In Mobile we want to welcome students or teams focusing on mobile devices, wearables and Internet of Things. We will also consider any suggestions for interesting projects in any high-tech field.
If you are interested let us know by filling-in this questionnaire, please. Stay tuned we will get back with more details soon. If you have any questions, just ask. Make your summer productive!
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
eClub new offices
all eClubbers are excited, thanks to our partners we are moving to a new office space located next to Dejvice CVUT campus. Are you BSc, MSc or PhD student, join us, we are offering a great infrastructure mentors, selection of interesting projects and scholarships. eClub will also accelerate new students startups and organise students industry cooperation.
eClub is looking forward to bring together talented BSc, MSc and PhD students who have new, interesting ideas and want working on them. For those who do not have their own project idea we are also offering a range of interesting projects from our partners. The projects may turn to dissertation, semestral or diploma work. We will connect you with experts in the industry who will help in the initial phases of the project. We also will provide a university mentors. You will work in a great new environment with other students. We also will help you with a scholarship. We have available large computational cluster for all students.
If you are interested to join us, do not hesitate and send us an email.
eClub is looking forward to bring together talented BSc, MSc and PhD students who have new, interesting ideas and want working on them. For those who do not have their own project idea we are also offering a range of interesting projects from our partners. The projects may turn to dissertation, semestral or diploma work. We will connect you with experts in the industry who will help in the initial phases of the project. We also will provide a university mentors. You will work in a great new environment with other students. We also will help you with a scholarship. We have available large computational cluster for all students.
If you are interested to join us, do not hesitate and send us an email.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
A week of presentations
Yesterday I have started new course in the Big Data Technologies. The main focus is to give students hands on experience with the most popular Big Data framework Apache Hadoop. Students will solve basic problems from information retrieval on the Wikipedia data.
Today I am giving a presentation in a 5G course about Cloud Computing. The 5G RN is planned for 2020 and will bring tremendous improvement is speed and latency allowing machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, including remote control (I2M). This will be a driving platform for real time Internet of Things (IoT).
Tomorrow I will present our activities in eClub in a conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The goal of the meeting is to enable the foreign industry university cooperation. Recently we have been very lucky to find local industrial partners requiring solving challenging problems and we have established great cooperation and I will write a separate blog soon.
On Saturday I am joining the New Media Inspiration conference, which is about the digital lifestyle and is bringing together experts from many different areas. I am joining with a presentation about speech recognition, my old topic.
At first glimpse the topics may seem to be very incoherent, but in my view they pretty well show the latest trends. The Cloud Computing, Big Data and analytics are pushing ahead new kind of applications, such as the personal assistants (Siri, Google Now, Cortana). They all try to learn the human behavior and help people in everyday activities. They live on the most personal and most widespread device the smartphone. The are implemented as a SaaS in the cloud and people communicate with them by voice, the most natural way. All this is running on wireless networks. And the business part? The innovation, future, smart applications are created by independent developers or startups and this is a where the eClub is coming in play. We try to find motivated people and students put them together and let them work on interesting problems. Industrial partners are helping us with keeping focus as well as with funding.
Yes, we are looking for new students and startups. If you are interested to join us in eClub let me know.
Today I am giving a presentation in a 5G course about Cloud Computing. The 5G RN is planned for 2020 and will bring tremendous improvement is speed and latency allowing machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, including remote control (I2M). This will be a driving platform for real time Internet of Things (IoT).
Tomorrow I will present our activities in eClub in a conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The goal of the meeting is to enable the foreign industry university cooperation. Recently we have been very lucky to find local industrial partners requiring solving challenging problems and we have established great cooperation and I will write a separate blog soon.
On Saturday I am joining the New Media Inspiration conference, which is about the digital lifestyle and is bringing together experts from many different areas. I am joining with a presentation about speech recognition, my old topic.
At first glimpse the topics may seem to be very incoherent, but in my view they pretty well show the latest trends. The Cloud Computing, Big Data and analytics are pushing ahead new kind of applications, such as the personal assistants (Siri, Google Now, Cortana). They all try to learn the human behavior and help people in everyday activities. They live on the most personal and most widespread device the smartphone. The are implemented as a SaaS in the cloud and people communicate with them by voice, the most natural way. All this is running on wireless networks. And the business part? The innovation, future, smart applications are created by independent developers or startups and this is a where the eClub is coming in play. We try to find motivated people and students put them together and let them work on interesting problems. Industrial partners are helping us with keeping focus as well as with funding.
Yes, we are looking for new students and startups. If you are interested to join us in eClub let me know.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Angry Birds in eClub
This week the best AI researchers met in Prague at the European Conference on Artificial Intelligence ECAI 2014. As part of the conference the organizers prepared an interesting competition Angry Birds. The goal of this game is to shoot birds to destroy pigs. Teams of researchers were competing in designing an intelligent agent, computer program playing the game without human intervention, ideally better than humans. At the beginning developers are provided with a sample program with components returning the scene screenshots, simple trajectory planner and playing control component. The trick is deciding how and where to shoot birds to kill all pigs. The agent first searches the scene for pigs and then estimates possible targets and finds the trajectories to kill them all. Sounds simple? Not at all! The pigs are hiding behind different objects and to choose the best shot, the best strategy is very difficult. Radim and Karel decided to generalize several strategies solving the game hurdles in all levels. The agent estimated which strategy to play to achieve the overall damage. It took quite some time but at the end they have designed the best agent, they are the winners. Great job! Needless to say, they were very lucky working with a great mentor Tomas in the eClub Summer Camp.
Angry Birds is just a game, but the technology behind is very useful for solving real problems and the lessons learned will be useful.
There are about twenty students working in the eClub Summer Camp on different AI mainly machine learning problems and mobile applications design. Check our web pages to learn more.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
ESC Jump Start Meeting
Students met with the mentors at the first eClub Summer Camp Jump Start Meeting yesterday. This was the unofficial ESC opening. The real start is on July 14. Here is a short report for those of you who have missed the first meeting.
Let me first say thank you to all students and mentors who spent almost the whole morning discussing various projects and introducing their ideas.
What was the program? At the beginning I have briefly explained the organization and here is a list of the main milestones:
The other important thing is the scholarship. It will be granted by our sponsor CVUT MediaLab Foundation. It is collecting money from the industry sponsors and it uses the funds to support activities such as ESC. Therefore to get the scholarship all the participants of the ESC need to sign a contract with the Foundation. Currently, I am working on the wording. I need to iron out the last details and as soon as it is finished we will share it with you.
I have also updated the eClub web pages, check it out. I will be step by step adding there all the program, materials, such as the Contract, Non-disclosure Agreement, logos, templates of documents, program of presentations and other stuff, stay tuned.
Yes, it is a lot of work in front of us, this is just the first meeting, but it was very encouraging. I am looking forward to see great results, mobile and Internet apps etc. Follow us on eClub web pages, Facebook or search for the #CTUECLUB or #CTUESC hashtags.
Let me first say thank you to all students and mentors who spent almost the whole morning discussing various projects and introducing their ideas.
What was the program? At the beginning I have briefly explained the organization and here is a list of the main milestones:
- Chose the project and its name.
- Sign a CVUT MediaLab Foundation (our sponsor) contract.
- Sign up on the contact board.
- Set the project web page - include eClub and CVUT MediaLab logos.
- Write an essay.
- To access the computational resources sign up to Metacentrum (Vondra).
- If you need an access to data in Metacentrum sign a NDA.
- Prepare the state of the art technology overview.
- Select the best approach, solution.
- Program, run or copy the selected approach.
- Finish and improve the solution.
- Write a final report.
- Twitter Translation
- Cloud projects
- Large Scale Hierarchical Classification
- Rest Search Project
- DHC user scenarions
- New Car UI
- Support Vector Machine
- Machine learning at scale
- General Game Playing for Atari 2600
- Scalable predictive models
- Predictor factory
- Angry birds
The other important thing is the scholarship. It will be granted by our sponsor CVUT MediaLab Foundation. It is collecting money from the industry sponsors and it uses the funds to support activities such as ESC. Therefore to get the scholarship all the participants of the ESC need to sign a contract with the Foundation. Currently, I am working on the wording. I need to iron out the last details and as soon as it is finished we will share it with you.
I have also updated the eClub web pages, check it out. I will be step by step adding there all the program, materials, such as the Contract, Non-disclosure Agreement, logos, templates of documents, program of presentations and other stuff, stay tuned.
Yes, it is a lot of work in front of us, this is just the first meeting, but it was very encouraging. I am looking forward to see great results, mobile and Internet apps etc. Follow us on eClub web pages, Facebook or search for the #CTUECLUB or #CTUESC hashtags.
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