Summary of NZCSRSC 2010

During the mid-trimester break 12-15 April 2010, Victoria University of Wellington hosted the 8th New Zealand Computer Science Research Student Conference (NZCSRSC) on the Kelburn campus. The conference was organised and run by postgraduate computer science students from the School of Engineering and Computer Science. The aim of the conference is to promote and strengthen the nationwide community of ICT research students.

There were a number of exciting keynote speakers. Nat Torkington a Victoria University alumnus talked about The Career-Spotter’s Field Guide, which explained about life beyond the ivy-covered walls of academia. Nat drew upon his vast experience and anecdotal evidence from working in small startups to large corporations. Rob O'Callahan from Mozilla talked about how computer science can change the world. Rob encouraged people to think hard about what research problems one should solve in order to make a significant impact on society. Sebastian Castro from the NZ Registry Services talked about A Day in the Life of the Internet project which collects traffic data from key locations of the Internet for analysis to provide insight and questions about the future of the Internet. Miriam Lips from Victoria University of Wellington talked about the value of e-government research for Designing 21st Century Government. There was an entertaining panel on what are your options once you have completed your Masters or PhD degree. The panelists ranged from people working in academia, government organisations, industrial research labs, startups, and large corporations. They gave the audience interesting insight into their careers since completing their PhDs, and offered some good advice to follow.

A range of workshops gave students the opportunity to build on their research skills. Workshop topics ranged from critical thinking, thesis writing, time management, presentation and poster skills, Maori and Pacific Nation students engaging in computer science research, women in the New Zealand IT industry, preparing to succeed in the job market, how to get yourself the job you want, the publication game, commercialisation and intellectual property in the IT, to discussions on careers in research and the industry in general.

A core component of the annual Conference are the presentations and posters from students. This year 33 graduates studying at New Zealand universities gave presentations and the standard of talks were of high quality, while 21 graduates had short papers presented as research posters. The Intergen best paper presentation was awarded to Michael Walmsley, “Automatic Adaption of Dynamic Second Language Reading Texts” and the IET best poster to Stefan Schliebs, “Heterogeneous Probabilistic Models for Optimization and Modelling of Evolving Spiking Neural Networks”.

The conference not only gave student researchers an understanding of what others are doing, but also the opportunity to interact with others who are motivated and passionate about their work. But it wasn't all work. Highlights of the conference included the powhiri and kapahaka group at Pipitea Marae, Google opening dinner, Pingar social night that involved ten-pin bowling, and Careers Industry Night where a number of companies were present to recruit eager graduate students.

The conference was made possible with the tremendous effort by the organising committee, local university contacts, and support from our key sponsors: Google, Intergen, Pingar, The IET, InternetNZ, VicLink, and Victoria University of Wellington. We are also grateful for the valuable assistance provided by the following people: Sue Hall, Ally Reid, Peter Andreae, David Pearce, John Hine, Doug Hauraki, Ian Witten, Tim Bell, Robert Amor, Rachel Blagojevic, and our workshop presenters. Further information, such as presentation slides from workshops and recordings of some keynote speakers are available on the web site. We look forward to next year’s conference at Massey University, Palmerston North.

Craig Anslow,
General Chair
NZCSRSC 2010

An Interview with Intergen

The organising committee recently caught up with Emillie McKenna from Intergen who are a Gold Sponsor of NZCSRSC 2010.

NZCSRSC: Who and what is Intergen?

Emillie: We are proud to be yellow. We are proud to be geeks. We’re big on talent, big on empowering our people, and there’s no mistaking us in a crowd. We’re passionate about what we do and proud of what we’ve done. We think big, we innovate, we play hard and we work smart. We’ve been on the block for over 10 years and have grown like topsy since the early days. We have more than 200 staff spread over our offices in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Sydney and Perth, and we’re still growing - which is where you come in.

NZCSRSC: What does Intergen do?

Emillie: Intergen specialises in the design, development and integration of business knowledge, information technology and creativity. We are New Zealand’s most experienced provider of Microsoft-based business solutions, focussing on delivering business value in our solutions and working closely with Microsoft to ensure we have the best possible understanding of their technologies and directions. This focus and understanding allows us to be highly successful early adopters of their newest technologies.

NZCSRSC: How is Intergen helping with global issues?

Emillie: Intergen are very focused on helping with global issues such as lowering our carbon footprint by using 100% recycled paper when printing and having various recycling stations around our offices.

NZCSRSC: Why is Intergen a great company to work for?

Emillie: Intergen has participated in the JRA Best Places to Work Survey for four years now. The strongest theme that comes out of the survey every year is that our people more than anything else make Intergen a great place to work! Since day one Intergen has had a Big Hairy Audacious Goal: That everyone, every day is touched positively by the things we do. Intergen’s culture comes down to our people, and we’re lucky to have talented and passionate staff who love using technology to make a real difference. It’s not just a job to us.

NZCSRSC: Are there any employment or internship opportunities at Intergen?

Emillie: Intergen does not have any internship opportunities we do have a fantastic graduate programme – so how does it work?

Graduates come on board as new Intergenities in late January. There is a lot to learn and a lot of people to meet, so to make things a little easier, we run a Boot Camp in Wellington for all new graduates. Not only is it a great way to find out in-depth information about Intergen through presentations, you get to meet and greet, attend workshop sessions, learn about the teams and what they do and how we work.

Here’s what the 2010 graduates are saying:

“Life beyond Uni is awesome. You initially dread being cooped up in the office, but it’s not like that at Intergen!” - Elaiza

“I love the culture, drive and enthusiasm here at Intergen!” - Mohit

“Intergen has been an amazing eye-opening experience for me ever since I started working here!” - Margaret

“I love being an Intergenite!!” - Matt

“We get to work with the latest and greatest technology, often before it’s officially released!” - Andy

It’s not all work and no play though - we also have a social event one night so you can ‘let your hair down’ with your new workmates before you get into the real work. To be in the running for the 2011 graduate intake, complete the application online at http://www.intergen.co.nz/careers/graduate and submit a covering letter including which city you wish to work in, CV and a copy of your academic transcript. Applications open 1 April 2010 and close 18th June 2010.

For more information on what we do and why you should join us, check us out at http://www.intergen.co.nz

Guidelines for Paper Presentations and Posters

We have now put on some presentation guidelines for presenting your paper and creating a poster. You will also need to create something either slides for your 60 seconds Poster Madness. If you have any questions please get in touch with us.

Conference Registration is Open

To register for NZCSRSC 2010 please go to our web site and complete the two steps:

http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Events/NZCSRSC2010/Registration

Team Introductions

Hello Reader,

We realise we are long over due for some introductions to the Victoria University of Wellington team organising this year’s NZCSRSC conference so here we go…

• Craig Anslow - General Chair
  
• Rashina Hoda - Programme Chair
• Siva Kumar Dorairaj – Communications Chair
• Kok-Lim Yau (Alvin) - Treasurer
• Urvesh Bhowan - Marketing Chair
• Ben Palmer - Accommodation and Catering Chair
• Neil Ramsay - Events Chair
• Van Lam Le - Operations Chair
• Rohitash Chandra - Publications and Proceedings Chair
• Ben Palmer and Urvesh Bhowan - Workshops Chairs
• Ben Palmer and Van Lam Le - Posters Chairs
• Pacharawit Topark-Ngarm - Volunteer and Administration Chair
• Dr. David Pearce - Conference Mentor

As the General Chair my main role is to oversee all areas of the conference, ensure the direction, momentum of the project is maintained, and make sure that everyone is having fun :-)

There are lots of exciting things happening this year! We are almost at the end of our paper review process. We have confirmed some very exciting keynote speakers and panelists too. We will have some interesting workshops as well. Please keep and eye on our web site over the next few weeks as we will have a lot more information available very soon including paper notifications, camera ready instructions, and conference registration. Also remember to use the Facebook Discussion area or contact me for any queries you may have.

To keep in touch with what is happening to the conference follow us on Twitter, read our Blog, join the NZCSRSC Facebook group, and subscribe to the mailing list

All the best.
Craig

General Chair
NZCSRSC 2010
http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Events/NZCSRSC2010/

An Interview with Pingar

The organising committee recently caught up with Peter Wren-Hilton, Co-founder & Director, Pingar LP who are a Gold Sponsor of NZCSRSC 2010 for an interview.

NZCSRSC: Who and what is Pingar?

Peter: Pingar is a Tauranga-based Search and Online Publishing company. We have worked closely with The University of Waikato / WaikatoLink and Auckland University of Technology to develop a number of algorithms to add semantic and natural language search into Internet and Enterprise user’s search queries. We have also developed a unique search results platform based around generating instant formatted PDF reports from a user’s search query input.

NZCSRSC: Why should I use Pingar Search instead of other search engines?

Peter: Pingar is search engine agnostic. It adds semantic search capability to any search engine. The same applies to our back-end PDF publishing platform. Pingar launched its Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Search ‘layer’ in Las Vegas in October 2009 and has recently launched its Microsoft SharePoint 2007 Search ‘layer’. Pingar is currently developing ‘layers’ for other proprietary and open source search engines. Our aim is to improve the Enterprise and Internet user’s search experience by enabling them to ‘fine-tune’ their search query as part of their search query process. This improves the quality of the search query results and significantly reduces the time it takes to find the right results.

NZCSRSC: What is natural language search?

Peter: We are moving away from traditional ‘keyword’ search. We want query input strings to have meaning so that they become ‘natural language’ questions rather than just a series of keywords. Pingar’s semantic search algorithms are a step in this direction. They provide context to the user’s initial keyword query input and enable the user to drill down their search query. ‘Pure’ natural language search is not there yet, but it is a path we are rapidly progressing. Eventually, it will go beyond the desktop. Imagine being able to query your mobile phone’s search function with a natural language question and have it return a natural language answer

NZCSRSC: What technologies are behind Pingar Search?

Peter: A combination of technologies lie behind Pingar Search. We are currently working with researchers in the fields of data mining, digital libraries, machine learning and artificial intelligence. A combination of technologies are therefore behind the platforms we are building. Going forward, we are looking to extend this research into areas including improved contextualisation, improved summarisation, improving the mobile UI and making our technology more compatible with non-Latin characters.

NZCSRSC: Where and when can I start using Pingar Search?

Peter: An online demo of Pingar’s core semantic and PDF technology will be available from April via our main corporate site at http://www.pingar.com. We will be launching our Advanced Summarisation algorithm in June at the 2010 Microsoft SharePoint Users Conference in Wellington and demonstrating Pingar’s Chinese language version of our semantic search and PDF platform in Shanghai on July 22nd at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. Tauranga-based maybe, but with a real focus on global Internet and Enterprise markets and partnerships.

NZCSRSC: What role does Pingar play in the NZ ICT industry?

Peter: During 2010, Pingar will be announcing the establishment of an Advanced Search and Knowledge Engineering Research centre in Tauranga. This centre will provide research collaboration between Pingar, the University of Waikato, Auckland University of Technology and the University of Wales (UK). We have initiated an exchange of PHD and post doc researchers between NZ / UK. In the UK, they will be placed with Pingar’s UK-based subsidiary, Kaimai Research. The ‘NZ ICT’ aim is to generate both functional and blue sky research in the areas of Advanced Search and Knowledge Engineering to make New Zealand a global centre of excellence in this space. The bigger vision is for New Zealanders to understand the real depth of knowledge and talent that we have in our universities and that as a country we need to provide world leading research positions to make New Zealand an attractive home and destination for global scientific research talent.

NZCSRSC: Are there any employment or internship opportunities at Pingar?

Peter: Yes! Pingar is seeking to increase its internal research teams with exceptional people. We are aiming not simply to build a great company, but provide global research opportunities right here in NZ We are working with our University partners, Tech NZ and the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST) to identify the best candidates to make Pingar and New Zealand a global leader in this space. You do not have to have been to either the University of Waikato or Auckland University of Technology to apply. We are keen to engage with leading candidates in any NZ University or research institute. To register your interest in either employment or internship opportunities with Pingar, simply email your CV to jobs@pingar.com or meet us at our stand at the Careers Industry Night on Wednesday 14 April at NZCSRSC 2010.

An Interview with Google

The organising committee recently caught up with Isa Notermans, Talent & Outreach People Programs Specialist from Google (Australia) who are a Platinum Sponsor of NZCSRSC for an interview.

NZCSRSC: Who and what is Google?

Isa: At Google we are making the world’s information universally accessible and useful to all, which can come in all shapes and sizes such as our search engine, Android and Chrome operating systems and our wonderful world of apps. Google was founded in 1998 by two Stanford Grads – Larry Page & Sergey Brin and the term Google comes from ‘Googol’ – 10 to the 100 zero’s relating to the fact that there is an endless supply of information out there.

NZCSRSC: What makes Google tick?

Isa: One thing over all else powers Google’s momentum and that is it’s people. Those that are passionate about making a difference and making the world’s information universally accessible and useful all contribute to what Google has become and what it will be. We share a few common values, top of most is our belief that if we focus on the user, everything else will follow. For example, search is what we're known for. For us we won't be satisfied until a user finds exactly what they are looking for first time, every time. Naturally we still have a long way to go!

NZCSRSC: What can we expect from Google in 2010?

Isa: We are constantly innovating and working on ways to improve our products, so you can expect to see lots of exciting things this year ... locally, we're busy working on products and features that make life easier for Australians and New Zealanders, like making it easy to search for movie show times near you, or being able to see public transport options on Google Maps.

NZCSRSC: What is Google and the Internet going to be like in 2020?

Isa: It's very hard to predict ... with a flourishing internet eco-system, you never know where the next application will come from. We do notice a few major trends though ... the web is becoming increasingly social as people want to share the useful and fun information they find, and more and more people are visiting the internet from their mobile phone. As these trends converge we're going to see some really interesting new products emerge.

NZCSRSC: How is Google helping with global issues such as climate change?

Isa: Climate change is something we feel very strongly about, particularly because it fits so well with our mission of organising information and making it accessible and useful. More information
about how power is being used can help consumers make more informed decisions, which is why we have created a feature called Power Meter (available in the US right now) so people can manage and monitor their usage more closely. We've also developed special layers for Google Earth that share climate change information. To make sure that we're doing our part, we're committed to being carbon neutral, and we've designed some of the world's most efficient data centres, as well as developing on-site renewable energy in some places, to reduce our impact on the environment.

NZCSRSC: What involvement within the NZ ICT community does Google have?

Isa: We are currently about to embark on our Australasian national campus tours. We will bringing our roadshow to Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Waikato. We also have several Alumn’s working at our office in Sydney and around the world and our Girl Geek Coffee Clubs on campus currently have a chapter running out of the University of Auckland.

NZCSRSC: How is Google helping support women in computer science and technology?

Isa: In lot’s of ways! The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship is in it’s 5th year! Through the scholarship, we aim to encourage women to excel in computing and technology, and become active role models and leaders in their communities. Such scholarships have created programs like the Google Girl Geek Coffee Clubs on campus as well as sponsorship of the Girl Geek Dinners in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. We also want to encourage young girls to think about computer science at a tertiary level which is why we started the Girls@ Google Day. This year we hope to launch the Junior Anita Borg Scholarship for such girls hoping to study an ICT discipline at University.

NZCSRSC: Why is Google a great place to work?

Isa: We still maintain a small company feel. At lunchtime, almost everyone eats in the office café, sitting at whatever table has an opening and enjoying conversations with Googlers from different
teams. Our commitment to innovation depends on everyone being comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. Every employee is a hands-on contributor, and everyone wears several hats (as well as bare feet and shorts if that is what you feel comfortable in). The rumours are true, we enjoy a very colourful and entertaining workplace that is filled with inspiring people, projects and passions.

NZCSRSC: Are there any employment or internship opportunities at Google?

Isa: There sure are! As we continue to grow, we are always looking for those who share a commitment to creating search perfection and having a great time doing it. We are aggressively inclusive in our hiring, and we favor ability over experience. Also, take a look at:
http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/jobs/

We have a year round intake of interns for our 12 week full-time program for all degree levels check out: http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/jobs/students/internships/

An Interview with The IET

The organising committee recently caught up with Karla Smith from The IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology), a Gold Sponsor of NZCSRSC for an interview.

NZCSRSC: What did you study when you were at university?

Karla: I did Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Canterbury. I've completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), a Postgraduate Diploma and a PhD.

NZCSRSC: What are you doing now?

Karla: At present I am self-employed and still based in Christchurch. I'm currently contracting to Rodgers Hulston and White Ltd (a consulting firm specialising in telecommunications engineering).

NZCSRSC: How did you get involved with The IET?

Karla: I got involved with the IET through the Present Around the World Competition; I won the Christchurch Event in 2007, and went to Melbourne for the next level of the competition (the South Pacific Present Around the World Competition). Shortly after I returned the Young Professionals AGM was held, and I thought it would be good to be more involved. I am currently Treasurer of the Christchurch Young Professionals, and an IET Council member (Council advises the Board of Trustees, which is the IET's main governing body).

NZCSRSC: Who is The IET?

Karla: The IET is one of the world’s leading professional societies for the engineering and technology community, with more than 150,000 members in 127 countries and offices in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. The IET provides a global knowledge network to facilitate the exchange of ideas and promote the positive role of science, engineering and technology in the world.

NZCSRSC: What does The IET do?

Karla: The IET aims to share and advance knowledge in Science, Engineering and Technology to enhance people's lives. Some examples of the way it does this are: running seminars, workshops and conferences, publishing magazines, creating materials for schools to use and providing career development tools for engineers.

NZCSRSC: What role does The IET play in the NZ ICT industry?

Karla: The IET runs seminars and lectures in the subject area. Plus the IET offers the professional registration ICTTech for ICT Technicians.

NZCSRSC: How can I get involved with The IET?

Karla: There are lots of ways to be involved with the IET. Membership is the first step most people take, but many of our events are open to non-members as well as members. If you see advertising for an IET event, come along! Your Local Network's Present Around the World Competition is a great way to get started as well, since you don't need to be a member to enter. All you have to do is a ten minute presentation on a topic of interest to the IET, and most of the marks are given for presentation skills. An entrant from New Zealand has won the Global Competition (held in London) for the past two years!

NZCSRSC: How can I become a student member of The IET?

Karla: If you email membership.auckland@theiet.org, membership.wellington@theiet.org or membership.christchurch@theiet.org (as appropriate), we can answer any queries about becoming a member. We subsidise the first year of membership for student members, so it only costs $25.

NZCSRSC: What are the benefits of being a student IET member?

Karla: You get informed of any events that are being run in your area, you get a fortnightly magazine full of articles about new advances in engineering and technology, you get free or reduced entry to certain events, and it looks good on your CV! I've found that you get out what you put in - especially if you volunteer your time to help govern the IET. As a Council member I talk to engineers from all over the world, get to experience meetings with 60+ people, and influence the direction the IET takes. It's an amazing opportunity for me to network and gain experience. At the Local Network level I've honed my organisational skills, learnt some PR skills, and done more networking!

NZCSRSC: What scholarships and awards are there that students can apply for?

Karla: The main award that the IET offers in NZ is the NZ postgraduate award. This is open to any member of the IET who is going to undertake postgraduate study (entries close at the end of September each year for the following year of study). There are also a number of awards and scholarships open at all members of the IET. These can be found at http://www.theiet.org/about/scholarships-awards. As an example, a New Zealander won the Sir Henry Royce Award in 2009.

NZCSRSC: Where can I find out more about The IET in my area?

Karla: You can take a look at the website: http://www.theiet.org/nz, which has information about the IET in New Zealand, and also has links to the three Local Networks (Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch). The Auckland Local Network covers the top half of the North Island, the Wellington one the bottom half of the North Island, and the Christchurch one covers the whole South Island. Alternatively, go along to any event that you see advertised and talk to a committee member.

Submission deadline extended!

The final call for papers deadline has now been extended to 31st December 2009.

1st Call For Papers Submission Deadline: 11 December 2009

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN!

We are now inviting submissions for full and short papers for the 8th New Zealand Computer Science Research Student Conference (NZCSRSC 2010), to be held in April 2010 at Victoria University of Wellington.

OVERVIEW

The NZCSRSC is a conference organised by Computer Science research students to strengthen the research community in New Zealand by providing opportunities for students to share, discuss and acquire valuable feedback in regard to their research, build research network and definitely establish friendship. It is also a good opportunity for Computer Science research students from around New Zealand to gain vital experience in writing academic papers, peer reviewing, and presenting work at the conference.

More information available at:
http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Events/NZCSRSC2010

PAPERS

Submissions are now being accepted for:

• Full papers (with presentation) – not exceeding 8 pages.
• Short papers (with poster) – not exceeding 4 pages.

All papers must be in PDF format.

Papers must follow the ACM style guidelines (PDF).

Papers must be written by a student author and reflect the student's own research. Papers can contain research in progress i.e. research does not need to be complete for a paper to be accepted. Papers may be co-authored as long as the primary author is a Computer Science research student at the time of submission and is affiliated with a New Zealand university. Papers extending work published in previous NZCSRSC are also accepted, provided the advancement is significant.

More information available at:
http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Events/NZCSRSC2010/Submissions

IMPORTANT DATES

• Paper submission deadline: 11 December 2009
• Review period: January 2010
• Camera ready deadline: TBD
• Conference: 12-15 April 2010

More information available at:
http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Events/NZCSRSC2010/ImportantDates

TOPICS OF INTEREST

The conference incorporates all major research areas in Computer Science including (but not limited to) the following:

• Agile Software Development
• Algorithms and Data Structures
• Artificial Intelligence
• Bioinformatics
• Computer Vision
• Computer Theory
• Data Mining
• Databases
• Digital Libraries
• Distributed Systems
• Formal Methods
• Genetic Programming
• Graphics
• Human Computer Interaction
• Image Processing
• Information Systems
• Intelligent Tutoring Systems
• Internet Security
• Knowledge Engineering
• Machine Learning
• Networks
• Pattern Recognition
• Programming Languages
• Software Engineering
• Software Visualisation
• User-Centred System Design
• Virtual and Augmented Reality

REVIEWING

The NZCSRSC is a peer reviewed conference. By submitting a paper, each student author agrees to be a reviewer. For each paper an author submits, they will receive three papers to review during the review period. Each author will be presented with their papers to review at the beginning of the review period.

PLAGIARISM

All submissions will be checked for plagiarism. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you are unsure what constitutes plagiarism, or would like more information on academic referencing, please see http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Events/NZCSRSC2010/Submissions

PUBLICATION STATUS

These papers are work in progress. They are not archival publications and will not constrain future submissions. Your work in progress may be reused for later publications if appropriate. Copyright belongs to the author(s) / owner(s) of the paper. Note that this is a student conference reviewed by students.

CONTACT DETAILS

Queries regarding the call for papers or submissions:

Rashina Hoda, rashina@ecs.vuw.ac.nz

General contact and queries:

Craig Anslow, craig@ecs.vuw.ac.nz
Siva Dorairaj, Siva.Kumar.Dorairaj@ecs.vuw.ac.nz

http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Events/NZCSRSC2010/

NZCSRSC 2010

Following on from the successful tradition of previous NZCSRSC conferences. Next years conference, NZCSRSC 2010 is going to be held at Victoria University of Wellington 12-15 April 2010. More information is located on the conference web site: http://ecs.victoria.ac.nz/Events/NZCSRSC2010

I hope you will either submit something or attend the conference.

Best wishes.

Cheers Craig

NZCSRSC '09

Taken from the May 2009 CSANZ Newsletter

The 7th New Zealand Computer Science Research Student Conference (NZCSRSC ’09) was held at the University of Auckland from 6-9 April 2009. The NZCSRSC is a truly unique and significant event, being the only dedicated ICT student conference in New Zealand. Moreover, NZCSRSC is organised and run entirely by postgraduate students.

The aim of the NZCSRSC is to establish and reinforce a nationwide community of ICT research students. It provides an opportunity for students to establish contacts and share their research with graduates from across New Zealand, and members of the wider community.

This year’s NZCSRSC, like past years, was an action packed week! We opened the conference with a powhiri where we heard an incredibly moving and sincere speech from Prof. Ian Witten from the University of Waikato, and enthusiastic welcoming words from the University of Auckland’s Acting Dean of Science, Prof. Alan Lee and Computer Science Head of Dept. at the University of Auckland, Assoc. Prof Robert Amor.

Following the official welcome we moved to the Fale Pacifika for the Endace Opening Dinner. Here we were treated to a truly unique performance from the Auckland Playback Theatre who took real stories about the lives of postgraduate students from the audience and replayed them, in a somewhat embellished version. Very entertaining!

During the week we had the chance to hear about the cutting edge of research in Computer Science here in NZ with 25 student presentations and 14 student posters. Congratulations to Matthew Jervis for winning the best poster award on Augmented Document Trays and Lech Szymanski for the best presentation on Building a Support Vector Machine using a Neural Network.

We also heard fascinating and inspiring talks from keynote speakers. Dr. Alan Blackwell from the University of Cambridge spoke about Interdisciplinary Design Research for Interactive Technology, J.P. Lewis from Weta Digital explained Why academic research matters to Weta Digital and Assoc. Prof. Poul Nielsen from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and Department of Engineering Science here at the University of Auckland presented The Physiome Project: a framework for understanding ourselves through computational modelling.

In keeping with NZCSRSC tradition we ran a range of workshops aimed at building skills in research and beyond. And as in previous years the workshops were a great success, with topics ranging from staple favourites such as “The publication game” and thesis writing, to discussions about industry, research careers, presentation skills and time management. Also, during lunch on Wednesday we held discussion groups where each table discussed interesting topics in Computer Science ranging from advances in specialised fields to ethics and the wider community.

Of course NZCSRSC ’09 would not be complete without the Orion Health Social Night! On Tuesday night we were whisked away for a pleasant dinner cruise around Auckland harbour including a team quiz onboard. It was a night to relax, enjoy the beautiful views and indulge in the wonderful company!

On Wednesday night we held an industry dinner. This was a mix and mingle event where companies prepared stalls with information, and students were invited to visit each stall and chat with industry representatives about their experiences in the ICT industry.

What NZCSRSC would be complete without a little live music? Thanks to Prof. Ian Witten and Hong Yul Yang for providing us with some tunes during the closing lunch on Thursday. To complete Auckland’s four seasons in one week, the conference closed with a spectacular hail storm. What a week!!

We would like to thank all those who helped in the organisation and running of this conference including local contacts, volunteers, authors, keynotes, workshop presenters and the departments around the country who encouraged and supported their students to participate in NZCSRSC ‘09. We would like to extend a special thank you to our leading sponsors, BuildIT, Orion Health, Endace and the University of Auckland.

In terms of meeting the conference goals, I can confidently say that the NZCSRSC has had a significant impact on strengthening the ICT research student community in NZ. What does this mean in practical terms? It means that we, as students, feel connected to a group of people who can understand and identify with our experience as research students. For many of us, this was a chance to meet with old friends again, as well as meeting new people this year. We are learning more and more about the ICT research that is done in this country. NZCSRSC is about getting us out from behind those computer screens and putting us face to face with the cutting edge of Computer Science research in NZ and the research students who are behind it all. Our hope is that it may continue for many years to come, and we simply can’t wait to see what the next NZCSRSC have in store for us!

Rachel Blagojevic
On behalf of the NZCSRSC ’09 organising committee
For more information visit https://nzcsrsc09.auckland.ac.nz/

NZCSRSC ’09 is almost here!!

NZCSRSC ’09 is less than one day away! We hope you are all ready for an great week here in Auckland! Get ready to be inspired, to share your research, to learn new skills and to meet other research students from all around the country!

We have an exciting programme planned for the week beginning with a Powhiri, our official welcome, at 4.30pm. Following this will be the Endace Opening Dinner with a performance from the Auckland Playback Theatre.

Over the rest of this week you will have the chance to hear about the cutting edge of research in Computer Science here in NZ through student presentations and the poster session. You will also hear from keynote speakers, Dr. Alan Blackwell from the University of Cambridge, J.P. Lewis from Weta Digital and Assoc. Prof. Poul Nielsen from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and Department of Engineering Science here at the University of Auckland. Our keynote speakers are all very active in the research community here in NZ and around the world and are sure to inspire us with their knowledge and experience.

There are many opportunities for you to participate in NZCSRSC ’09. You will have the chance to attend a range of workshops aimed at building your skills in research and beyond. See here https://nzcsrsc09.auckland.ac.nz/workshops for more details. Also during Wednesday lunch we will be running discussion groups. This is a chance for you to discuss interesting topics in Computer Science with like-minded conference participants. See here https://nzcsrsc09.auckland.ac.nz/discgroups for more information.

Of course NZCSRSC ’09 would not be complete without the Orion Health Social Night! On Tuesday night we will whisk you away for a pleasant dinner cruise around Auckland harbour. It’s a night to relax, enjoy the beautiful views and the wonderful company.

On Wednesday is our industry dinner. This is a mix and mingle event where we have invited companies to set up stalls with information and students are invited to visit each stall and chat with industry representatives about their experiences in the ICT industry.

All in all we are set for an exciting, action packed week! So safe travelling for those of you coming from afar. We can’t wait to see you all here tomorrow!!

Conference Programme

Hello everyone,

We're now only 2 weeks from NZCSRSC09! We're getting the last details ironed out and have now got the programme sorted. You can see it on our Web site - go to https://nzcsrsc09.auckland.ac.nz/programme to see everything we have planned!

We're still finalising room bookings for some of the events, so these aren't available yet, but rest assured you'll get a complete programme (with maps) when you arrive. Also please note that times for specific events are subject to change, although we'll be trying our best to keep things running on time.

If you have any questions, please email me (jdow038@aucklanduni.ac.nz).

We look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks' time!

Cheers


John Downs

Things to do while in NZ

Hello


The conference is getting closer and closer and some of you might have started to plan their trip to Auckland. We, as your Auckland hosts, thought it would be a good thing to give you an idea what you could do in Auckland besides attending an awesome conference.
We grouped our recommendations according to the trip "size".

Big day trips

• Waiheke island
• Rangitoto island
• Black sand west coast beaches: Muriwai, Piha, Bethells..
• Waitakere ranges
• Goat island
• Tiritiri Matangi
• Auckland coast to coast walk
  

More local

• Domain museum
• One-tree hill
• Mt Eden
• Kelly Tarlton's
• Parnell rose gardens
• Indoor skiing
• Kart racing
• Paintball
• Minigolf
  

Auckland city

• Rakinos on High St
• Ben on Fort St
• Mezze bar on High St
• Rizlau on Atrium
• IMAX cinema
  
• Sky Tower inclusive sky jump/walk
  
• Harbour bridge bungee jump
• Viaduct Basin

Notable districts

• Ponsonby
• Parnell
• New Market (shopping)
• Mission Bay

Discussion Groups!

As you might have seen, registration for NZCSRSC '09 is now open!! At the same time we also revealed some information about something we are quite excited about – the DISCUSSION GROUPS! (Note to ourselves: we need a fancier title for this)

During the conference we'll be introducing a number of discussion groups as part of an effort to strengthen ties in the postgrad computer science community in New Zealand. You, the participants of NZCSRSC '09, will decide which topics are fit for discussion and a short gathering will be arranged where you will be able to discuss those topics with like-minded conference participants.

This idea was inspired by similar concepts like Birds of a Feather, the Unconference, BarCamp, and others. A similar session was also help at NZCSRSC '07.


You can find details about how it will work on our conference website.


What will roughly happen is this:

1) You, the participants of NZCSRSC '09, will propose topics during the registration process. Possible topics could be anything related to CS/IT which you think would be an interesting topic to discuss (tip: this would be a good chance to discuss things with link-minded people, that is NOT neccessarily the actual focus of your research ;)

2) After we collected your suggestions for topics, we will send them out to all conference participants. All of you will than have the option to choose up to (probably) 4 different topics which you will actually want to participate in.

3) We will then do some scheduling magic, decide which topics will be discussed at what time, and finally…

4) …we will have the discussion groups, in an informal setting during the conference (groups of around 6-8 people, 15min per discussion, probably during a lunch)

One last thing: We would like to have arbitrators who will guide the individual discussions to some extent (details about the role of arbitrators can be found on the website). Please let us know during the registration process, if you would be up to such an interesting, challenging, character-building, [insert any buzz-word here], and fun task!

Feel free to use the forum to post questions or discuss this event. You can also contact the discussion group committee (Andrew andrewh@cs.auckland.ac.nz and Christian chir008@aucklanduni.ac.nz) directly.

We hope that we can get you all excited about this fun event, and we count on your active participation! Looking forward to seeing you all at NZCSRSC '09!

Your DISCUSSION GROUPS committee!

Andrew and Christian

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BuildIT, platinum sponsor of NZCSRSC '09

Registration for NZCSRSC'09 is now open!

Registration for NZCSRSC'09 is now open! Be sure to get in quick to secure your space in the Waipapa Marae for FREE!

As the conference date approaches, I'm feeling both ecstatic and terrified at the same time! Things are really getting fired up here at UoA - sponsors are signing on, and we've secured J.P. Lewis from Weta digital as a keynote speaker, with a number of other exciting speakers in the pipeline.

My main task is looking after external communications, acting as the interface with other universities and departments through our excellent and enthusiastic team of local contacts at your university. This has involved relaying announcements and keeping local contacts abreast of progress in organisation.

I participated in the last two NZCSRSCs, brilliantly organised and hosted by Waikato in 2007 and Canterbury in 2008. NZCSRSC is such a great opportunity to meet students and make friends, find out about the awesome research happening all over the country, attend thoroughly instructive workshops and enjoy wonderful exciting keynote talks -- and if you're a student you can get all this for just $50!

I really can't wait to meet you up here in Auckland come April, as either a NZCSRSC new-comer or a friend from a previous NZCSRSC episode!

Happy New Year!

Hope you’ve all had a great holiday and are recharged and ready to go for 2009!

I realize we are long over due for some introductions to the Auckland team organising this year’s conference so here we go…

• Rachel Blagojevic - Conference coordinator
• Carl Schultz – Communications
• Dave Uthus - Treasurer
• John Downs - Submissions and reviews coordinator
• Hong Yul Yang - Conference promotion and website
• Andrew Hay - Internal administration
• Paul Schmieder - Social events
• Christian Hirsch - Catering
• Prof. John Hosking - Conference mentor

As the conference coordinator my main role is to oversee all areas of the conference and ensure the direction and momentum of the project is maintained. I will get onto the other members of our team to write their own posts, letting you in on what their roles involve, in the near future.

There are lots of exciting things happening here! We are almost at the end of our paper submission and review process with all reviews due in tomorrow. We have almost confirmed some very exciting keynote speakers too...but more on that later ;) Keep and eye on our website over the next few weeks as we will have a lot more information available very soon. Also remember to use the forum and the NZCSRSC Facebook page for any queries you may have.

NZCSRSC ’09 is coming to Auckland!!

Taken from the November 2008 CSANZ Newsletter

We are proud to announce that the NZCSRSC will be held at the University of Auckland from 6-9 April 2009. Preparation is already well underway to make NZCSRSC ‘09 a conference to remember! Our team is really excited to be organising this event and we are working hard to make this another successful conference.

So what is the NZCSRSC? If you are a Computer Science Research Student in New Zealand then this Conference is especially for you, a conference for students, run by students. It is a chance for you to meet others from around the country, share your research and learn about what others are working on. It’s aimed at getting us out from behind those computer screens and putting us face to face with the cutting edge of Computer Science research in NZ and the research students who are behind it all. It’s also a great chance to build friendships among our research community that will last long after we have all (finally) finished our degrees. Students are encouraged to get involved by submitting their research papers and reviewing work by their peers. At the conference students will be showcasing their research during formal presentation and poster sessions, participating in workshops, and enjoying a number of exciting invited keynote presentations, along with fun social events.

For those of you who have been to this conference in the past, most recently at the University of Canterbury, we know that you need no convincing of what a great experience attending the NZCSRSC is. We can’t wait to see you once again and catch up on your latest work, but this time here in Auckland!

The call for papers has already gone out to universities; you can also view this on the website. The submission deadline has been extended to 9 December 2008 so if you haven’t already started your paper, get writing and tell the CS research community all about what you’re working on. For more information see your local university contact otherwise general queries can be made to Rachel Blagojevic (contact information is on the website)