Daniel Ribeiro

New ERA Chair Holder Joins Técnico Lisboa and INESC-ID

Luis Caires is the new Chair Holder for the BIG European Research Area Chair project, starting in July 2023. The BIG project is focused on exploring the potential of distributed ledgers, blockchain technologies, and novel decentralised software solutions to address social challenges through three specific objectives: upgrading R&D capabilities, improving innovation potential, and raising international awareness. 

Luís Caires, now a full Professor at the Técnico Department of Computer Science and Engineering and an INESC-ID researcher, will assume a leading role within BIG, becoming responsible for resource allocation decisions, extending the BIG team, coordinating research activities, promoting collaborative networks, and securing funding. “I’m thrilled to be joining such a talented and interdisciplinary group of researchers and innovators”, he said. “I look forward to working together with the BIG research and coordination team to promote novel decentralised digital technologies and applications and close-up on BIG project objectives”, he adds. 

Prior to joining Técnico, Luis Caires was a Full Professor of Software Systems at NOVA University Lisbon and Director of the NOVA LINCS Laboratory for Computer Science and Informatics.

BIG ERAChair Twinning Collaboration: Opportunities for Knowledge Exchange

The BIG ERAChair (GA 952226) calls for proposals for twinning collaboration with selected centres of excellence in research and innovation. The twinning centres include CNRS, EPFL, Politecnico Milano, the University of Edinburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with areas of focus ranging from privacy and dependability to blockchain systems and design informatics. The exchanges aim to transfer skills to improve the research capacities of LARSyS and INESC-ID.

The twinning collaboration presents a unique opportunity for researchers and practitioners to engage with experts in various fields and advance their knowledge in areas of interest. The exchanges could range from incoming or outgoing visits of up to one week, and proposals should include the objective of the exchange and its relationship to BIG. The ERAChair holder, in collaboration with co-PIs from INESC-ID and LARSyS, will select the proposals, with preference given to junior researchers and PhD students researching topics related to blockchain technologies and design innovation for social good.

The Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), for instance, through LIRIS/DRIM research group, works on semantic information retrieval and document engineering, trust, reputation, and privacy-preservation in distributed systems, and robust and dependable distributed and mobile systems. The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), on the other hand, has the Distributed Computing Lab, a world-leading research centre in the theory and practice of distributed computing. Politecnico di Milano has the Blockchain & Distributed Ledger Observatory, established in 2018 to generate and share knowledge on Blockchain and Distributed Ledger-related topics and service design and innovation through Poli.Design. The University of Edinburgh is focused on data-driven innovation, transforming society and the economy, and designing systems for better human data interaction in diverse settings such as health, culture, mobility, and finance. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for its part, has areas of focus in computer security and applied cryptography and co-leads the Computation Structures group of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). Carnegie Mellon University has CyLab, a world-leading centre in security and privacy that brings together experts from all schools across the University, encompassing the fields of engineering, computer science, public policy, information systems, business, humanities, and social sciences.

The twinning collaboration is an opportunity to learn from the best experts in various fields and apply the knowledge to research and innovation for the social good. The exchanges will contribute to transferring skills and improving the research capacities of LARSyS and INESC-ID. The collaborations will foster networks and partnerships to enhance future research and innovation in various fields. The ERAChair is therefore calling on interested parties to submit their proposals for twinning collaboration to advance research and innovation for social good.

To apply, submit an application to bigerachair@gmail.com with relevant information, including:

  • The objective of the exchange and its relationship to BIG (300 words)
  • Short biography of the incoming or outgoing expert (300 words)
  • Dates of visit and estimation of travel and subsistence costs

BIG supports HCI for CHI 2023 Climate Change workshop

The BIG project is now supporting the organisation of the HCI for Climate Change workshop “Imagining Sustainable Futures” during ACM Conference CHI 2023.

As the climate crisis is turning into one of the most critical issues of our time, HCI researchers keep reflecting on the role their work can play in reducing the impact of adverse environmental changes. Suggestions have been made to expand Sustainable HCI (SHCI)’s intervention area to policy design to have a more significant impact, consider non-human actors’ perspective to incorporate the value of biodiversity, develop multidisciplinary competencies and work across disciplines to understand climate change, and finally make it understandable to citizens and pave the way for their action.

This workshop calls to discuss the different angles from which the problem of climate change has been addressed by the CHI community so far. The organisation believes these different angles have several contact points, and the convergence of these different perspectives would help HCI researchers better imagine sustainable futures.

With this workshop, the organisation would like to offer a gathering where HCI researchers, designers, and activists working on environmental topics can meet to discuss their research and possibly find points of contact between their different perspectives on the role technology can play in ensuring sustainable futures.

Workshop schedule

Friday, 28th April 2023, 9:00 – 15:00 (CEST)

  • Welcome greetings, workshop introduction
  • Brief submission presentations
  • Break and groups set up
  • Group work
  • Plenary session: discussion and feedback on group work
  • Lunch
  • Keynote speech + Q&A session
  • Final reflections, wrap-up, and future plans

BIG supports International Conference on Information Technology for Social Good

The BIG project – Blockchain Technologies and Design Innovation for Social Good – supports GoodIT 2023, the ACM 3rd International Conference on Information Technology for Social Good. The event is taking place in Lisbon between 6-8 September 2023.

ACM GoodIT 2023 will focus on applying IT technologies to social good. Social good is typically defined as an action that provides some sort of benefit to the general public. In this case, Internet connection, education, and healthcare are all examples of social goods. However, new media innovations and the explosion of online communities have added new meaning to the term. Social good is now about global citizens uniting to unlock the potential of individuals, technology, and collaboration to create a positive societal impact.

Upcoming Important Dates

  • Special Tracks Proposals Submission deadline: 26 February 2023
  • Regular Papers Submission deadline: May 15th, 2023
  • Special Tracks Papers Submission deadline: May 15th, 2023
  • Work in Progress Papers Submission deadline: May 15th, 2023
  • PhD Papers Submission deadline: May 15th, 2023
  • Conference dates: 6-8 September 2023

Call for Special Tracks proposals

  • Proposal Submission Deadline: 26 February 2023
  • Notification of Selection: 06 March 2023

Call for Regular Papers

  • Submission deadline: May 15th, 2023 
  • Notification of acceptance: July 7th, 2023
  • Camera Ready: July 18th, 2023

Call for Special Tracks Papers

  • Submission deadline: May 15th, 2023
  • Notification of acceptance: July 7th, 2023
  • Camera Ready: July 18th, 2023

Call for Work in Progress

  • Submission deadline: May 15th, 2023
  • Notification of acceptance: July 7th, 2023
  • Camera Ready: July 18th, 2023

Call for PhD Track Papers

  • Submission deadline: May 15th, 2023
  • Notification of acceptance: July 7th, 2023
  • Camera Ready: July 18th, 2023

BIG supports the 4th Blockchain Software Engineering Workshop

The 4th Blockchain Software Engineering Workshop (BSEW 2023) is taking place in Oulu, Finland, on June 16th, 2023, in conjunction with the International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering (EASE 2023). The workshop will focus on software engineering theories and practices for developing high-quality, secure blockchain-based applications.

The BIG ERA Chair project is supporting this year’s workshop edition. It aims to continue promoting the adoption of software engineering practices in the development of blockchains and their applications. The workshop invites original and unpublished research submissions that use and evaluate software engineering approaches and theories in developing blockchain-based applications.

Submissions can be full research papers (up to 8 pages), short papers, or industrial experience reports (up to 4 pages). They must be written in English and conform to the ACM Proceedings Format. The workshop will enforce the ACM Policy and Procedures on Plagiarism.

The related software engineering technologies include, but are not limited to:

  • Blockchain-Based Application Architecture
    • Requirement engineering
    • Design patterns and reference architecture
    • Design/modelling notations, tools, and analysis
  • Quality of Smart Contracts and Blockchain-Based Applications
    • Reliability and fault tolerance
    • Quality assurance
    • Security and privacy
    • Software engineering analytics
  • Software Processes for Blockchain-Based Applications
    • Model-driven engineering
    • Software testing technologies and tools
    • Estimating effort for developing and testing applications
    • Software processes such as Agile, DevOps, and AIOps
    • Software engineering issues related to managing blockchain platforms and applications
    • Experience and lessons learned from transferring blockchain-based applications to the industry
    • Experience and lessons learned from migrating conventional applications to blockchain
    • Software project management and knowledge management

Papers can be submitted via EasyChair and will be reviewed by at least two members of the program committee. Accepted papers will be included in the main proceedings of EASE 2023, which the ACM Digital Library will publish.

At least one author of each accepted paper must register by the camera-ready deadline to have their paper included in the proceedings. Join us at the 4th Blockchain Software Engineering Workshop (BSEW 2023) for a chance to share and discuss the latest research and innovations in software engineering for blockchain-based applications.