#Chair
Chair in Analytics and Data Science
University of Essex – Professor Maria Fasli
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Data has been called the gold of the 21st Century and advanced data analytics techniques have the potential to revolutionise almost every aspect of human activity.
For countries to benefit from the data revolution and transform their economies into self-reliant knowledge economies, they require a skilled workforce. The focus of the Chair’s work is on how the data revolution and advanced analytics techniques such as artificial intelligence (AI) can be harnessed as a source for good to benefit people across the world.
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UNESCO Chair on Data Science in Higher Education Teaching and Learning
CURTIN UNIVERSITY
#SDG
QUOTE
“We need to break down silos to solve real problems and harness the power of data and computational technologies for the benefit of all. The cornerstone of the Chair’s work is that data and the data revolution should be all about people. Being able to to work with people from diverse disciplinary, cultural, economic, racial, national and educational backgrounds who can challenge me and drive my thinking in new directions has been an incredibly enriching experience as a person and academic. ”
Professor Maria Fasli
UNESCO Chairs are based within Institutes for Higher Education and specialise in specific research fields. They provide policy advice to the UK National Commission for UNESCO and HM government, as well as reviewing UNESCO applications.
ABOUT THE CHAIR
The work of our UNESCO Chair at the University of Essex has a global outlook, concerned particularly with the ‘knowledge and digital divide’. Alongside improved infrastructure, developing countries need skills, data-literacy and a research base to transform their economies into self-reliant knowledge economies.
Professor Fasli and her team work with national and international collaborators on joint research and education activities to develop research capacity, knowledge and skills. In her role as Chair, she leads the ESRC Business and Local Government Data Research Centre (BLG DRC), an interdisciplinary research centre concentrating on the needs of the public sector and businesses. By educating people across the globe in how to manage and ‘read’ datasets, Professor Fasli is confident that countries will benefit in the long term from increased economic growth, sustainability and equality on the international stage.
The Chair has been supporting the development and delivery of education programmes at the University of Essex, including: MSc in Big Data and Text Analytics, MSc in Data Science, BSc in Analytics and Data Science. Recently, this has expanded to the development of conversion programmes that teach skills in data science and artificial intelligence to graduates whose backgrounds are outside computer science or statistics. Maria has also delivered training, interactive workshops and career building sessions with collaborates all over the world, including Brazil, Malaysia, Rwanda, Indonesia and Morocco.
ABOUT THE CHAIR’S RESEARCH
The challenges the data revolution poses can only be addressed through a concerted effort that requires new interdisciplinary approaches to data science, questioning conventional approaches and breaking away from strict disciplinary norms. The Chair leads the ESRC Business and Local Government Data Research (BLG DRC), an interdisciplinary research centre concentrating on the needs of the public sector and businesses. Its programme of work includes fundamental and applied research focusing on the needs and socio- economic factors that affect the prosperity and well-being of citizens in local communities in an era of global change.
Professor Maria Fasli
Maria Fasli is currently a Professor of Computer Science (artificial intelligence) and the Director of the Institute for Analytics and Data Science (IADS). She was head of the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, from 2009 to 2014 and in 2014, she was appointed as the Director of IADS. Her research interests include artificial intelligence techniques for analyzing and modeling complex systems and structured and unstructured data in various domains.
#Institution
University of Essex
Director, Institute of Analytics and Data Science
SINCE 2014
#Alma-Mater
University of Essex
PhD.
#Role at UNESCO
Chair on Analytics and Data Science
SINCE 2016
#Research&Events
LATEST EVENTS AND RESEARCH PROJECTS
Read about some of the projects that Professor Maria Fasli has been a part of during her career.
Analytics and Data Science Summer School
#DataAnalysis
Maria has led the development of this multi-disciplinary summer school since 2016, offering short-term training programmes that are delivered by academic and industry experts.
Frontiers and Advances in Data Science
#DataScience
The First International Conference on Frontiers and Advances in Data Science and Analytics (FAADS) brought together scientists, professionals, industry practitioners and users to share the latest developments in data science and analytics.
Publications
SELECTED PUBLISHED WORK
In her role as chair, Professor Fasli has disseminated her research and methods to the academic community and wider public through books, articles, exhibitions and public events.
Exploring Techniques for the Recognition of Human Rights Violations in Images
2019
#HumanRights
Identifying potential abuses of human rights through imagery is a novel and challenging task in the field of computer vision, that will enable to expose human rights violations over large-scale data that may otherwise be impossible. This article hopes to open new horizons in the field.
Modeling the High‐Frequency FX Market: An Agent‐Based Approach
2018
#DataAnalytics
In this article, the authors develop an agent‐based model of the foreign exchange (FX) market, which is the market for the buying and selling of currencies.
A Directional Change Based Trading Strategy with Dynamic Thresholds
2012
#DataScience
An experiment was conducted on the FTSE 100 minute-by-minute prices stream to evaluate the DT-TS against different fixed threshold values and different trading strategies. Results showed that the DT-TS was the most profitable strategy among different fixed thresholds and all other examined trading strategies.
LATEST
QUOTE
“Got one of the greatest experience by delivering a machine learning course in DSI Program at AIMS, South Africa. My belief in inspiring students became stronger in such a multicultural and diverse environment. I felt I supported the development of others, while I learnt and developed in the process myself.”
Dr Haider Raza, Research Fellow, Institute for Analytics and Data Science, University of Essex
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RELATED CHAIRS
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Chair in ICT For Development
ROYAL HOLLOWAY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
Prof. Tim Unwin #Technology
The chair is avowedly interdisciplinary, including people working in computer science, geography, information security, and management. All are committed to undertaking the highest possible quality of research in the field of ICT4D.
Chair on Artificial Intelligence
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Prof. John Shawe-Taylor #Science
Led by Professor John Shawe-Taylor, the Chair’s team is developing a series of research projects delivering AI that can improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth.
Chair on Responsible Foresight for Sustainable Development
UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN
Prof. Ted Fuller #Analysis
Inspired by a long-term collaboration with UNESCO’s work on Futures Literacy, the Lincoln Chair is striving to help people and organisations imagine and navigate the realisation of their sustainable development dreams.
ALL UK CHAIRS
Meet the rest of the UK Chairs.
The Chair in Responsible Foresight for Sustainable Development was inspired by a long-term collaboration with UNESCO’s work on Futures Literacy but is shaped by the interests and calling of colleagues at the Lincoln International Business School.
The ICT4D Collective was set up by the current Chairholder, Tim Unwin, in 2004. They’re a group of people committed to undertaking the highest possible quality of research in the field of ICT4D and making the results of this available freely to the global community.
The Centre for Shared education, led by Professor Joanne Hughes at Queen’s University, advocates shared education as a model for promoting inter-relations through education.
Led by Professor Alison Phipps, the Chair’s team of six is pioneering a series of research projects, residencies and events which place language and the arts at the heart of refugee integration.
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