In a significant stride towards advancing artificial intelligence research and development, the University of Malta proudly hosted two landmark events this October: the IEEE Workshop on AI and Computational Intelligence and the kick-off meeting for the ground-breaking OptiMaL project.

 

On 23 October 2023, the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society and the Institute of Digital Games co-organised an inspiring workshop at the UM Valletta Campus. The workshop featured a roster of prestigious speakers, including Prof. Ing. Simon Fabri, Pro-Rector of the University of Malta, who welcomed attendees. The discussions ranged from the evolution of AI and CI, presented by Jim Keller of IEEE CIS, to the applications of deep attention-based models in astronomy and medicine by Pablo Estevez from the University of Chile.

 

The following day, the OptiMaL project officially began with an engaging kick-off meeting in the Institute and Digital Games. Coordinated by Prof. Yannakakis and Dr Jialin Liu, the meeting set the stage for this ambitious project by detailing the objectives, scope, and the critical importance of the endeavour. The University of Malta and the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) outlined their contributions and expertise, promising a collaborative effort across work packages and milestones.

 

Funded by the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) and Ministry of Science and Technology of the people’s Republic of China, the OptiMaL project stands as a testament to the University's drive towards pioneering AI& gaming research. The project, a collaboration with the Southern University of Science and Technology, aims to revolutionise the way multimodal content adapts to human behaviour and experiences, with far-reaching implications in gaming, education, and even autonomous driving.

 

These back-to-back events have set a strong foundation for the OptiMaL project, which aims to revolutionise the field of online procedural content generation through multi-objective optimisation and learning. The project is poised to reinforce Malta and China's position at the forefront of AI research and application.

 

Further updates are available online as the OptiMaL project progresses, promising to unlock new potentials in AI and offering opportunities for significant scientific contributions.