From: D. Kazakov (kazakov@cs.york.ac.uk)
Date: Thu 30 Jan 2003 - 13:16:01 GMT
Dear colleagues, here are some ideas about the discussion on EU proposals at the ALAD SIG meeting in Barcelona next week. There are three decisions that would always have to be made in the preparation of a successful proposal: 1. Choose the team of partners and scientific content 2. Choose the thematic area to which to submit the proposal and decide on the type of proposal (STREP, IP, NoE, Thematic Network). These two issues are highly correlated, as, for instance, submitting to the FET area would mean preparing either an IP in one of the 3 areas described in the call (Complexity Science, the disappearing computer, Robots) or a much smaller STREP or Thematic Network proposals to the open call in the same area. 3. Find the most closely related initiative (project proposal) in the area of choice that has been successful in the past and achieve at least some level of integration in the proposals (highly recommended by the Commission). We, the SIG meeting organisers, expect points 2 and 3 to be actively discussed, and I have prepared to give some background and food for thought on these two issues. However, no final decision could be made without more information about some of the other initiatives (e.g., AgentLink III NoE), and direct enquiries with the European Commission Officers (EU has encouraged contacts with them at the early stages of drafting the proposal). It will also be good to know if we can cluster the potential partners around a few topics of interest. All this leads to the suggestion to approach point 1 above in a bottom-up fashion, i.e., * assume that the partners will be split in a number of STREP projects (1-2M Euro, 4-5 partners each) and start discussing the content of (and partners in) these proposals. This will lead to the creation of a strong core of partners and the development od proposals, which could at later stage be combined in an IP or a network proposal if we feel or/and EU recommends that as a good idea. * The initial two topics around which two STREPs could start to emerge are: Topic 1. Reinforcement Learning for Agents and MAS (discussion will be lead by D. Kudenko and M. Strens (QinetiQ) ) Topic 2. Evolutionary Learning for Agents and MAS. (discussion will be lead by D. Kazakov) An integrated project proposal could emerge by including Topics 1-2 as workpackages. Also, a third workpackage integrating the two approaches is likely to be added. Further, the proposal should show a degree of vertical integration between the theory and technology, with, possibly, some high profile applications to demonstrate the merits of the research. Other suggestions for STREP proposals/topics that are likely to attract substantial interest are also welcome. The person/institution proposing the topic should be ready to get actively involved in the coordination of the proposal. This is all for now. See you in Barcelona. Best greetings, Dimitar -- Dr Dimitar Kazakov Lecturer in Machine Learning AIG, Dept. of Computer Science University of York Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK tel. +44 (0)1904 43 4775 fax: +44 (0)1904 43 2767 http://www.cs.york.ac.uk/~kazakov/