Connectionists: Machine Learning Summer School, Kioloa, Australia, 2008

[Marcus Hutter]

                    Invitation to the
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    MACHINE LEARNING SUMMER SCHOOL, KIOLOA, AUSTRALIA, 2008
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Registration is now open for MLSS 2008, the 10th Machine Learning
Summer School in a series beginning in 2002. It is intended for
students and researchers alike, who are interested in machine
learning. Its goal is to present some of the topics at the core of
modern machine learning, from fundamentals to state-of-the-art
practice. We would be grateful if you could distribute
this email or hang out the MLSS poster at your institute.

Key Information
---------------
URL:            http://mlss08.rsise.anu.edu.au/
Dates:          Monday March 3 - Friday March 14, 2008 (2 weeks)
Location:       Kioloa Coastal Campus, Australian National University
Deadline:       February 1st 2008
Past Schools:   http://www.mlss.cc
Poster:         http://mlss08.rsise.anu.edu.au/files/poster.pdf
Email contact:  mlss08 at rsise.anu.edu.au

Overview
--------
Machine Learning is a foundational discipline of the Information
Sciences, concerned with the design and development of algorithms
and techniques that allow computers to "learn".

Topics will be covered in 9-10 lectures a 6 hours taught by world
experts in their fields. The aim of the summer school is to cover
the entire spectrum from theoretical foundations to practical
applications. In addition, there will be practical "lab" sessions,
where students will have the chance to implement methods for
themselves.

This school is suitable for all levels, both for people without
previous knowledge in Machine Learning, and those wishing to broaden
their expertise in this area. It will allow the participants to get
in touch with international experts in this field. Exchange of
students, joint publications and joint projects will result because
of this collaboration.

Material is directed both at outstanding participants without
previous knowledge in machine learning, and at those wishing to
broaden their expertise in the area; this includes PhD, Masters, and
advanced undergraduate students, postdocs, academics, and IT
professionals. The MLSS also provides an excellent opportunity for
interaction with top researchers in a broad cross-section of machine
learning disciplines.

Lecture courses
---------------
- Avrim Blum:        Online Learning in Games
- Wray Buntine:      Models for Document Analysis
- Tiberio Caetano:   Introduction to Graphical Models
- Nando De Freitas:  Sampling Methods
- Marcus Hutter:     Foundations and Bayesian Inference
- Rao Kotagiri:      Data Mining
- Dale Schuurmans:   (Un)Supervised Learning
- Alex Smola:        Introduction to Kernel Methods
- Scott Sanner:      Reinforcement Learning
- TBA:               Information Retrieval and Web Search
- TBA:               Others (Model Selection, Neural Nets, Information Theory)

Practical courses
-----------------
Vishy Vishwanathan:  Machine Learning Laboratory
Kishor Gawande:      Hands on training, the SML Toolkit
TBA:                 Implementation of basic ML algorithms

Scholarships
------------
PhD, Masters, and undergraduate students are eligible for
scholarships that cover part of the registration and accommodation.
Recipients will be chosen based on academic merit and financial
need. Due to space constraints, we expect only to admit a fraction
of all applicants.

Venue
-----
The summer school will be held on Kioloa Coastal Campus, 200km south
of Sydney and 200km east of Canberra on the NSW south coast. The
unique blend of living history and modern technology underlies the
atmosphere of the Campus. Kioloa Coastal Campus has become the
premier research field station on the South Coast. With a mild
climate and unspoiled beach frontage, the Campus provides an ideal
break from normal campus and work environments.