AI4S3 – educational project proposal approved

The Innovation Fund of Montenegro (the Fund) publishes the list of projects approved for financing within the framework of the Public Call for encouraging the development of innovation culture and the organization of education in the areas of smart specialization. The fund allocated funds in the total amount of 130,000 euros for financing projects within two program lines according to this Public Call. The public call for the mentioned program lines was open from May 8 to June 15, 2023.

The Faculty of Information Systems and Technologies, University of Donja Gorica, proposed the educational project “Application of computer vision and deep learning in agriculture and food production, medicine and energy (AI4S3)” which was highly evaluated and approved for funding. This project focuses on training participants for the application of AI in the priority domains of the Smart Specialization Strategy of Montenegro (S3 Montenegro). This project is continuation of UDG and NCC Montenegro efforts to offer best education and training for HPC, AI and IT in general to Montenegrin stakeholders. The training will take place from October to December 2023.

Education in domains of S3 Montengro by the Innovation Fund of Montenegro

24 projects were submitted to the public call for the program line to encourage the development of innovative culture, of which 21 projects were sent for evaluation, while 35 projects were registered for the program line for the organization of education in the areas of smart specialization in Montenegro, of which 32 projects were sent for evaluation conducted by the Fund’s expert committee, in accordance with the Rulebook on the evaluation process. More info available at the following link.

Master thesis: Computer vision and AI in medicine

Mr Dejan Babic, a young researcher from UDG, just defended his Master thesis on the use of computer vision and artificial intelligence in medicine. This is a great example of using ICT for vertical priority domains of Monteengrin S3. This research was supported in part by HPC4S3ME project and EUROCC. Mr Babic intends to continue his research in this domain and to enroll PhD program at the UDG. Mr Babic explored the use of different tools for ML and he also experimened with the use of HPC for training prediction models that can be used in medicine. He was one of the first MSc theses defended from the Artificial Intelligence Master program created under the EuroCC project.

ABSTRACT – Artificial Intelligence is transforming the way we live, work, and communicate with the world. The proliferation of data has been the biggest driver of AI in recent years. AI in medicine is rapidly developing and holds great potential in revolutionizing healthcare systems. Its application is already producing promising results in disease detection, diagnosis and drug discovery. AI is widely used in medical facilities worldwide as a decision support tool for patient diagnosis. It is expected to bring significant benefits to healthcare sector. In this thesis, the focus is on the application of artificial intelligence and computer vision in solving real medical problems. The research is both theoretical and empirical and focuses on the application of artificial intelligence and computer vision in the detection of pneumonia, segmentation of blood vessels in the retina, and estimation of cardiovascular risk. The main goal of the research is to achieve the highest possible accuracy in specific cases and approaches, in order for these approaches to be considered applicable in medicine. Throughout the study, some of the ethical issues related to the use of this technology were also raised. At the end of the study, the results, potential challenges, and future directions of this research were discussed.

Computer vision and artificial intelligence in medicine
Segmentation of blood vessels in images of retina

Master thesis: The use of Artificial Intelligence on Edge

Mr Ivan Jovovic, a young researcher from UDG, just defended his Master thesis on the use of artificial intelligence and machine learining on edge devices. This research was supported in part by HPC4S3ME project and EUROCC. Mr Jovovic intends to continue his research in this domain and to enroll PhD program at the UDG. Mr Jovovic explored the use of different tools for ML and he also experimened with the use of HPC for training prediction models that can be ported onto edge devices. He was one of the first MSc theses defended from the Artificial Intelligence Master program created under EuroCC project.

ABSTRACT – This thesis explores the combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and edge computing in modern applications, with a special focus on medicine and agriculture. The paper first introduces the reader to the basic terms and definitions of machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, the Internet of Things and Edge computing. After the theoretical basis, the work provides an insight into the practical applications of these technologies in medicine and agriculture, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of their applications. In the following, the paper offers a detailed study of practical examples of edge artificial intelligence in agriculture and healthcare, as well as artificial intelligence in the field of medicine, with focus on disease classification. Through the realization and implementation of these projects, the interpretation of the results and the discussion, the paper emphasizes the importance of the integration of artificial intelligence and edge computing in various industries.

Master thesis: The use of Artificial Intelligence on Edge (Edge AI)

EuroCC2 gearing up – Meeting with CoE BioExcel

Representatives of NCC Montenegro and NCC Macedonia had a joint introductory meeting organized by – Centre of Excellence for Computational Biomolecular Research from Sweden, on 18th of May 2023. BioExcel has been developing/using state-of-computational and software tools and modelling techniques since 2015, to address some of the biggest scientific challenges in the area of bimolecular research.

Research in the BioExcel focuses on structural and functional studies of the main building blocks of living organisms – proteins, DNA, membranes, solvents and small molecules such as drug components. BioExcel CoE’s activities support researcher work in core disciplines in the computational sciences such as: Integrative structural biology, Biomarkers design, Nanotechnology and materials science, Personalized medicine, Physiology, Neuroinformatics, Multi-scale QM/MM modelling.

BioExcel Ambassadors’ Program was also presented, as an attractive opportunity for the NCCs and local academic or government institutions, working in the field of computational bimolecular modelling and simulations and duly interested in collaborative research, trainings and outreach activities.

In the scope of elaborated CoE-NCC cooperation and joint efforts on HPC use in the respective domains, NCC Montenegro shortly presented its current activities and potentially interested partners in the area of bimolecular research. BioExcel emphasized its widely acknowledged software tools and training events, including its upcoming, annual flagship BioExcel Summer School (September 2023, Sardinia, Italy), which provides a comprehensive combination of lectures and tutorial sessions on bimolecular modelling and simulations, using modern applications and tools including GROMACS, HADDOCK, PMX. Registration and information: https://bioexcel.eu/events/bioexcel-summer-school-on-biomolecular-simulations-2023/

InnovateYourFuture: a successful 2-day ANSO workshop on IoT and AI

A very successful two-day workshop for students and industry tool place on 22-23 April 2023. The workshop was done in the context of tge training project called “Competency Training for IoT and AI – InnovateYourFuture” supported by ANSO – Alliance of International Science Organizations, China. The organization is done in collaboration with EuroCC Montenegro and Montenegrin AI Association. Edge AI devices obtained with the support from  NVIDIA Academic Grants. During the event, UDG also presented relevant projects currently implemented at UDG such as H2020 DEMETER, DEP EUROCC2, IPA HPC4S3ME. The agenda for the event is available here.

ANSO InnovateYourFuture Workshop on 22-23 April 2023
Introduction to AI and ML
ML and Decision Support
Data Science lecture
IoT i agriculture and DEMETER project
ML/AI in medicine

During the first day, attendees had a chance to interactively participate in lectures coverin Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and MAchine Learning, Data Science and Analytics. Lectures were given by Luka Filipovic, Marko Grebovic, Stevan Cakic, Ivan Jovovic, and Dejan Babic. During the second day, the focus was on practical training and hands on experience. Students worked with Stevan Cakic, Zoja Scekic, Ivan Jovovic, Dejan Babic, Igor Culafic, and Vesna Calasan. The hands on included work tools for dataset preparation, computer vision model training, edge AI devices and porting the prediction models to edge IoT. The students were split into groups and worked on solving practical problems in domains such as agri-food sector, health and medicine, and energy.

Around 40 people took part in the workshop

There was almost 40 people attending the event. We used the breaks for coffee and pizza to network, mingle and discuss interests and exchange experiences. It was also an excellent opportunity for young people interested in IoT and AI to network and get to know each other.

AI/ML and edge device NVIDIA Jetson Nano
Learning about data preparation
Second day took place in the Entrepreneurial nest collaboration space at UDG
Teams working on their group projects
Hands on with mentors

InnovateYourFuture – Competency Training in IoT and AI

UDG team continues with the implementation of a training project called “Competency Training for IoT and AI – InnovateYourFuture” supported by ANSO – Alliance of International Science Organizations, China. The organization is done in collaboration with EuroCC Montenegro and Montenegrin AI Association.  Edge AI devices obtained with the support from  NVIDIA Academic Grants.

Competence training on IoT and AI supported by ANSO

A two-day training workshop is organized for 22-23 April. The workshop will take place at the UDG. The workshop will include lectures on IoT, Data Preparation, AI, ML and Edge IoT/AI. The target audience is MSc, BSc, and high-school students, but also representatives from the industry and public interested in some hands on training on IoT and AI. are welcome, too. You can register for the event filling the form here.

Also, the workshop program is available for download:

Click to open Agenda in new window tab

Training Workshop on AI and IoT at the IEEE IT2023 Conference

UDG and NCC Montenegro team continue with the implementation of a training project called “Competency Training for IoT and AI – InnovateYourFuture” supported by ANSO – Alliance of International Science Organizations, China. A training event is organized in a form of Workshop at the upcoming IEEE IT2023 conference that is taking place 15-18 February in Žabljak, Montenegro (link). The workshop will include introduction to AI and IoT (AIoT), software tools for AI/ML, edge AI, and IoT, and presentation and practical demonstrations. The target audience is MSc, BSc, and high-school students, but others are welcome, too. The conference program is available at the following link.

Click on image to open IEEE IT2023 conference program