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HECAT Kickoff Meeting

    Picture taken at the Finnstown Castle Hotel, Dublin

    The Hecat research project was officially launched last month, March 3rd and 4th at the Finnstown Castle Hotel. Hecat is funded under the Horizon 2020 research framework, a research initiative focused on enhancing innovation and fostering interdisciplinarity upon the foundation of European Values.

    The goal of our project is to develop an ethical algorithmic platform, which will aid Public Employment Services (PES) and unemployed individuals make more informed decisions with respect to the labour market. This project is ambitious, but we have an excellent team with state-of-the-art skills and expertise.

    This initial meeting’s purpose was to bring all of the partners in our project together so that we would all have a chance to meet one another – but also to plan the next 12 months of the project and set expectations. It’s fair to say that both days were productive and helpful, with each Work Package of the project being highlighted one at a time to clarify how each different part of the project fits together into a greater whole.

    Special thanks to Ray Griffin and Aisling Tuite for the pictures.

    Martina Ramesh and Katja Bras from the Slovenian PES discuss the existing processes and their goals for the project
    Pavle Boskoski and Biljana Mileva from the Jožef Stefan Institute talk about the data science behind algorithm development
    Juan Garcia Canales representing Tecnalia discusses how the user-interface of the algorithm will be constructed using the framework developed by Pavle and Biljana
    Magnus Paulsen Hansen and Sabina Pultz from the University of Roskilde talk through the challenges of Work Package 5, when the algorithm will be deployed and tested

    Though every partner could not be in attendance due to logistical or timing issues, each Work Package had at least one representative. We left Dublin with a feeling of invigoration and purpose, and with greater clarity as to how each different part of the project fits together.

    In attendance were:

    • Ray Griffin – WIT
    • Aisling Tuite – WIT
    • Zeta Dooly – WIT
    • Zach Roche – WIT
    • Pat Gallagher – WIT
    • Antoinette Jordan – WIT
    • Martina Rameša – ESS
    • Katja Bras – ESS
    • Janine Leschke – CBS
    • Magnus Paulsen Hansen – RUC
    • Sabina Pultz – RUC
    • Kristian Bisgaard Haug – RUC
    • Marko Pahor – UL
    • Tjaša Redek – UL
    • Roxana Paz – NFJ
    • Achim Hättich – NFJ
    • Isaac Lorencez – NFJ
    • Max Gomba – NFJ
    • Juan Garcia Canales – Tecnalia
    • Pavle Boškoski – JSI (Connected remotely)
    • Alizée Delpierre – Sciences PO