International Computing Conference Comes to Hope

Some of the world’s finest minds converge on Liverpool tomorrow (8th September) for a major international conference on the theme of Bio-Inspired Computing. Usually held in Asia or Australia, the event, is being staged in Europe for the first time.

Around 70 experts from as far afield as China, India, Brazil , Canada, Algeria, Malaysia, and New Zealand will congregate at Liverpool Hope University between September 8th and 10th for BIC-TA 2010 – otherwise known as ‘Bio-Inspired Computing: Theories and Applications’.

Bio-inspired computing – in which computing is inspired by nature and biology - is a relatively new science, comprising new computing paradigms such as Membrane Computing and DNA Computing having been developed in the past 10-12 years. Experts, inspired by the Nature and Cell Biology, are developing mathematical and computational theories, models, and systems imbibing the features such as self healing, inter and intra cellular communication, adaptability, scalability and flexibility.

The underlying philosophy motivating this research is to apply these powerful Bio-inspired techniques to problems that have hitherto proved to be intractable, complex, highly nonlinear and difficult to solve.

The conference has been organised and hosted by Professor Atulya K. Nagar, the Foundation Professor of Computer and Mathematical Sciences at Liverpool Hope, and Head of the Department of Computer Science.

For more information on the conference, go to: http://www.hope.ac.uk/bicta2010

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 September 2010 )

Conference to Link With Papal Visit

Liverpool Hope University is to host a major international conference to coincide with Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain. The conference, 'The Idea of a University - Revisited', runs from 16th-19th September, and will bring together leading education experts and theologians and salute the contribution to higher education of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman(pictured).

Cardinal Newman's major publication, 'The Idea of a University', was written in the 1850s and is credited in helping form many of the ideas which governed higher education in the decades that followed. Pope Benedict XVI will beatify Cardinal Newman in Birmingham on 19th September.

The conference is aimed at a wide audience, including University staff with an academic interest in this area, as well as teachers, theologians, and those who think more generally about values in education and public life.

Further details of the conference can be found at: http://www.hope.ac.uk/newmanconference

"The Idea of a University - Revisited" has been arranged in association with The International Federation of Catholic Universities.

Last Updated ( Monday, 06 September 2010 )

New Head of Business Gives Masterclass for British Council

Dr Bob Doherty, new head of Hope's Business School, has recently returned from giving a series of masterclass seminars for British Council in Bangkok.

Dr Doherty's series of seminars was entitled: ‘Divine Inspiration- Making Social Entrepreneurship into a Competitive Weapon and the Lessons learnt - Case Study of Divine Chocolate and Cafedirect from the UK’

Reflecting on his experience, Dr Doherty (pictured, left) said: "I really found delivering this master class series of seminars very rewarding. It was also a great chance to hear about some very interesting social enterprise business models in Thailand that are tackling some of the problems assosciated with waste management, mental health and marine conservation. I am looking forward to sharing these examples with students at Liverpool Hope"

Last Updated ( Monday, 06 September 2010 )

Hope Goes to European Academy of Management Conference

Liverpool Hope's Faculty of Sciences and Social Sciences is entering the new academic year in buoyant mood following the acceptance of a track proposal by the conference organising committee of EURAM, the prestigious European Academy of Management.

The theme of the track is in the form of a question: "Can ICT provide the inspiration and motivation for cultural changes in organisations?" The organisers of this track are Dr. John Brinkman, Dr. Nabil Sultan, Prof. David Weir (from Liverpool Hope University) and Dr. Sylvia Van de Bunt (from Vrije Universiteit, Holland).

The four organisers have also been asked to organise a session within the general Business and Society track on the 'Cultures of Small Businesses'. The conference will be held in Tallinn, Estonia (European Capital of Culture 2011) on 1-4 June 2011. 'Management Culture in the 21st Century' is the conference's main theme.

Liverpool Hope also organised a EURAM track in 2009 when the conference was held in Liverpool following the award of the city's Capital of Culture status in 2008. The track then was organised by Dr. Nabil Sultan, Prof. David Weir and Beverly Metcalfe and was on Arab Gulf Development

Last Updated ( Thursday, 26 August 2010 )

Karen wins gold!

Karen Dalby, Project Finance Officer at Hope, has won a trio of medals with Great Britain at the ninth European Dragon Boat Championships in Amsterdam.

Karen, an athlete with Liverpool Harriers, is a member of the Queen’s Dock-based Amathus club. Together with the other members of the Great Britain team, Karen defeated teams from Russia, Germany and the Czech Republic. Britain swept the board as the team of 20 paddlers, a drummer and a helm, who steers the boat, won races over 2000m, 500m and 200m.

Karen, from Old Swan, has has been competing for Britain since 1998 at European and World Championship level. However, this was the first time she has made it on to the top of the podium. “I’ve paddled for GB at three Worlds and three Europeans, previously taking silver and bronze medals, but to win a gold has always been my dream,” she said. “To win all three at one event is beyond my wildest dreams. The team was awesome and I feel so proud to have been part of this achievement. It makes all the hard winter training worthwhile.”

Karen will now undertake a winter programme of running, cycling and boat training in preparation for next year’s World Championships in Tampa Bay, Florida. As dragon boat racing is not recognised at Olympic level, it receives no national funding and so each competitor has to finance their own kit, travel and accommodation.

Last Updated ( Monday, 06 September 2010 )

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