Two Portuguese students took the main stage at TNC22—the world's largest academic networking conference, in Trieste—to share their work. Learn all about this event, part of the Lightning Talks challenge.
It was before a packed auditorium at the Trieste Convention Center that Portuguese students Rita Carneiro and Bruno Vaz shared their workOn the main stage at TNC22 – the world's leading academic networking conference – Rita and Bruno had the opportunity to detail how they use technological resources in IT and computing networks.
The opportunity arose within the scope of Lightning Talks challenge, launched by GÉANT and, in Portugal, by the FCCN Unit. The proposal made to higher education students in Portugal was to share a story or project in a 5-minute presentation. Once selected, program participants had the opportunity to join a workshop to prepare for public speaking and support the creation of an effective presentation.
“This experience has been amazing”, Bruno Vaz, a master's student in Data Science at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, told the FCCN Unit at the end of his presentation. The possibility of technical training in the area of communication, with individual and group classes, as well as the possibility of “speaking to so many people and being able to express what I work on in my master’s degree” were highlighted by the student.
Bruno Vaz shared at TNC22 how he has been working use of generative adversarial networks (GAN) in the detection of fake news models, through the creation of synthetic datasets. "To future students who want to apply to the program, I recommend taking the plunge and applying," he concluded.
Rita Carneiro, a PhD student in Conservation and Restoration at the Catholic University of Porto, also shared her experience with the FCCN Unit, immediately after the presentation: "It's been a unique experience. We've done something we never thought possible at the beginning of our careers."The student presented the work she has been doing using Artificial Intelligence technologies to characterize and categorize digital heritage archive collections.
In total, 735 participants from 69 countries gathered in Trieste during TNC22. Through the event's Twitter account, the organizers highlighted the opportunity this event represented, as it was the first in-person gathering of the Géant community after a nearly three-year hiatus. The dates and location of the next edition of the TNC have also been revealed, and will take place on June 4-9, 2023, in Tirana, Albania.
