The Department has its origins in the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, which was formed in 1994 in response to a national initiative to strengthen support for teaching and research in IT. The Department of Artificial Intelligence, together with the Department of Computer Science, emerged as separate entities as part of the restructuring associated with the creation of the Faculty of ICT in 2007, and in 2009 the Department of Artificial Intelligence was renamed to the Department of Intelligent Computer Systems.
Intelligent Computer Systems (ICS) focuses mainly and is within the ambit of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which is concerned with getting machines to behave humanly: to solve complex, ill-specified problems; to learn and discover on the basis of experience; to perceive, to interpret, to classify, to speak, to hear, to hold conversations in English or Maltese. In short, AI studies the general problem of building intelligent artifacts that demonstrate human-like competence in determined areas. The boundary between AI and Computer Science tends to be fluid. There are areas – knowedge representation or data interpretation come to mind – which are thoroughly interdisciplinary. This is as it should be, since when AI discovers a new problem, it looks to Computer Science to extend the tools out of which solutions might be built.
TEACHINGThe Intelligent Computer Systems Department conducts undergraduate teaching for the CSAI stream of the BSc ICT (Hons), in close cooperation with the Department of Computer Science, At Masters level, it also participates in teaching and supervision for the MSc by dissertation, the Master in IT conversion course, and the Erasmus Mundus MSc in Human Language Science and Technology. Apart from degree-related teaching the Department offers various certifications including Microsoft Academy
RESEARCHThe Department has research interests in such areas as
- Ambient Intelligence
- Adaptive Systems
- Bioinformatics
- Cognitive Systems
- eLearning
- Human Language and SpeechTechnology
- Visual and Audio Data Interpretation
- Intelligent Agents
- Machine Learning
- Search Engine Technology
- Search and Optimisation
- Semantic Web/Internet Technologies
- Simulation and Visualisation
- Sound and Music Synthesis
Besides running thematic research groups in some of these areas, it also participates in a number of nationally and internationally funded research projects whose descriptions appear in the
research section of this Departmental website.
23 May 2012
http://www.um.edu.mt/ict/ics/about
