Information Technology is present in every area of our lives, and the demand for better solutions to personal and world-ranging problems or shortcomings is at an all-time high.
The Faculty of Information and Computer Technology (ICT) at the University of Malta ensures that the Maltese Islands are well-equipped to face the current and future job demands by teaching the next generation the latest practices and helping them conduct their own research, as well as explaining the responsibilities that come with their work.
Last weekend, students, staff, practitioners and experts from the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology came together to showcase their hard work across various disciplines within ICT.
To give you another reason to take a good look at these projects, here are 5 top IT trends for 2021 that are here to stay, and that the students, some at undergraduate and some at postgraduate level, have taken up as their subject matter.
1 - Digital Health
The future of healthcare will be based on a more personalised approach, particularly thanks to the rise of digital health, an area which has been championed by the Faculty. The benefits of fragmenting people’s health information, for example, are enormous, considering that until a decade ago, data was stored in manual files.
Projects that fall under this category that were part of this year’s exhibition include:
- an assessment of the cognitive workload during software engineering activities – useful in revising estimates for tasks and offering support to developers when needed
- a virtual reality system which uses multimodality to identify speech gestures as a means of alternative therapy allowing patients to improve their speech and physical abilities
- the prediction of blood glucose levels using machine learning techniques
- using EEG signal processing to help detect epileptic seizures
2 - Blockchain and Fintech
The design of cryptographic tech and other innovative technology used by companies, financial institutions, medicine, and banks are helping many to improve their professional endeavours by decentralising authority and record data and conducting transactions more openly. This is all about redefining business models to create better security and efficiency.
Projects that fall under this category that were part of this year’s exhibition include:
- The relocation of major buildings and the effects on traffic in Malta – basically, this study proposes that by using simulation techniques to analyse current data on the road network, some buildings such as schools can be relocated on the basis of current, non-congested areas
- The enhancement of stock-price prediction models by using concept drift detectors – answering the research question of whether a machine learning model trained on a dataset containing previous stock prices get better results if it undergoes a retraining process every time a concept drift is detected
- Using sentiment analysis to predict cryptocurrency prices – sentiment would be useful to predict prices because these views could influence the interest of potential investors and make better informed decisions
3 - Deep Learning
This can be thought of as a way of automating predictive analysis, and can be applied to so many different industries. In layman terms, it is a machine learning technique that enables automatic learning through the absorption of data such as images, video or text.
Projects that fall under this category that were part of this year’s exhibition include:
- A music recommendation system based on collaborative filtering which leverages the listening patterns of its users
- A system of gesture recognition for hologram interaction, which actually proposes an augmented and more immersive user experience in art museums
- Exploring a drone delivery system that focuses on navigation, obstacle avoidance and autonomous-landing spot detection.
4 - Data Science
The combination of programming skills, knowledge of mathematics, statistics and different domains to produce Artificial Intelligence systems that perform tasks that normally require human intelligence is something many individuals and businesses are turning into added value.
Projects that fall under this category that were part of this year’s exhibition include:
- A data-analytic approach to property price prediction – exploring the influence of amenities on property valuation by seeing whether predictive accuracy would improve when considering these amenities
- A possible solution for reducing traffic in Malta by utilising currently available technology for congestion mitigation – displaying this info on a dashboard would give real-time updates to drivers
- Assisting a search and rescue mission for lost people using an unmanned aerial vehicle combined with shortest-path and object-detection algorithms
- Using COVID-19 pandemic sentiment to predict stock market price direction.
5 - Audio Speech & Language Technology
Taking audio, interpreting it and generating text from it can benefit so any factions of society and is another growing area. With this technology, companies can create a more personalised customer experience, people with visual or hearing impairments can lead a better life and human agents can spend more of their time on more strategic tasks.
Projects that fall under this category that were part of this year’s exhibition include:
- Visual Q&A module for apps as aids to the visually-impaired
- Developing an educational game to teach Maltese to children with intellectual disabilities
- Grammar and spelling checking techniques using a novel Soundex approach that offers many more accurate suggestions
The highlights from the exhibition can be viewed through the Faculty of ICT’s Facebook Page and on the 2021 Publication, a copy of which has also been presented to UM Rector, Prof. Alfred J. Vella.
“The theme of this year’s exhibition, Digital Technology Research & Education for All, perfectly reflects the real role of the Faculty – which is to conduct research that will bring it closer to the rest of society, regardless of their background, gender or age, and to give those eager to learn hope for a better educational journey by inspiring them. This publication is proof that the Faculty is succeeding at both”, said Prof. Vella.