| | | Annual Report 1992 | |
UNU/IIST focuses on the youngest and the brightest in the developing world. UNU/IIST emphasizes contact with post-graduates in industry and post-doctorals in universities and research institutes. UNU/IIST's working language is english -- the language of Software Technology. UNU/IIST prioritises those who communicate well in english over those who do not.
A number of joint R&D proposals are presently being studied by potential partners. Some such projects have already started.
Since UNU/IIST is barely 4 months old it is not yet possible to assess such issues as (i) progress, (ii) outputs & results, (iii) dissemination, (iv) activity changes, adjustments or discontinuance, and (v) outside evaluation.
Appendix section A characterizes what is special about UNU/IIST advanced development projects.
UNU/IIST is currently engaged in 2 projects and has spent some effort, in 1992, in planning a number of other possible projects. Some of these activities are listed below. Their number may seem staggering -- given that UNU/IIST currently is only 3 academic staff, incl. the Director! First: UNU/IIST will probably only obtain a fraction of the projects it is "preparing". Secondly: UNU/IIST is not shooting: left, right & center! Thirdly: UNU/IIST will eventually grow in professional staff size. Finally: it is important that UNU/IIST has a fair selection from which to choose.
Joint with the Computer Center of the Ministry of Railways, P.R. of China.
Preparatory phase: October 5, 1992 -- Jan. (incl.) 1993.
Two week seminar, Beijing, October 5-16 inclusive, 1992.
The project has completed its preparatory phase -- and UNU/IIST has concluded negotiations for the next phase of exploratory R&D.
Exploratory phase: 9 months, starts March 1993, and will bring 5 trainees to Macau (2 from Beijing, 2 from Shanghai and 1 from Zhengzhou).
Goals of first phases are:
Goal of later phases is to secure the establishment of a new Software House specialising in Railway Software Systems for domestic consumption as well as for international export.
Initially UNU/IIST is providing most funding for preparatory and exploratory phases.
Subsequently the Ministry of Railways is planned to contribute by covering increasing parts of UNU/IIST's expenses. (It will do so, illustratively, from World Bank loans.)
The World Bank Beijing office is regularly informed about the status of PRaCoSy.
A MaGICS system is an application of the GaDIMS ideas, see below. More specifically MaGICS shall provide an information infra-structure for the Territory of Macau in areas of geodesi, geotechniques, demography, statistics, cartography, water supply, electricity supply, sewage, telecommunications, public health care, &c. MaGICS is expected to serve both public and private planning, monitoring and control interests -- while enforcing environmental concerns.
Project is joint with the Macau Foundation. So far a 4 month feasibility is currently being pursued.
DiMaC2S is to be a system for the prediction & damage assessment of, and relief (mitigation) & recovery from natural and industrial disasters.
DiMaC2S is a C3I-like1 civil system whose `C3' part is DiMaC2S and whose `I' part is expected served by GaDIMS, see below.
Initial partner: BISE (Beijing Inst. of Systems Eng.).
Applications of DiMaC2S (with GaDIMS's) include: environment protection, river (flood disaster) management, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, earthquake disaster management, and also industrial disasters -- not just in China, but expected propagated to other developing nations.
Eventually UNU/IIST will seek contacts with UNEPUNDP/UNESCO prescription: UNEP and the Far East Asia Disaster Preparedness Center at AIT in Bangkok.
UNDP's Beijing officeUNDP/UNESCO prescription: UNDP has been informed regularly about the DiMaC2S and the GaDIMS project proposals.
GaDIMS is to be a base software system for implementing problem specific systems for incorporating combinations of geodetic, geotechnic, cartographic, demographic, statistic (incl. public government), etc. databases.
Many developing nations, as well as the industrial world and the new states in transition, are increasingly engaged in such information systems to help in the monitoring and control of the environment. The UNUNDP/UNESCO prescription: UNEP sponsored International Decade for Natural Disaster Preparedness has helped focus everybody's attention. The UNEP programme (Agenda 21) for the Environment and Sustainable Development as funded primarily by UNDPUNDP/UNESCO prescription: UNDP through its planned Capacity 21 programme, will depend crucially on the widespread availability and advanced use of such comprehensive, consolidated information systems.
Initial partner: the PRC Academy of Sciences' Institute of Geography's Department of Geographic Information Systems, Beijing.
Initial partners: 3 university department, 2 academy institute, and 1 software house in Ulaan Bator, Mongolia and 1 univ. dept. in Hokhot, Inner Mongolia, PRC.
Project, if approved & funded, will bring 7 trainees to Macau for 12 months as from mid 1993.
Funding request to be directed to (Paris) UNESCO'sUNDP/UNESCO prescription: UNESCO special (Japan sponsored) fund for Cultural Heritage.
MoTraS is directed at computerisation of traditional scripts like Mongol and Manchu: for their input, editing, formatting and output in "arbitrary" combinations with other scripts: chinese, japanese, cyrillic, arabic and roman.
Ongoing negotations with UNESCO'sUNDP/UNESCO prescription: UNESCO Beijing office which first invited the UNU/IIST director to an Ulaan Bator workshop on the issue in August 1992.
HEMIS is intended to serve Universities and Colleges in Asia, Africa and Latin America -- Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, Arabic, Chinese and Spanish Speaking countries.
A feasibility study (3-5 months winter/spring 1992/1993) is expected followed by a 15 month HEMIS Reference Handbook R&D effort which should result in a carefully developed set of region-oriented models of university and college adminstration, at all levels, focusing at their computerisation. The latter effort will bring 7 trainees to UNU/IIST for 12-15 months. During that period a set of Reference Handbooks will be worked out. These Handbooks are to be aimed at university (and college) administrators and shall additionally deal with such issues as Procurement, Installation, Training and End-user usage of campus-wide MIS's.
Project idea originated with UNESCO'sUNDP/UNESCO prescription: UNESCO Paris office with which (incl. the UNESCO affiliated Intl. Inst. for Educ. Progrs. (IIEP)) several meetings have now been held.
Project idea first proposed by UNIDO,UNDP/UNESCO prescription: UNIDO Vienna. Progress on this one is particularly slow.
UNU/IIST may not be able to obtain external, necessary financing for all of the above planned advanced development projects -- and requests for additional such projects may arise.3
In any case UNU/IIST will not, for 1993, have resources to pursue all such plans, and hence some hard decisions concerning priority will have to be made.
Appendix section B describes general properties of UNU/IIST seminars.
Two seminars have been given in 1992, and several are planned for 1993.
1992 Seminars:
IFIP4 TC25 WG2.26 Seminar: approx. 80 univ. lecturers and industry researchers & software developers from India attended 6 streams of lectures given by members of WG2.2, including Dines Bjørner, on behalf of UNU/IIST.
22 completing participants + 5 "onlookers", from Beijing, Hohkot, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Organised by Tata Research, Development and Design Centre together with Univ. of Pune.
1993 Seminars so far planned or under investigation are:
Joint seminar with Asian Institute of Technology, hosted by Dr. Vilas Wuwongse.
Research is done in three ways:
Topic: Duration Calculus
Invited speaker at:
Topics: Computer Aided Software Development Environments, Railway Computing Systems, Robotics
Invited Speaker at:
Topics: Combinations of Duration Calculus and RSL (the RAISE7 Specification Language), Computer Aided Software Development Environments
Mr. Li XiaoShan joined UNU/IIST for 6 months starting November 1.
This joint project is with a subgroup of researchers from the PRC SSTCC (State Science and Technology Commission for China) sponsored "High-Technology" ("863") project.
The project will study software development techniques related to the design of real-time systems.
The study will bring PRC, UNU/IIST, Macau and international researchers together in semi-annual workshops, alternatively in Macau and China.
UNU/IIST has financed the participation of the PRC leader of the DeTfoRS project in a European International Workshop, October 1992.
Eventually the project will yearly feature an international, open workshop with proceedings.
Tentative plans for an Educational Technology project: Schubert -- Scientific Computing for High School and University, Befitting Experimental Research and Teaching. Eventually Schubert should R&D education tools for Mathematics, the Natural Sciences and Engineering.
The project is joint between the Computer Applications (Chengdu) Institute of the Chinese Academy of Science and UNU/IIST.
Presently UNESCO (Paris)UNDP/UNESCO prescription: UNESCO is reviewing a project proposal.
UNU/IIST plans to organize several forms of events: panels, task forces, workshops and symposia. Right now one workshop has been held and two workshops and an advanced seminar are planned:
Workshop was attended by 11 chinese researchers from 5 university departments and 3 UNU/IIST researchers. 11 scientific presentations of ongoing work were delivered and discussed. Tentative plans for joint, collaborative work were defined. Next joint workshop to take place in May/June 1993.
UNU/IIST is planning -- in close co-operation with UNESCOUNDP/UNESCO prescription: UNESCO in Beijing -- a regional, 1 week workshop to take place in May/June 1993, with estimated participation of: 2 Mongolian, 2-4 North Korean, 18-24 Chinese, 2-4 Vietnamese, etc. regional developing world university department of computer science (or informatics, etc.) pairs of staff: a chairmen or vice-chairman paired with a younger/youngest lecturer/researcher. Additionally 8-10 North-American, European and Japanese scientist/lecturers will be invited.
Aim is to make regional lecturers/scientists aware of current trends in curriculum developments and their relation to ongoing research.
Follow-on UCiST/n workshops are very tentatively planned for South and Central Asia, Arab World, Africa and Latin America.
In co-operation with INESC, Lisboa, Portugal, UNU/IIST is planning to have a spring 1993 workshop in Macau, presenting INESC's successfull work to a group of PRC Information Technology policy planners, industry leaders, research institute directors and univ. dept. chairmen.
And, finally, a two week advanced seminar on Programming Methodology is planned in co-operation with Working Group 2.38 of IFIP TC2. This seminar is directed at young and bright researchers & lecturers at universities and research institutes in the Far & South East Asia and Pacific Region. UNU/IIST is presently arranging for a financial sponsor for this event. Expected time: fall/winter 1993/1994 in Macau.
The seminar will feature 2 UNU/IIST lecturers (out of a total of 7).
For 1992 UNU/IIST has, in the area of dissemination, concentrated on reports. In 1993 UNU/IIST intends to start up other remaining dissemination activities.
The following publications have appeared in 1992 -- or are expected to appear in 1993. The publications either has UNU/IIST as a part subject, or relates to research done while at UNU/IIST, and always have a UNU/IIST staff [co-]author:
| | | Annual Report 1992 | |