Adam Klivans and Rocco Servedio are looking for open (learning theory) problems for COLT. This is a good idea in the same way that the KDDcup challenge is a good idea: crisp problem definitions that anyone can attack yield solutions that advance science.
The Role of Workshops
A good workshop is often far more interesting than the papers at a conference. This happens because a workshop has a much tighter focus than a conference. Since you choose the workshops fitting your interest, the increased relevance can greatly enhance the level of your interest and attention. Roughly speaking, a workshop program consists of elements related to a subject of your interest. The main conference program consists of elements related to someone’s interest (which is rarely your own). Workshops are more about doing research while conferences are more about presenting research.
Several conferences have associated workshop programs, some with deadlines due shortly.
| ICML workshops | Due April 1 |
| IJCAI workshops | Deadlines Vary |
| KDD workshops | Not yet finalized |
Anyone going to these conferences should examine the workshops and see if any are of interest. (If none are, then maybe you should organize one next year.)
Machine learning reading groups
Yaroslav collected an extensive list of machine learning reading groups.
Conferences, Dates, Locations
| Conference | Locate | Date |
| COLT | Bertinoro, Italy | June 27-30 |
| AAAI | Pittsburgh, PA, USA | July 9-13 |
| UAI | Edinburgh, Scotland | July 26-29 |
| IJCAI | Edinburgh, Scotland | July 30 – August 5 |
| ICML | Bonn, Germany | August 7-11 |
| KDD | Chicago, IL, USA | August 21-24 |
The big winner this year is Europe. This is partly a coincidence, and partly due to the general internationalization of science over the last few years. With cuts to basic science in the US and increased hassle for visitors, conferences outside the US become more attractive. Europe and Australia/New Zealand are the immediate winners because they have the science, infrastructure, and english in place. China and India are possible future winners.