Event

Defense of doctoral thesis - Jérôme Fink

Synopsis deep learning methods have become increasingly popular for building intelligent systems. Currently, many deep learning architectures constitute the state of the art in their respective domains, such as image recognition, text generation, speech recognition, etc. The availability of mature libraries and frameworks to develop such systems is also a key factor in this success.This work explores the use of these architectures to build intelligent systems for sign languages. The creation of large sign language data corpora has made it possible to train deep learning architectures from scratch. The contributions presented in this work cover all aspects of the development of an intelligent system based on deep learning. A first contribution is the creation of a database for the Langue des Signes de Belgique Francophone (LSFB). This is derived from an existing corpus and has been adapted to the needs of deep learning methods. The possibility of using crowdsourcing methods to collect more data is also explored.The second contribution is the development or adaptation of architectures for automatic sign language recognition. The use of contrastive methods to learn better representations is explored, and the transferability of these representations to other sign languages is assessed.Finally, the last contribution is the integration of models into software for the general public. This led to a reflection on the challenges of integrating an intelligent module into the software development life cycle.Jury membersProf. Wim VANHOOF, President, University of NamurProf. Benoît FRENAY, Promoter, University of NamurProf. Anthony CLEVE, Co-promoter, University of NamurProf. Laurence MEURANT, Internal Member, University of NamurProf. Lorenzo BARALDI, External Member, University of ModenaProf. Annelies BRAFFORT, External Member, University of Paris-SaclayProf. Joni DAMBRE, External Member, University of GhentYou are cordially invited to a drink, which will follow the public defense. For a good organization, please give your answer by Friday June 6.
See content
Page

Our training courses

Our training center offers a wide range of training courses for teaching and support professionals.The training courses we offer are created on the basis of emerging needs in the field, our research findings and recent scientific literature updating promising practices for professionals.
See content
Article

FNRS 2024 calls: Focus on the naXys Institute

Professor Elio Tuci has just been awarded Research Credit funding from the FNRS. The naXys institute specializes in the analysis of complex systems, whether in astronomy and dynamic cosmology, mathematical biology, optimization in optics, economic complexity or the study of the stability and robustness of these systems. The institute is structured around 6 research axes: Space, Bio, Optics, Eco, Robust and Robotics.
See content
Event

AI to the Future: User-Centric Innovation and Media Regulation

The workshop will feature:A keynote presentation on public value and AI implementation at VRT.Sessions on discoverability, user agency, and explainability.Discussions on regulation, including perspectives on the AI Act and transparency in media.An interactive session showingcasing AI-driven prototypes.The event will also highlight our project's latest findings. Join us for a day of thought-provoking discussions, knowledge exchange, and networking opportunities!Would you like to attend? Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, so register as soon as possible. Registration will close on April 11, 2025. More information here
See content
Article

With AI, it's all about putting the user in control

For Bruno Dumas, computer science fits in with the principles of applied psychology Artificial intelligence (AI) is interfering in our professional as well as our private lives. It both seduces and worries us. On a global scale, it is at the heart of major strategic, societal or economic issues, still being debated in mid-February 2025, at the AI World Summit in Paris. But how can we, as users, avoid being subjected to it? How can we gain access to the necessary transparency of its workings? By placing his research prism on the user's side, Bruno Dumas is something of a "computer psychologist". An expert in human-computer interaction, co-president of the NaDI Institute (Namur Digital Institute), he defends the idea of a reasoned and enlightened use of emerging technologies.
See content
Article

Marc Romainville: Learning to think right by discovering why we think wrong

In a digital context where fake news and other "alternative truths" abound and spread frantically, how can we educate to doubt? That's the question answered by pedagogy expert Professor Marc Romainville. He shows how schools must appropriate this central mission to shape tomorrow's citizen.
See content
Article

Towards a new generation of human-inspired linguistic models: a groundbreaking scientific study conducted by UNamur and VUB

Can a computer learn a language like a child? A recent study published in the leading journal Computational Linguistics by Professors Katrien Beuls (Université de Namur) and Paul Van Eecke (AI-lab, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) sheds new light on this question. The researchers argue for a fundamental revision of the way artificial intelligence acquires and processes language.
See content