AUEB-NKUA Statistical Data Science Conference 2023

    PRESS RELEASE

    AUEB-NKUA Statistical Data Science Conference 2023, Aegina, Greece

    The first “AUEB-NKUA Statistical Data Science Conference” was successfully, jointly, organized by the Department of Statistics, Athens University of Economics and Business (Greece) and the Statistics Section of the Department of Mathematics, National Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece). The Conference took place on September 6th – 8th, 2023, in Aegina, Greece.

    The main focus of the Conference was on the utilization of Statistical Machine Learning and Modelling, within the context of Modern Data Science, with particular emphasis being placed on the integration of AI and the resolution of challenges associated with vast and limited datasets, as well as high-dimensional problems.

    The Conference comprised 19 Oral Presentations, including 3 Short Courses, as well as 8 Poster Presentations, all followed by informal discussions and exchange of ideas between participants, making this event the perfect opportunity for insightful research exchange and networking, among University Professors, Researchers and Ph.D. students of different fields of Data Science expertise.

    On the first day of the Workshop (September 6th, 2023), all participants gathered at the Conference Venue, where they received a warm welcome from the Head of the Department of Statistics, Professor Ioannis Ntzoufras. Although it was pouring outside, everyone made it on time and seemed to be impatiently waiting for the event to commence.

    Stefanos Kechagias (SAS) officially initiated the Conference, by delivering the first part of their Short Course (Short Course 2), entitled: "Data story telling”:

    Their presentation was followed by a short coffee break, which gave all attendees the opportunity to slowly get to know each other and prepare for the next Short Course Presentation (Short Course 1): “Gaussian Processes” (Part A), by Petros Dellaportas (AUEB & UCL):

    The First Session of the Conference, then, occurred, comprising the following Oral Presentations:

    1. Irini Moustaki (LSE): “DIF analysis with unknown groups and anchor items”:

    2. Ioannis Ntzoufras (AUEB): “Assessing competitive balance in the English premier league using a stochastic block model”:

    3. Evangelos Ioannidis (AUEB): “A new non‐parametric cross‐spectrum estimator”:

    Upon completion of the three (3) pre-mentioned Oral Presentations, the first day of the Conference slowly came to an end. It was still raining, although not that heavily, so we decided not to leave the Conference Venue. Instead, we all grabbed pizza and drinks and spent a wonderful evening, discussing and laughing our heads off at the comfort of our “Aegina home”. 

    Day 2 (September 7th, 2023) started off with Part A of the third Short Course (Short Course 3), entitled “Bayesian methods for imaging data”, by John Kornak (University of California San Francisco, UCSF):

    The Short Course was followed by a short coffee break, upon the completion of which, Petros Dellaportas (AUEB & UCL) delivered the second part (Part B), of their Short Course (Short Course 1), entitled “Gaussian Processes”.

    A quick Lunch Break, then, took place; once it was over, we were ready for the Second Session of the Conference, which comprised the following Oral Presentations:

    1. Vasilis Chasiotis (AUEB): “Subdata selection for big data regression based on leverage scores”:

    2. Fotis Siannis (NKUA): “Longitudinal meta-analysis of percentile ratios for survival data”:

    3. Panagiotis Papastamoulis (AUEB): “Bayesian inference for a flexible family of cure rate models”:

    4. Stavros Nikolakopoulos (UOI): “Inconsistency identification in network meta-analysis via stochastic search variable selection”.

    5. Apostolos Burnetas (NKUA): “Data driven ordering in inventory systems with perishable products”.

    Session 2 was followed by a relaxing 2-hour break, which provided participants with the opportunity to embark on a little “island exploration journey” and enjoy its magnificent views.

    The short break was succeeded by a Poster Session. The Conference was welcoming submissions of Poster Presentations from students and researchers interested in techniques and applications in the field of Data Science.

    The applicants who were, ultimately, invited for a Poster Presentation came from a multitude of Universities/Companies and the topics covered through their Presentations were rather broad.

    1.       “Time series analysis of scientific vs. public interest regarding obesity and its potential drivers”, by Georgios Anthimopoulos (University of the Aegean).

    2.       “Stochastic epidemic modelling of Covid-19”, by Anastasios Apsemidis (AUEB-Stats).

    3.       “Model-based performance indicators for in-play basketball data”, by Argyro Damoulaki (AUEB-Stats).

    4.       “Extrapolating survival curves with applications in health economics”, by Michalis Galanakis (AUEB-Stats & Circana).

    5.       “Assessing competitive balance in the Greek Super League using a stochastic block model”, by Nikolaos Gkialidis (AUEB-Stats).

    6.       “Inappropriate prescribing in geriatric rural primary care: impact on adverse outcomes and relevant risk factors in a prospective observational cohort study”, by Alexandra Livada (AUEB-Stats).

    7.       “Model based clustering for spatial data”, by Anna Nalpantidi (AUEB-Stats).

    8.       “Density estimates for the s-Laplacian and applications”, by Michalis Nikolouzos (AUEB-Stats).

    We, then, called it quits for the day; we went downtown for some pistachio ice cream and, eventually, came back to the Conference Venue, to take a moment to relax, get some drinks and talk Statistics by the pool.

    Day 3 (September 8th, 2023) was off to a good start, with the delivery of Part B, of the third Short Course (Short Course 3), entitled “Bayesian methods for imaging data”, by John Kornak (UCSF), followed by the delivery of Part B, of the second Short Course (Short Course 2), entitled “Data story telling”, by Stefanos Kechagias (SAS):

    The Third, and final, Session of the Conference, revolved around the following Oral Presentations:

    1. Dimitris Karlis (AUEB): “Sparse High Dimensional time series using a composite likelihood approach”:

    1. Nikos Demiris (AUEB): “Sample size determination for prediction models via learning-type curves”.
    2. Theodoros Perdikis (AUEB): “Schemes for monitoring time between events and bivariate amplitude data”.
    3. Vasilis Palaskas (AUEB & OpenBet): “Bayesian skill importance for volleyball set determination”.
    4. Charalampos Dantis (AUEB): “The association between religiosity and fertility intentions via grandparenting: Evidence from GGS data”.

    As the Conference came to an end, we were filled with emotions of utter joy. Emotions converging to the notions of mutual respect towards each other's research work, thoughtful feedback, constructive conversations, empathetic interpersonal communication, networking appreciation/exploration and sheer contentment! Before leaving the Venue, we made sure to take a group picture and take delight in the beautiful weather and greenery, surrounding us, on our way back to the Port of Aegina.

    We would like to thank everyone involved in this Conference, for turning it into such a memorable experience!

    Till next year!

    For more information on “AUEB-NKUA Statistical Data Science 2023”, please refer to its Official Website:
    https://aueb-analytics.wixsite.com/stat-data-science">https://aueb-analytics.wixsite.com/stat-data-science

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