Nearly 200 people attended the first edition of these AI awards, which included a prize designed by the fallero artist José Luis Platero.
Valencia, December 18, 2023 – ValgrAI (Valencian School of Postgraduate Studies and Research Network in Artificial Intelligence) has recognized the talent of the students from master’s programs in Artificial Intelligence and associated disciplines from the Comunitat Valenciana through the celebration of the 1st ValgrAI Awards of Artificial Intelligence Comunitat Valenciana.
This initiative, which aims to become an annual milestone, seeks to highlight the work carried out by students and research staff in the field of AI, and thus, promote research and postgraduate training to position the Comunitat Valenciana as a benchmark.
These awards, funded by the Conselleria de Educación, Universidades y Empleo de la Generalitat Valenciana and with the collaboration of the five main universities of the Comunitat Valenciana (Universitat de València, Universitat Politècnica de València, Universitat Jaume I, Universitat d’Alacant, and Universidad Miguel Hernández), emphasize ValgrAI’s commitment to academic excellence, emerging talents, and innovation in artificial intelligence. In this regard, the General Director of ValgrAI, Vicente Botti, stated during his speech that “these awards are a tribute to the talent that will drive the future of AI and reflect ValgrAI’s commitment to advancement and innovation in the Comunitat Valenciana”. These awards, which represent a commitment to excellence and set the standard for the future of technology in the region, consist of a trophy designed and crafted by the fallero artist José Luis Platero, a certificate, and a prize endowed with 1,000 euros.
The ceremony, chaired by Vicerectora adjunta d’Estudis i Formació Permanent de la Universitat Jaume I, Mª José Aramburu, featured the presence of the Delegate of the Consell in Castellón, Susana Fabregat, who highlighted the existing potential in the field of Artificial Intelligence in Valencian universities, as they are a cradle of talent in innovation.
The event also hosted the round table “Unveiling the Future: Challenges and reflections on General-Purpose Artificial Intelligence” moderated by the General Director of ValgrAI, Vicente Botti; Ramon López de Mantaras, research Professor at the CSIC and director of the Institute of Research in Artificial Intelligence and president of the Scientific Council of ValgrAI; Jesús Conill, professor of moral and political philosophy at the University of Valencia and member of the UMI of ValgrAI, and José Hernández-Orallo, associate Researcher at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence of the University of Cambridge and member of the ValgrAI Joint Research Unit.
The debate focused on the challenges and reflections on the ability of artificial intelligence to perform any intellectual task that a human being can do, such as understanding natural language, creativity, and decision-making. Likewise, the ethical and social implications of general-purpose artificial intelligence were addressed, such as privacy, security, and the impact on the labor market. All with the aim of drawing from different points of view the transformative future of AI.
List of awardees:
- Best Academic Record of the Master’s Degree in Data Science at the Universitat de València – Alberto Martínez Fernández
- Best Academic Record of the Master’s Degree in Data Analysis Engineering, Process Improvement and Decision Making at the Universitat Politècnica de València – Inmaculada Desiderio Martínez
- Best Academic Record of the Master’s Degree in Artificial Intelligence, Pattern Recognition and Digital Imaging at the Universitat Politècnica de València – Mario Andreu Villar
- Best Academic Record of the Master’s Degree in Engineering and Technology of Software Systems at the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia – Fernando Carceller Llorens
- Best Academic Record of the Master’s Degree in Data Science at the Universitat d’Alacant – Jorge Díaz Rosique
- Best Record of the Master’s Degree in Intelligent Systems from the Universitat Jaume I – Joaquín González Álvarez
- Best Record of the Master’s Degree in Computational Statistics and Data Science from the Universidad Miguel Hernández – Lorena Nacher Sarrio
- Best Record of the Master’s Degree in Robotics from the Universidad Miguel Hernández – José García Villalón
- Best Master’s Thesis in Artificial Intelligence and associated disciplines – Titled “Exploring multimodal foundation models to improve interaction for people with speech impairments”
- Best Doctoral Thesis in Artificial Intelligence and associated disciplines – Titled “‘Contributions of biomechanical modeling and machine learning to the automatic registration of Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance and Transrectal Echography for prostate brachytherapy’ by Óscar José Pellicer Valero from the Universitat de València.”
