AIMSA 2026

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Prof. Steve Furber
Professor Emeritus

Organization: University of Manchester, Department of Computer Science

Lecture title: The SpiNNaker Project

Abstract: The SpiNNaker project at the University of Manchester delivered a machine incorporating over a million ARM processor cores with a communications fabric optimised for large-scale brain modelling applications running in biological real time. The machine supported an open neuromorphic computing service under the auspices of the EU Flagship Human Brain Project (HBP) continuously from April 2016, and was for several years the world’s largest neuromorphic computing platform, a position only recently ceded to Intel’s Hala Point. A second generation SpiNNaker2 system was co-developed within the HBP by the University of Manchester and the Technical University of Dresden incorporating lessons learnt from the SpiNNaker1 service. This year TU Dresden has built a 5 million core SpiNNaker2 system for data centre scale neuromorphic and AI applications. SpiNNaker2 is being actively commercialised by SpiNNcloud Systems GmbH with a focus on deploying mainstream AI and hybrid models, which is especially important following recent algorithmic breakthroughs in mainstream AI whose full potential is hard to realise without brain-inspired architectures.

ShortBio: Steve Furber CBE FRS FREng is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester, UK. After completing a BA in mathematics and a PhD in aerodynamics at the University of Cambridge, UK, he spent the 1980s at Acorn Computers, where he was a principal designer of the BBC Microcomputer and the ARM 32-bit RISC microprocessor. Over 300 billion ARM-powered chips have since been manufactured, powering much of the world's mobile and embedded computing. He moved to the ICL Chair of Computer Engineering at Manchester in 1990 where he led research into asynchronous and low-power systems and, more recently, neural systems engineering, where the SpiNNaker project delivered a computer incorporating a million ARM processors optimised for brain modelling applications.

Prof. Chrisina Jayne

Organization: Teesside University, Dean of the School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies

Lecture title: Rethinking Postgraduate Education in the Age of AI

Abstract:This talk explores how postgraduate programmes in engineering, computing, and digital technologies are evolving in response to the rapid integration of AI into professional practice. Rather than focusing solely on technical AI development, attention shifts to curriculum design approaches that position responsible AI use as a core graduate capability across master’s education. Drawing on a School wide initiative to introduce a shared MSc module in professional practice and responsible AI, the talk reflects on interdisciplinary delivery models, scalable assessment approaches for large cohorts, and the challenges and opportunities of aligning professional standards with academic innovation.

ShortBio:Professor Chrisina Jayne is Dean of the School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies at Teesside University, with responsibility for both the main campus and TU London. Her academic leadership and research expertise span computing, artificial intelligence, and digital technologies. collaboration. She holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Sofia University, Bulgaria, and an MSc in Computing Science from Birkbeck, University of London, combining strong mathematical foundations with applied computing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Professor Jayne has led and secured significant external research funding as Principal Investigator, supervised and examined doctoral research internationally, and contributed extensively to research governance, accreditation, and quality assurance. Her research focuses on artificial neural networks, machine learning, and AI, and she has authored over 90 peer reviewed publications, alongside editing high impact journal special issues and conference proceedings. She has held prominent international leadership roles, including President of the International Neural Network Society (INNS), and continues to contribute through senior conference and governance roles. She is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a UK National Teaching Fellow.