The ADAPT Centre has been shortlisted for the Diversity in Tech Awards 2021 in the Social Impact category and for the Rising Star award in the Women in Tech Category. Ninety finalists across 15 categories were shortlisted from over 300 nominations.
For the Social Impact category, the ADAPT Centre was nominated for the work carried out with Translators without Borders (TWB), a non-profit organization offering language and translation support for humanitarian and development agencies. ADAPT worked with TWB to develop technology that would help in service delivery in humanitarian settings worldwide. The collaboration resulted in an enhancement of opportunities for the displaced Rohingya people allowing them greater access to social services, information and education.
For the Rising Star award, Eva Vanmassenhove was nominated. Eva is a rising star in Neural Machine Translation and her work seeks to address bias in AI systems. Eva, an alumnus of the SFI ADAPT Centre for AI Driven Digital Content Technology, is an Assistant Professor in Artificial Intelligence at Tilburg University in the Data Science and Society Master Program with responsibility for the ‘Deep Learning’ and ‘Advanced Data Processing’ course. Her research focus and interests are situated at the crossroads of Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics and the ethical/societal implications of technology.
The Diversity in Tech awards acknowledge and celebrate diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace. They give organisations and advocates for these areas a platform and recognise the contributions they have made towards fairer environments. This year the Diversity in Tech Awards sponsored by AWS received over 300 nominations across 22 countries and 5 continents. The awards aim to highlight the achievements of companies and individuals that promote diversity in all its forms within the technology industry.
Speaking about the research, Director of ADAPT Professor Vinny Wade said: “ADAPT is pioneering new forms of proactive, scalable, and integrated AI-driven Digital Media Technology that empower individuals and society to engage in digital experiences with control, inclusion, and accountability. The work with Translators Without Borders is a prime example of the transformative and positive impact technology can have.”
This year the awards will take place virtually on 2nd September.
