CIKM 2023: Frontiers in AI, Information Retrieval and Knowledge Management

University lecturer, Dr Ingo Frommholz, organised the 32nd International Conference on 'Information and Knowledge Management' with over 600 registered attendees from across the globe. 

The 32nd ACM International Conference was held in Birmingham from Saturday 21 October until Wednesday 25 October 2023, for Information and Knowledge Management. The event was organised by the University's own Dr Ingo Frommholz from the School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematical Sciences.

In addition to organising the Conference for Information and Knowledge Management (CIKM), Dr Ingo was also the main General Chair. This Core A Ranked conference has a worldwide appeal serving as a global platform for the presentation and discussion of research advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Information Retrieval, Natural Language Processing, Knowledge Management, Data Science, and related fields.

CIKM 2023 had more than 600 registered delegates who facilitated meaningful exchanges and discussions on emerging research topics among junior and senior researchers and practitioners. The conference not only explored the challenges and opportunities of the potential new "AI revolution" but also paid homage to the historical significance of the location where the Industrial Revolution began centuries ago.

The conference aimed to address challenging issues in the development of future knowledge and information systems, shaping the direction of research through the review of high-quality applied and theoretical findings. Out of over 2,000 paper submissions, 650 were accepted for presentation. Unsurprisingly, given the latest developments, the leading theme of this year’s CIKM conference was generative AI and Large Language Models.

Keynote speakers were invited to present at the event featuring; 

• Prof Chirag Shah from the University of Washington presented on Generative AI and the Future of Information Access.
• Prof Yulan He from King’s College London presented on Interpretable Natural Language Understanding.
• Prof Steffen Staab from the University of Stuttgart and the University of Southampton presented Knowledge graphs for knowing more and knowing for sure.

Pre-conference events at the University of Birmingham included tutorials, the PhD consortium, workshops, and an Industry Day. The main conference at Eastside Rooms in Birmingham featured keynote addresses, parallel paper sessions, and poster and demo sessions. Notable moments included a reception at the University of Birmingham’s Great Hall and the conference banquet at Villa Park, where the English football tradition was experienced by international delegates. The event concluded with reflections and the announcement of CIKM 2024, scheduled for Boise, Idaho, USA.

MSc and PhD students from the University of Wolverhampton’s School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematical Sciences played a crucial role as student volunteers, contributing to the success of CIKM 2023 and gaining valuable exposure to world-leading researchers and research activities.

You can find out more information on this CIKM 2023 event page.