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< Back LAST EVER iGGi Cohort – Sep 2023 Start iGGi is proud to announce that we have now successfully recruited a total of 120 PhD researchers over its two funding runs (i.e., “IGGI 1” and “IGGI 2” which each granted funding for 5 years of new intake), resulting in a total of 10 cohorts of 12 new researchers on average per year. While this is sad news for those who were hoping to apply to the programme in future as there won’t be any further recruitment, we are excited about the high quality of work that iGGis on the programme have so far achieved and about what is still to come. Our last ever intake comprises a total of 16 new researchers who are about to start the programme officially at the beginning of this October (2023). We’ve seen teasers of their research projects during the “Year 1 Buzz” session of last week’s iGGi conference, and, diverse though they were in their topic areas, they all looked very promising. – We can’t wait to hear more of it!! If you are a new iGGi Year 1 and happen to read this: Here’s a warm welcome to you from the iGGi Community - to many years of shared work and fun! Previous 18 Sept 2023 Next

< Back 2021 iGGi Brochure Out now! The 2021 iGGi Brochure * lists profiles of all iGGi Researchers who actively participated in this year's iGGi Conference. Browse the linked pdf version (as well as the Students page on this site, of course) to find out more about individual iGGi PhD's current research. *Brochure design/layout by Timea Farkas Previous 8 Oct 2021 Next

< Back The AI and Games Conference IS BACK! It was the first event dedicated to game AI developers in Europe since 2017, and boy did the community embrace it. In the main organiser's (Tommy Thompson from AI and Games ) own words: "Nature abhors a vacuum and I'm the idiot big enough to try and fill it." - Tommy, you did achieve, and we thank you for that bold move from the bottom of our hearts! Big thanks also to all the sponsors, and specifically to our iGGi Industry Advisory Board Chair Duygu Ç acmak (Creative Assembly) who's a co-organiser. The one-day, double-track event took place on 08 November 2024 at Goldsmiths, University of London and featured international speakers from industry and academia who covered a broad spectrum of topics related to AI and Games in an informative and well-structured way. We're proud to say that we witnessed this launch with 13 iGGi PG Researchers and a whole bunch of iGGi Staff. We also spotted quite a few iGGi Alumni who had made it to the event independently. Moreover, Raluca Gaina and Diego Pérez-Liébana featured with a talk about their spin-off company " Tabletop R&D " >> If you've missed it, here's the Talk Recording We were really impressed about the level of organisation and attention to detail, and we're certainly hoping that the conference will be back again next year! >> Here's a link to all the the talks' recordings Previous 11 Nov 2024 Next

< Back iGGi/AIM/C4DM Spring Writing Retreat 2025 Last week’s 2025 Spring Writing Retreat was a great success! And the warm & sunny weather certainly landed like the cherry on top! The event brought together 16 PG Researchers from iGGi and AIM CDTs, and the C4DM. The three days were spent at High Leigh Conference Centre in Hertfordshire. According to feedback survey, all respondents found the retreat useful, and an overwhelming majority (75%) deemed the duration and number of participants to be just right. (The remaining 25% are equally split both ways, so we conclude that what was on offer hit the sweet spot.) Here is what participants replied to the question " What was the primary benefit of being away with your and other CDT members?" Made some new friends, got to work on my research in a very focused manner. Vitamin D & focused writing time A change of scenery and structure I could focus entirely on my project Focus, socialise, change environment, and being inspired by other people's research and knowledge Balanced and structured days with focused writing sessions Very concentrated environment A constructive environment Focus. No need to worry about food I felt a really supportive and productive environment spending sometimes with my colleagues and new ones away from the usual workplace. Many participants enquired if there will be another writing retreat soon, so we better get planning! Previous 7 May 2025 Next

< Back iGGi York is located just outside the City of York's centre, on University of York's East Campus. The Computer Science building (where our iGGi offices are) is located by the Lake. Please see map of the campus . How to reach the campus Details of how to reach the campus can be found on UoY web page Transport, maps and parkings . See also the information provided below. Arriving by car There is parking on Campus East. Please note that car parks are pay and display. The postcode for Campus East is YO10 5GY The nearest car parks to the venue are on Kimberlow Lane. Please see pay and display parking for location of the three car parks. There are usually plenty of spaces available. (Please note that when you view the map it automatically shows Campus West which also has a lake. You will need to swipe the map to the left to see Campus East). You will approach the car parks on Kimberlow Lane via Field Lane or Hull Road depending on which direction you are travelling from. (Please note that Lakeside Way is closed to traffic). When you view the map, the meeting and conference venue is near the small lake, which is named ‘Lake’ on the map and is just off Lakeside Way. Public Transport from York Train Station If you wish to use public transport from the hotel and/or from York Station to the campus, please see Map of York and campus Bus routes 66 and 67 go near the hotel and station and to the campus. You should alight at University of York, Campus East Coach Stop (see Field Lane on the map). Route 66 bus timetable & Timetable Route 67 bus timetable After getting off the bus, walk down the slope towards the lake. University of York (UoY) iGGi University of York Gallery Computer Science Building - University of York, Campus East Ron Cooke Hub - University of York, Campus East Piazza Building - University of York, Campus East Map of Campus East, University of York Previous Next

< Back iGGi Con 2025 - REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! The next iGGi Conference is happening soon! iGGi Con 2025 University of York 10-11 September REGISTER VIA THIS FORM iGGi Con 2025 website And you can obviously also follow the iGGi social media for related news and updates: LinkedIn BlueSky Please note that full coverage of the event will be mainly via our BlueSky account . Hoping to see many of you there! Previous 7 May 2025 Next

< Back UK Games Expo Birmingham With its focus (almost entirely) on board games, the UK Games Expo wasn't exactly an obvious choice for running an iGGi stand. But due to the fact that a considerable proportion of iGGi PG Researchers has involvement with tabletop games through their research in some form or other, the suggestion had been made for a few years now, and finally, iGGi decided to test the waters. As an added encouragement, Tabletop R&D - an SME that sprung off from our very own Game AI Group at QMUL - had offered to share a stand space with us. We (i.e., the 8 iGGis who attended) were positively surprised on more than one level, namely by the size of the expo (4 large, hangar-like exhibition halls) the welcoming and friendly vibes from the community (and the fact that it felt like a community gathering rather than a trade fair) the quality of conversations we had at the stand, which also made our presence feel relevant the new connections we forged just the charm of the whole thing We're definitely all rooting for coming back next year! Previous 3 Jun 2025 Next

< Back Nuffield Research Placement IGGI was taking part for the first time in the Nuffield Research Placement scheme this year: IGGI PhD researchers were supervising keen A-level students from across the country so that the students could gain an insight into scientific research work. The supervision schemes lasted two weeks per student and took place over the summer. The students benefited from the exposure to complex problems, and their involvement in the respective project may very well give them a significant boost to their prospective university applications. One of the participating IGGI PhD Researchers, Michelangelo Conserva , reported: "It was a pleasure for me to take part in the project! During the first week I did a series of seminars to introduce the student to the relevant topics; whereas in the second week we did a project on generating synthetic faces using Generative Adversarial Networks. I personally believe that this is a great initiative that will increase diversity in the next generation of researchers and I am proud of my little contribution to it. I think that mixing online and in person meetings would be great but I understand that it was not possible this year." Another participant, Nuria Peña Pérez , provided the following feedback: "Participating in the Nuffield Research Placement scheme has been a very enriching experience. During this programme, I supervised an A-level student on a project related to my work. Before starting the project, we had several discussions about the objectives to be pursued, to which the student significantly contributed with their own ideas. The project lasted two weeks, during which the student worked hard on the development of a video game for rehabilitation, a process that allowed the student to improve their technical skills while I gained supervising experience. This programme has therefore greatly benefited both of us.I think that through the Nuffield programme students can get practical experience in research topics that might otherwise be not necessarily accessible outside of academic environments or programmes. This benefits both academia, through the incorporation of external feedback and the possibility of improving communication, and students who can develop their technical and research skills and see if they enjoy these topics before committing to specific programmes. Unfortunately, this year the program took place online, which was not a problem for the project I suggested, but I can imagine many disciplines would benefit from in-person collaborations as this would give students access to physical research labs and their equipment." IGGI is planning to take part again in next year's round which will most likely be conducted in person or in a blended format. Read here to learn more about Nuffield and the Research Placement scheme. Previous 9 Oct 2021 Next

Principled and Scalable Exploration Techniques for Reinforcement Learning Theme Game AI Project proposed & supervised by Paulo Rauber To discuss whether this project could become your PhD proposal please email: p.rauber@qmul.ac.uk < Back Principled and Scalable Exploration Techniques for Reinforcement Learning Project proposal abstract: Reinforcement learning has received significant attention due to its success in training agents that play popular games such as Go , Starcraft II , Dota 2 , and others. Inefficient exploration, one of the earliest problems recognized in the field, still limits the success of reinforcement learning approaches that do not require domain knowledge. Although techniques like posterior sampling convincingly solve hard exploration problems in simple domains ( https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/11891201 ), scalable exploration techniques remain elusive. In this project, you will develop principled and scalable exploration techniques based on reducing model uncertainty ( https://arxiv.org/abs/1609.04436 ). Besides benefiting from games as excellent testbeds, this project has the potential to radically improve automated playtesting. Supervisor: Paulo Rauber Based at:

< Back iGGi Con 2022 Programme Booklet For an online/PDF version of the iGGi Con 2022 Programme Booklet please follow THIS LINK The booklet content: What is IGGI? How to get involved IGGI partners and collaborators IGGI Researchers IGGI Alumni IGGI Conference – Foreword Keynote Speakers Conference Programme Accessibility Information Conference Committee Previous 21 Sept 2022 Next

< Back 2020 Cohort Mini-Conference The recent 2020 cohort Mini-Conference was a great success! It was held in York and focused on highlighting the work being submitted and published by the iGGi PGRs at this stage in their projects. The cohort members had a chance to meet one another (as due to the pandemic, some still had not ever met before!) and to take a deep dive in to each-other's work, sharing knowledge in a simultaneously bonding and educational trip. The meet certainly fostered ideas for some collaborations between students, so watch this space! Previous 20 Apr 2022 Next

< Back iGGi Research Retreat "Unconference" For the second year running, we've assembled a group of 30 people at a remote Holiday Village near Matlock (Derbyshire) to connect individuals over their shared research interests, and to exchange ideas and experiences. The retreat spanned over 4 days (3 nights), and participants were made up of 16 iGGi PG Researchers, 2 iGGi Alumni, 9 Games Industry Members, 2 iGGi Academic Supervisors, and 1 iGGi Admin. The format: The first session of the day is always a "pitching" session. Each participant can put forward the topics they would like to see investigated and invite other participants to join their group. Groups with at least 2 members then retreat to a breakout space on site (e.g., their cottage's living room, outdoors seating, the common room) to work on their project for the rest of that day. The day's results are shared with everyone in the evening, and a larger, more detailed presentation is held on the last day before event close. This year, we had set simple rules as to who can pitch ideas on each day in order to give everyone a fair chance for gathering a group and to foster the creation of new connections. Some of the groups' outcome has been made available in summarised format via these dedicated pages/articles ! Given the enthusiastic feedback we've so far received, we aim to run a similar retreat in 2026, and we're already excited for it! iGGi Unconference Group Outcomes (List) Previous 21 Aug 2025 Next