IEEE Computer Society Announces Selections for its 2024-2025 Emerging Tech Grants Program

The IEEE Computer Society (CS) established its Emerging Tech Grants Program to help connect emerging technologies with the computing community and support members and constituents in using emerging technologies to benefit humanity. Annually, the society funds programs designed to achieve those goals and advance the industry. For 2024-2025, IEEE CS selected six deserving programs, including:

• African Computer Vision Summer School (ACVSS) – ACVSS will be a 10-day computer vision summer school held in Kenya, uniting outstanding African students and leading scientists in computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI). The event will help foster the emergence of African scientists in computer vision.
• ASTRA 2024 – Through an intensive, 14-day summer school training program held in Romania, ASTRA 2024 will introduce students to the cutting-edge fields of neuroimaging, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), and AI. Students will learn about neuroimaging and experience how BCIs are built. Through interactive workshops, participants will gain hands-on experience building and employing BCIs to control simple devices and software.
• Critical and Emerging Technologies Summit – The Summit, which will take place over the course of two days in the summer of 2024 at Vanderbilt University, will bring together students, academics, industry, professionals, and public-sector leaders to advance the collective understanding of critical and emerging technologies and foster new work and collaborations. It will offer a holistic approach to emerging technologies, offering insights into the phenomenon and process of technology emergence, and on the theory of technology criticality in our connected global society.
• Workshop Series on Emerging Human-Computer Interaction: Applying Affect, Cognition, and Mixed-Reality – This year-long Workshop Series will explore artificial emotional intelligence with cutting-edge technology, including brain-computer interfaces, eye-tracking, and AR/VR devices. The goals of the Workshop Series are to enhance understanding of Emotion AI technologies; engage diverse perspectives from the U.S. and Latin America; foster discussions on ethical considerations; facilitate hands-on learning around the technologies; and promote open access, collaboration, and knowledge sharing within the community.
• Code Chronicles: A Virtual Museum of Programming Languages – This project will use augmented and virtual reality to build an online museum and organize events at Virginia Military Institute and Virginia Tech. Students will be invited to an immersive experience that blends historical knowledge with practical coding experiences. The project will not only introduce an innovative educational tool through augmented and virtual reality but also create a dynamic platform for community engagement around the history and future of programming languages. Additionally, involving academic institutions and students directly ensures the museum stays relevant and grows with technological advancements, securing its place as a long-term educational resource.
• GEN-AI Designed Fashion Show – This project will create the world’s first fashion show where the designs are exclusively created using Generative AI. Attendees will witness groundbreaking designs generated by AI algorithms, showcasing the fusion of technology and fashion in a captivating and innovative manner. The event will feature everything from casual wear to haute couture all designed by AI. It will serve as a means to address the emerging technology of Generative AI, highlighting its impact on design processes and creativity within fashion.

Projects selected for the 2024-2025 Emerging Tech Grants Program will launch in Q4 2024 and must be completed by 31 December 2025. Project leads will report the progress and results back to IEEE CS over the coming year. Subsequent information about each program’s impact may be shared in future IEEE CS Tech News blogs.

Learn more about the Emerging Tech Grants Program.