Category Archives: Uncategorized

Digital Research Alliance of Canada’s Digital Research Infrastructure Workshop

Time & Date: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm, Fri. Jan 24, 2025
Location: Okanagan College, Room A-141 and Zoom (for a Zoom URL, please make a registration below)
Registration is open: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/451137.

Explore Digital Research Infrastructure with the Digital Research Alliance of Canada

Join us for an engaging workshop on the Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) of Canada’s Digital Research Alliance (DRA). We will explore the tools, resources, and opportunities to enhance digital research. The event will feature presentations by student researchers who will share their experiences and insights into utilizing DRI in their projects.

This workshop provides an excellent opportunity to learn from peers, exchange ideas, and explore how DRI can elevate research efforts and unlock new possibilities.

Highlights:

  • Presentations of four research projects showcasing the application of DRI tools and resources.
  • Insights into two accepted research papers from Computer Science students for the IEEE SysCon 2025 conference (Montreal, April 7–10, 2025).
  • Updates on four ongoing research papers planned for submission to IEEE CCECE 2025 (Vancouver, May 26–29, 2025).

Don’t miss this chance to deepen your understanding of DRI and connect with the research community!

Agenda:

9am – 9:15 – Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:15 – 9:45 – Ajitesh – Digital Research Alliance of Canada Resources and DRI EDIA Champions Program Project
9:45 – 10:00 – Coffee & social
10:00 – 10:15 – Kristina – DW for Individual Tree Species Classification
10:15 – 10:30 – Joshua Padron-Uy – Data Pipeline and Machine Learning Integration
10:30 – 10:45 – Charlotte Ford – UBCO IEEE Student Branch
10:45 – 11:00 – Coffee break & social
11:00 – 11:30 – Joshua Padron-Uy, Keona Gagnier, Dolcy Sareen, Kristina Cormier – Data Warehouse & Extraction, Transformation, and Loading process
11:30 – 11:45 – Ajitesh Parihar – Project Plans and Workshop Quiz
11:45 – 12:00 – Coffee & round table

Bios:

Kristina Cormier is a fourth-year Computer Science student at Okanagan College. She has always been curious about science and technology. Recently, she has discovered a passion for data analysis and machine learning algorithms. Kristina is the Chair of the Okanagan College IEEE Student Branch. She coordinates with her team to help organize events and volunteering. Kristina truly enjoys mentoring, meeting new people and discovering new opportunities.

Ajitesh Parihar is a fourth-year Computer Science student and a Research Assistant at Okanagan College. He is a tech enthusiast who enjoys learning about innovations and technologies and is passionate about software engineering, cyber security, and algorithms. Ajitesh is the Vice Chair of the Okanagan College IEEE Student Branch and enjoys meeting and working with talented individuals.

Joshua Padron-Uy is a fourth-year Computer Science student working on a research project in the COSC 448 Research Methodologies. He is an aspiring student seeking to work in the tech industry and is eager to learn about different areas such as software engineering, devops, data science, and recently in data engineering.

 

Dolcy Sareen is a third-year Computer Science student at Okanagan College. Dolcy is also the webmaster of Okanagan College IEEE Student Branch. She is passionate about learning new technologies, with a strong focus on data. Dolcy enjoys connecting with people and continuously learning from new experiences.

 

Keona Gagnier is a third-year Computer Science student at Okanagan College. Keona finds intrinsic joy in developing functional systems and values the learning process that goes with it. She finds computer science to be a perfect integration of creativity and technical expertise, allowing her to apply both her artistic instincts and problem-solving skills. Keona has held the role of scrum master in various projects, and takes pride in her organizational and leadership abilities.

 Charlotte Ford is an Electrical Engineer specializing in robotics, with a passion for creating a meaningful impact through technology and innovation. With expertise in C++, VBA, AutoCAD, and SolidWorks, she has led her team to victory in the UBCO First-Year Engineering Design Competition and recently won the MassRobotics Forum as part of HEAT Robotics, where they developed solutions to real-world challenges. Charlotte has also spoken at TEDxYouth, advocating for empathy and anti-bullying. Through her technical skills and leadership, she aims to inspire others in STEM.

 

Workshop Feedback Survey:

https://qualtricsxmshmr9b7kh.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e8twjbteORmJvJY

 

Pictures from the event:

Digital Research Alliance Digital Research Infrastructure Workshop

 

For further information, please get in touch with Youry Khmelevsky (email: Youry at IEEE.org) and subscribe to the news at okanagan@listserv.ieee.org
Refreshments and Pizza will be provided

Thompson-Okanagan Section Executive Committee and Student Branch OPEN First Meeting of 2025

Thompson-Okanagan Section Executive Committee and Student Branch OPEN First Meeting of 2025

Time & Date: 3 p.m. – 5 p.m., Thursday, January 2nd, 2025
Location: HS 101 and online in Zoom at Okanagan College (in-person and online)

Registration (is open now): https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/455922 (IEEE Okanagan Section) and https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/455866 (IEEE OK SB)

We warmly invite you to join us for our first meeting in 2025!

This is an excellent opportunity to learn who we are and what we do. During the event, we’ll share highlights from our past activities and give you a sneak peek at the exciting events we’re planning for the near future. We’d also love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Your input matters to us!

Publication shared by our invited speaker: Reflections by Settimo Carl Zanon

For further information, please get in touch with Youry Khmelevsky (email: Youry at IEEE.org) and subscribe to the news at okanagan@listserv.ieee.org
Refreshments will be provided

Section adds to investment in Section Scholarship Fund

The section adds to investment in the Section Scholarship Fund

(reposting from https://vancouver.ieee.ca/2024/11/07/vancouver-section-scholarship-awards-increased/)

IEEE Canadian Foundation President David Whyte and Vancouver Section Chair Jacqueline Nichols

IEEE Vancouver Section Chair Jacqueline Nichols announcing scholarship award increases, and presenting the additional funding to IEEE Canada Foundation President David Whyte.

The IEEE Vancouver Section is happy to announce that the section has added an additional $30,000 to the scholarship fund for the 30th anniversary of the IEEE Canadian Foundation. This increase in funding will allow the Vancouver Section to award up to four scholarships of $2000 each year through the funds interest.

Scholarship applications will open in early 2025.

For more information on the specific scholarship awards offered by the Vancouver Section, please visit the Scholarships page on the section website:

 

The Vancouver Section Scholarship funds accounts are administered on behalf of the Vancouver Section by the IEEE Canadian Foundation. The fund is self-sustaining, and disbursements flow from the fund’s interest earned. Contributions are welcome to grow the fund and, therefore, the annual value that the section can award through the scholarships. Contributions to these Section Scholarship funds are tax deductible.

For additional information about the Foundation and to contribute to the Vancouver Section Scholarship Fund, please visit:

https://www.ieeecanadianfoundation.org/EN/donations.php

Algorithmic Trading and Short-term Forecast for Financial Time Series with Machine Learning Models Implementation and Testing

 

 

 

Albert Wong, Gaétan Hains, Ajitesh Parihar
University Paris East Creteil, Langara College and Computer Science, Okanagan College

Algorithmic Trading and Short-term Forecast for Financial Time Series with Machine Learning Models Implementation and Testing Workshop

Time & Date: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 pm, Monday, July 29th, 2024
Location: Room E-310 and online in Zoom, Okanagan College, Kelowna, 1000 KLO Rd, Kelowna V1Y 4X8
Registration (is open now): https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/428090 

Abstract:

The increase in popularity of machine learning models and algorithms has brought up methods for increasing the efficiency of processes in various industries and new use cases. From corporations to individuals, machine learning is applicable in a wide range of settings. One such application is using machine learning models for stock price forecasting. This area is often studied. However, it still needs to solve problems due to the high complexity and volatility that technical factors and sentiment-analysis models try to capture. Based on this premise, we suggested you build up our previous experience building short-term forecasting models using machine learning models. The research project aims to develop practical algorithmic trading algorithms based on accurate short-term forecasts for financial time series using machine learning models. The project focuses on these research activities:

  1. Building a database containing the targeted financial and other time series is valuable input to the machine learning models. This streamlines the process of acquiring financial data required for training the machine learning model by adding a web UI for configuring data collection automation and extracting required data.
  2. A short-term forecasting model based on machine learning is developed using the various time-series data from the data warehouse. Machine learning algorithms such as neural networks, random forecasts, support vector regression, XGBoost, and long short-term memory (LSTM) are evaluated with several performance criteria to identify the most accurate model from a short-term trading perspective. After the performance analysis based on several metrics, XGBoost was chosen for further development.

A mini workshop agenda:

  1. Welcome from the IEEE Okanagan Subsection, IEEE Okanagan College Student Branch and Computer Science Department: Dr. Youry Khmelevsky, Chair (9:30 am – 9:35 am)
  2. Invited speaker from the University of Paris East Creteil: Dr. Gaétan Hains (9:35 am – 10:15 am) — Slides:  2024-07-29GaetanAlgTradingSystemWorkshop.
    1. Workshop Overview
    2. Collaboration between institutions for research
    3. Algorithmic Trading – State of the Art
    4. Hardware Requirements
    5. Research Project Iterations
  3. Invited speakers from Langara College: Dr. Albert Wong & Andres C. Viloria Garcia (10:15 am – 11:00 am)
    1. Machine Learning algorithms for stock price forecasting
    2. Model building process and methodology
    3. Normalization and performance evaluation
    4. Iterations and results
  4. Coffee Break (11:00 am – 11:15 am)
  5. Student research project presentation and demonstration (11:15 am – 12:30 pm) Slides: 2024-07-29AlgTradingDBMSIntegrPrototype
    1. Database design
    2. Data collection process automation
    3. Extraction, Transformation and Loading Process
    4. UI development for data configurations and extraction
    5. Integration prototype using Jupyter notebooks
  6. Q&A

We will demonstrate how to evaluate the quality of the collected data, the metrics of the machine learning model’s prediction, and their integration. 

Bios:

Albert Wong, Ph.D., teaches at the Post-degree Diploma Program in Data Analytics at Langara (the “DA Program”). Drawing on experience and skills developed over a long career, Dr. Wong sets the technical direction for projects proposed within several applied research applications and liaises closely with the partners’ senior leadership teams to ensure that the projects align with each firm’s strategic and financial imperatives. Dr. Wong’s academic expertise includes sampling, multivariate statistical analysis, and ML. He has spent decades working and consulting with organizations of various sizes on the use of statistics, DA, and information technology to solve strategic and/or tactical problems.

Gaétan Hains, Ph.D., is an expert in software safety and performance and holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Oxford. He is currently a Professor of Computer Science and Vice President for Digital Affairs at the University of Paris-Est Creteil (UPEC). He is also a member of the Laboratory of Algorithmics, Complexity, and Logic (LACL), where he has previously served as the head and held academic positions at the University of Montreal and the University of Orleans. He has extensive experience in R&D project leadership and doctoral supervision in parallel-distributed computing, software safety, privacy, and formal methods, with applications in finance, telecom, Al, automotive, and automated trading.

Ajitesh Parihar is a fourth-year Computer Science student and a Research Assistant at Okanagan College. He is a tech enthusiast who enjoys learning about innovations and technologies and is passionate about software engineering, cyber security, and algorithms. Ajitesh is excited to get more involved as a Board Member of the IEEE Student Branch and to meet and work with talented individuals.

Andres C. Viloria Garcia has a post-degree Diploma in Data Analytics from Langara College. He currently works as a Research Associate at Langara College, participating in an NSERC-funded project to assist companies in developing decision-support capabilities and using machine learning techniques to solve business problems. He has experience building machine learning and artificial intelligence models for energy, manufacturing, and healthcare companies.

Credits:

COSC471 2024 (ETL, DB and Data Collection, Documentation):
Scrum Master: Jake Fischer
Product Owner: Jacob Rawlings
Developer: Alan Abdollahzadeh
Developer: Vanessa Dubouzet
Developer: Ben Carrier
Developer: Dominic Presch

COSC470 (ETL, DB, Data Collection Prototypes, Documentation)
Product Owner: Jacob Rawlings
Product Owner: Devon Volberg
Scrum Master: Jake Fischer

Data Collection:
Developer (Lead): Dylan Soares
Developer: Jaeden Soukoroff
Developer: Vanessa Dubouzet
Developer: Benjamin Carrier

Sanitization & Database:
Developer (Lead): Jacob Labelle
Developer: Dominic Presch
Developer: Parker Green
Developer: Dakota Flath
Developer: William (Noah) Blake
Developer: Alan Abdollahzadeh

Database Administration:
Developer (lead): Yuan Hu
Developer: Isaac Lengacher-Bergeron

Technical Insight, Professor:
Vladimir Ryjov

Earlier Iterations of DB, ETL and Documentation:
Nassi Ebadifard
Dakota Joiner
Amy Vezeau

 

For further information, please get in touch with Youry Khmelevsky (email: Youry at IEEE.org) and subscribe to the news at okanagan@listserv.ieee.org
Pizza and Refreshments will be provided