The Fifth Elephant 2015
A conference on data, machine learning, and distributed and parallel computing
Machine Learning, Distributed and Parallel Computing, and High-performance Computing are the themes for this year’s edition of Fifth Elephant.
The deadline for submitting a proposal is 15th June 2015
We are looking for talks and workshops from academics and practitioners who are in the business of making sense of data, big and small.
Track 1: Discovering Insights and Driving Decisions
This track is about general, novel, fundamental, and advanced techniques for making sense of data and driving decisions from data. This could encompass applications of the following ML paradigms:
- Statistical Visualizations
- Unsupervised Learning
- Supervised Learning
- Semi-Supervised Learning
- Active Learning
- Reinforcement Learning
- Monte-carlo techniques and probabilistic programming
- Deep Learning
Across various data modalities including multi-variate, text, speech, time series, images, video, transactions, etc.
Track 2: Speed at Scale
This track is about tools and processes for collecting, indexing, and processing vast amounts of data. The theme includes:
- Distributed and Parallel Computing
- Real Time Analytics and Stream Processing
- MapReduce and Graph Computing frameworks
- Kafka, Spark, Hadoop, MPI
- Stories of parallelizing sequential programs
- Cost/Security/Disaster Management of Data
Commitment to Open Source
HasGeek believes in open source as the binding force of our community. If you are describing a codebase for developers to work with, we’d like it to be available under a permissive open source license. If your software is commercially licensed or available under a combination of commercial and restrictive open source licenses (such as the various forms of the GPL), please consider picking up a sponsorship. We recognize that there are valid reasons for commercial licensing, but ask that you support us in return for giving you an audience. Your session will be marked on the schedule as a sponsored session.
Workshops
If you are interested in conducting a hands-on session on any of the topics falling under the themes of the two tracks described above, please submit a proposal under the workshops section. We also need you to tell us about your past experience in teaching and/or conducting workshops.
Hosted by
The Fifth Elephant - known as one of the best data science and Machine Learning conference in Asia - has transitioned into a year-round forum for conversations about data and ML engineering; data science in production; data security and privacy practices. more
SD
Steven Deobald
@stevendeobald
Two Years Wiser: The Nilenso Experiment
Submitted May 11, 2015
Section:
Full Talk
Technical level:
Beginner
Attendees will hear how nilenso has overcome a series of challenges present in running a technology co-operative. This story will be informative for anyone who wants their team to be more involved, not just for employee-owned companies. Understanding decision-making, execution, and delivery is essential for any business. By describing the structural and procedural challenges we’ve faced over the past 2 years of running our company as a democracy, some clear lessons emerge.
Outline
When we describe nilenso as an “employee-owned democracy”, people are immediatley interested. “What does that even mean?” is a common first response. We’ll usually respond by describing “employee-owned” in legal terms and once people understand our structure, they often have a difficult time imagining that we can ever get anything accomplished: how are decisions are made democratically? who is responsible for outcomes? who has to have the uncomfortable conversations? what processes do we follow?
An external observer often mistakes nilenso for a hippie commune or a disasterous management case study waiting to happen. However, when we retrospect over the past two years of our existence, we see that the more rationally and scientifically we approach any given situation, the better the outcome. We have certainly had our share of failures, but open communication and transparency allows us to learn from them. Planning and projection is always uncertain, but if we analyze the data and are honest with ourselves, the future is never quite as scary as it seems to our imaginations initially.
As we walk through two years of co-operative life, you’ll hear about our genesis, our ugliest client, our hardest conversations, our biggest successes, our biggest mistakes, and all that we have left to accomplish. Underpinning all of this are our purpose, our goals, and our ethos... themselves forever in flux as we learn.
Speaker bio
Steven has worked for international consultancies, early-stage startups,
slow-saas-ramp-of-death startups, trading firms, the Canadian government,
intelligence agencies, and a little employee-owned tech coop here in Bangalore.
Across these organizations, he’s seen a lot of project management and team
management strategies. Some work by flow. Some work by force. Some never work. It’s
become a mission in recent years to figure out not just what works for him, but
what general toolset our companies can use the world over to create more meaningful,
enjoyable places to work.
Links
- Here is a mind map of this talk. Blue bubbles represent anecdotes or stories which will make up the bulk of the talk so I don’t get too preachy: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwJPQ3H6R2V3MHlwTjBUNVpCLVU/view?usp=sharing
- Here’s a talk I’m semi-proud of, if you want to know what it’s like to hear my voice: https://vimeo.com/42720839
Comments
Hosted by
The Fifth Elephant - known as one of the best data science and Machine Learning conference in Asia - has transitioned into a year-round forum for conversations about data and ML engineering; data science in production; data security and privacy practices. more
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