Social Sciences Computing Hub Launch

The Whitaker Institute is delighted to announce the launch of the Social Sciences Computing Hub. The Hub will be formally launched by NUI Galway President, Dr. Jim Browne.

The Social Sciences Computing Hub is a unique facility that will serve both as a repository of diverse social science databases, quantitative and qualitative, and a computing resource that can be used by researchers across the University.

This cross-disciplinary initiative will help our mission in establishing NUI Galway at the forefront of global Business and Social Science research with scientific rigor to inform public policy.

The Hub will be a one-stop facility for access to diverse data, visualization and computational resources for research clusters across various social science research institutes. The architecture of the Hub will be set up in such a way that it will provide remote access to University users, both within and off campus.

With funding support from the Registrar’s Strategic Fund 2012 and the Irish Social Science Platform (PRTLI 4) the first phase of the Hub, “Advanced Business Analytics Laboratory”, has begun its operations with industrial partners Standard & Poor (S&P) providing diverse business and finance data through their CapitalIQ platform and PERACTON providing expertise in training students using their MAARS platform. The Lab has initiated a four-week training program on “Advanced Portfolio Management Training” for 24 students from the Masters in International Finance and the Undergraduate students from Commerce, Arts and Financial Mathematics and Economics. The training program is conducted by PERACTON and the training is on portfolio optimization, back-testing methods and high-frequency/ high-speed trading techniques.

Launch Details:

When: 25th March 2013
Where CA107 (Lecture Hall 3), Cairnes Building, NUI Galway
Who: All academic and research staff of NUIG
Time: 11:00 am
RSVP to: Gail Porter at valerie.parker@nuigalway.ie

Program

11.00 Welcome and Introduction by Dr. James Cunningham, Director of the Whitaker Institute

11.10 Dr. Srinivas Raghavendra, Associate Director, Whitaker Institute

11.20 Formal Launch of the Hub by President Dr Jim Browne

11.30 Presentation of the Inaugural Whitaker Award

11.40 Standard & Poor (S&P) demonstration of the Capital IQ platform

12.05 Tea/Coffee

12.20 Engagement Workshop:

(1) Standard & Poor (S&P) demo – This demo will introduce the capitaliq platform and few databases used by some of the top business schools in the US and in Europe

(2) PERACTON Demo by Dr. Laurentiu Vasiliu
(This demo will show the integration of high-frequency finance data in MAARS for back-testing the portfolio strategies, and would be useful for anybody planning to work in the finance industry).