About Us
History.
CIIC was created in October 2008 as a research unit of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (IPLeiria), to promote research in computer science and information technologies. It has been a research unit of the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia since 2013 and was evaluated for the first time in 2017/18, receiving a "Good" rating.
CIIC researchers are organised in three research strategic areas (Smart Internet of Things Ecosystems (SIoTE); Cybersecurity (CS) and Digital Forensics (DF); Virtual and Augmented Reality (VAR) according to their expertise and profile. The CIIC has both integrated PhD and collaborating researchers, including numerous PhD, master’s and undergraduate students.
CIIC has a strong link with the Department of Computer Engineering (where most of the researchers belong) at the School of Technology and Management (ESTG) of Polytechnic of Leiria and works closely with industry, aiming to share the knowledge generated with our research. It also has a strong focus on internationalization, with several international partnerships and promoting various R&D and mobility activities.
Mission.
CIIC’s mission is to conduct high-quality research and innovation, with regional, national and global impact, in line with the strategy of the Polytechnic University of Leiria.
CIIC aim is to provide a continuously updated and valuable contribution to the scientific community, as well as to support innovation, promoting the application of the results of our research activity in real-world scenarios whenever possible, contributing to society in an impactful way.
Organization.
This research unit is formally composed of: the Director (head of the research unit), the Board of Directors (currently 4 integrated PhD researchers responsible for scientific and strategic management), the Scientific Council composed of all CIIC integrated PhD researchers, and an External Advisory Board of eight internationally recognised experts in CIIC research areas.
Knowledge Domains
CIIC-IPL aims to promote scientific and technological developments, education, and services in computer science and information technologies knowledge domains. These goals are to be achieved by acting in the following research streams.
Ambient Assisted Living
Focuses on the development of technologies and services that enhance the autonomy, safety, and quality of life for the elderly and individuals with special needs in their daily activities.
Ambient Assisted Living Ecosystems as a Service
Provides integrated solutions that combine technology and services to support independent living, safety, and well-being for the elderly and those with special needs.
Smart Heterogeneous Unmanned Vehicle Ecosystems
Involve the integration and coordination of diverse autonomous vehicles, enhancing efficiency, adaptability, and collaboration across various environments and applications.
Digital Forensics
Involves the investigation and analysis of digital devices and data to uncover, preserve, and present evidence in legal and cybersecurity contexts
Virtual Reality
Creates immersive, computer-generated environments that simulate real or imagined experiences, enabling users to interact with and explore digital worlds
Augmented Reality
Overlays digital information onto the real world, enhancing the user's perception and interaction with their physical environment.
Multimedia and cognitive systems
Covering among other topics, universal access systems, e-learning, training and education systems, entertainment and visualization, and image processing;
Evolutionary and complex systems
Covering among other topics, complex adaptive systems, self-organizing systems, evolutionary computation, genetic algorithms, artificial immune systems, collective intelligence, optimization algorithms based in biology, and social networks;
Software engineering and systems
Covering among other topics, fault tolerance and reliability, data processing, parallel and distributed systems, high-performance computing, operating systems, embedded systems, and systems interoperability;
Data communications
Covering among other topics, terminal, software, data and users’ mobility, quality of service, advanced models for networks’ management, architectures and services, and sensor networks;
Information Systems and Web
Covering among other topics, databases and data warehouses, enterprise solutions such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), business process modeling, Computers and Society, vertical Information Systems Applied to areas such as health-care, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), e-commerce and e-business, collaboration systems, semantic web technologies, and information systems management;
Cybersecurity
Covering among other topics, information security, applications, systems, users and networks;