[RLCOMP-2009 Announce] Call for participation: 2009 RL Competition Workshop at ICML-09

[Matthew E. Taylor]

Hello All,

Now that the testing phase has begun, we'd like you to consider coming
to discuss your work at our ICML workshop. Details are below, along
with information regarding student scholarships. I hope to see you in
Montreal!



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              2009 Reinforcement Learning Competition
                 Call for Posters and Presentations
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The ICML workshop portion of the 2009 Reinforcement Learning
competition is coming up in one month!  Now that competitors have had
a chance to try the domains, swim around in the code and test their
best algorithms, we'd like to hear about what's happening.

We're soliciting contributions from the reinforcement learning
community (including, but not limited to, RLC competitors) who would
like to present something at the workshop, either as a poster or a
presentation / discussion during the workshop itself.


* WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

 Lots of things, as long as it's interesting!  For example:

 - We're interested in your algorithms.  What have you tried?  What
   worked well?  How did you end up doing so well on Mario?  Even if
   you don't end up winning an event, you may have had a great idea.
   We'd like to hear about it (and we may even be interested in
   "negative results," if you have a compelling story about why
   something that seemed like a good idea didn't pan out).

 - We're interested in your ideas for improving the competition and
   reinforcement learning in general.  We're interested in more than
   just traditional workshop talks -- if you want to lead a
   discussion on a particular topic, let us know.

 - We're interested in your experiences with the competition itself.
   How were the problems?  How was the code?  Do you think the
   competition is achieving its goal?


* HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE?

 There are two ways: posters, and presentations in the workshop.

 - A presentation will be allocated a 15-30 minute presentation slot
   during the course of the workshop.  We're planning on a mix of
   algorithms, discussion, invited talks, and (of course)
   announcements of the winners.

 - A poster session will be held on Thursday, June 18.  This will be
   held in conjunction with the MSRL (Multi-disciplinary Symposium on
   Reinforcement Learning).


* WHAT SHOULD I SUBMIT?

 - A 1-6 page document describing what you (or your poster) is going
   to talk about. This should be long enough to give us a good idea of
   how your presentation will fit into the overall mix of the workshop.

 - Please indicate your preference for either poster, presentation,
   or either.


* WHEN AND HOW?

 - We're flexible.  Because we anticipate that competitors will
   continue working until the competition deadline, submissions will be
   accepted until one week before the workshop, although we STRONGLY
   encourage you to submit sooner, because workshop time will fill up
   quickly as decisions are made.

 - PDF only, please.

 - Please send all submissions to rlcomp2009 at gmail.com.



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              2009 Reinforcement Learning Competition
                 Call for Scholarship Applications
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

We are pleased to announce the availability of several scholarships to
help competitors and prospective workshop attendees come to the
workshop.  They're designed to be used to help defray the cost of
attending the workshop, and can be applied to travel, lodging, food or
workshop registration.


* WHAT DOES THE SCHOLARSHIP CONSIST OF?

 Scholarships will be a cash award for between $400 and $800,
 depending on need.


* WHO CAN APPLY?

 Competitors will be given preference when awarding scholarships, but
 the scholarships are open to all who wish to attend the workshop.

 You do not need to have won an event in order to apply for or
 receive a scholarship -- you only need to have participated in good
 faith, and be interested in attending the workshop.


* HOW CAN I APPLY?

 - Send us an application which tells us:

   * Name, institution, contact information, advisor, and stage of
     education.

   * What your expected travel / food / lodging costs are going to
     be.

   * What additional financial support you expect to receive for
     attending the conference / workshop, whether from your advisor
     or from other scholarships.

   * A brief statement about your involvement with the competition.


* WHEN AND HOW?

 - Applications are due on June 1, 2009.

 - PDF only, please.

 - Please send all submissions to rlcomp2009 at gmail.com.




---------------------------------------------
Matthew E. Taylor
PHE 414, 213-740-7654
http://teamcore.usc.edu/taylorm/
Postdoctoral Research Associate at The University of Southern California