Ana Filipa Sequeira (CTM)

The CTM Coordinators would like to propose researcher Ana Filipa Sequeira for “The Incredibles”. This nomination is supported by Ana Filipa’s vital contribution as leader of the team responsible for organising the IWBF 2020 (International Workshop on Biometrics and Forensics), which took place online between April 29 and 30, 2020 (due to the COVID-19). It was the eighth edition of this international event, with the participation of globally renowned researchers and companies in the fields of Biometrics and Forensics.

Ever since her return to INESC TEC in April 2019, Ana Filipa has been promoting the field of Biometrics within the scope of the CTM, in an extremely professional and competent manner. The organisation of this workshop is a clear example of the excellent work that Ana Filipa has been developing at INESC TEC, and we’d like to highlight the fast and efficient adaptation of the event, so it could be held virtually – taking into account the obstacles presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was quite successful, with great praise from all the participants. In our opinion, this type of initiatives help emphasising the skills we have in the field, while highlighting the image of excellence and the connection to industry and scientific partners. We’d like to point out that at all of this is possible thanks to a group of people who work as a team in a brilliant way, under Ana Filipa’s leadership.

– CTM Coordinators

Briefly describe your role in the organisation of IWBF 2020.

I’ve started working on the IWBF2020 in April 2019, namely contacting colleagues from the Norwegian Biometrics Laboratory of NTNU, in order to co-organise an event in the field of Biometrics, here in Porto. Since the IWBF was the best option at the time, we’ve submitted a proposal to the IEEE Biometrics Council. After an extensive process, we got “the green light” in October 2019, and immediately started organising the IWBF2020 – a true race against time. In fact, since we’re the organisers and hosts, we assumed all the responsibilities. Fortunately, we were able to establish a small, yet solid team: Ana Rebelo and Sara Oliveira contributed with their vast experience in the organisation of VISUM, while João Pinto dedicated himself to the website and technical resources. Obviously, our coordinator Jaime Cardoso was always included in the decision-making process. Regarding my work, I managed all the steps of the process, monitored the tasks of each team member and led the logistical – with the vital support by Renata Rodrigues – and the scientific processes of the conference, in order to ensure the success of the submissions and review processes. The initial effort to plan all the different stages was essential, and we made sure that everybody had their hands full at all times, in order to avoid postponing and accumulating many tasks.

I’ve put a lot of effort into making the contacts necessary to establish the committees; leading the bureaucratic process of applications to obtain support from IAPR and IEEE; searching for and inviting speakers for keynotes speeches and special sessions; contacting Chairs, to plan and advertise the event; monitoring the submission, review and acceptance of articles; elaborating the programme and other countless tasks that I don’t even remember. What remains is the feeling that organising an event is an endeavour that requires a significant balance between effort and different skills!

Which were the main challenges? How did you overcome them?

Definitely, the transition from a “normal” on-site event to a digital event. The COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to difficulties that were quite challenging. Besides managing the cancellation of previously established terms without a significant loss, it became necessary to plan the organisation of a virtual event. I’m convinced that overcoming these challenges in times like these is only possible thanks to the technological resources available today, which did not exist a few years ago.

I also believe that having two younger elements in the team, João and Sara, was important to find the adequate technical solutions to address the situation we were facing, as quickly as possible.

Another major challenge was the fact that the Biometrics field is actually very circumscribed, since there are few reference researchers, and they tend to collaborate with each other, leaving no room to move in said setting.

In this case, I think the effort I put into networking was quite important, and I was able to benefit from the personal relationships that I’ve established throughout my career – particularly during the period I stayed in the UK, and the times I’ve participated in European projects. The co-organisers of the event were also instrumental in overcoming the aforementioned challenges.

Finally, I’d point out the struggle to obtain support from private and public institutions as the main challenge. With the exception of Turismo do Porto, and the two Portuguese companies that participated in the event (Yoonik and CardioID), it was heart breaking to realise that there is very little effort from the Portuguese community in general to support local initiatives. I am not talking exclusively about financial support, but also about participation. Unfortunately, there seems to be a clear lack of awareness of the importance of contributing to promote Portugal’s image abroad, and that even in cases of minor financial return, there are other ways we can benefit from this type of activities. After this experience, I felt like there’s a clear egotistical attitude, and that people fail to understand that we should work together, rather than competing, because together we could actually become stronger.

In which INESC TEC projects do you collaborate?

I work as contract researcher at INESC TEC, and I’m part of the AUTOMOTIVE – AUTOmatic multiMOdal drowsiness detecTIon for smart Vehicles project, with Ana Rebelo as Senior Researcher. It is a very interesting project, with CardioID and ISEL as partners. This project aims to detect drivers’ fatigue, through a combination of information obtained in several different ways i.e. the ECG signal collected by the steering wheel or the image of the drivers’ face, for example.

In addition to this project, I am also focusing on research lines related to the question of anti-spoofing, facial analysis in different applications and AI interpretability for biometrics. Moreover, I develop student guidance activities (internships, summer internships, master’s degrees and, more recently, PhD), and I participate in other initiatives, like the organisation of CTM summer internships.

In the meantime, during the current year, I have already participated in the submission of a few more projects on various subjects, with biometrics or behaviour analysis as a common aspect.

How do you comment on this nomination?

I’m happy to see that the effort we made was recognised, and I firmly believe that a good team can overcome all obstacles. I may have had the initiative and coordinated the actions, but we only managed to reach our goals thanks to everybody’s support: Ana, Sara, João, Jaime (the strategic and scientific leader) and Hélder – who, despite not being directly involved, supported us whenever necessary. Finally, I’d like to highlight the support from all the elements of the group, who were available to help with smaller things, but which made a big difference. Carrying out activities that help us fell fulfilled is very rewarding, especially when we are in an environment that promotes mutual encouragement, making us feel supported institutionally and personally. The experience was very rewarding, mainly due to the feedback we got from the participants. We’re very happy to know that we conveyed an idea of professionalism and efficiency. Above all, I will be extremely happy if this event somehow contributes to new opportunities and future rewarding collaborations – for our group in particular, and for INESC TEC in general.