Towards a new generation of human-inspired linguistic models: a groundbreaking scientific study conducted by UNamur and VUB
Can a computer learn a language like a child? A recent study published in the leading journal Computational Linguistics by Professors Katrien Beuls (Université de Namur) and Paul Van Eecke (AI-lab, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) sheds new light on this question. The researchers argue for a fundamental revision of the way artificial intelligence acquires and processes language.
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Francqui 2025 Chair - Explainable Software Engineering
Version françaiseDans le cadre d’une Chaire Francqui internationale 2024-2025, la faculté d’informatique (UNamur) aura le plaisir de recevoir le Professeur Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Pays-bas) du 24 au 27 mars 2025, pour une série de leçons sur le thème: "Explainable Software Engineering".
Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector
The field of software engineering seeks to devise theories, methods, tools, and techniques that support the development, operation, and evolution of the digital infrastructure modern society relies on. While the software engineering capabilities have advanced substantially over the past decades, it remains challenging to deliver high quality systems in a timely and cost-effective manner. Government system in particular have a weak reputation in this respect.To better understand why, we analyze 125 complex software projects in the public sector in The Netherlands. The projects are described in public reports published by the Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), which advises the Dutch parliament and cabinet on riks and chances of success in complex Information Technology (IT) projects. The projects span a time period of 10 years, represent a total budget of over 14 billion Euros, and cover such areas as tax collection, social security, pensions, health, traffic control, defense, or water management.We study these reports through the lens of "explainability", focusing on supporting decision making. Furthermore, we reflect on current advances in software engineering, including modern software testing and large language models, in addressing current software engineering challenges.
Program
INAUGURAL LECTURE: Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector - Tuesday 25/03 - 18:00-19:00 - PA02 SESSION 1: Architectural decision making in software engineering - Monday 24/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33SESSION 2 : Tests as executable explanations - Tuesday 25/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 3: Technical debt, test smells, legacy systems - Wednesday 26/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 4: Artificial Intelligence for Software Engineering - Thursday 27/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33
About the speaker
Arie van Deursen is a professor at Delft University of Technology, where he leads the Software Engineering Research Group. His research interests include software testing, language models for code, trustworthy artificial intelligence, and human aspects of software engineering. He presently serves as chair of the Steering Commmittee of the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE).He is a member of the Dutch Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), as well as a member of the Advisory Board of ING Bank The Netherlands. In 2023, he was elected fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering (NAE).
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Inaugural Lecture - Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector
( optional )
Mardi 25/03
18:00-19:00 PA02
Session 1 - Architectural decision making in software engineering
( optional )
Monday 24/03
10:30-12:30
I33
Session 2 - Tests as executable explanations (BDD, model-based testing, selenium, page/state objects, ...)
( optional )
Tuesday 25/03
14:00-16:00
I33
Session 3 - Technical debt, test smells, legacy systems
( optional )
Wednesday 26/03
14:00-16:00
I33
Session 4 - Artificial Intelligence for Software Engineering
( optional )
Thursday 27/03
10:30-12:30
I33
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Francqui 2025 Chair - Explainable Software Engineering
English versionIn the context of an international Chaire Francqui 2024-2025, the Faculty of Computer Science (UNamur) has the honor to receive Professor Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Netherlands ) from the 24th to the 27st of March, for a series of lectures on the theme of: “ Explainable Software Engineering ”.The inaugural lecture, entitled “Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector”, will be held on the 25th of March 2025, at 6pm at PA02 (Sentier Thomas, 5000 – Namur).French versionAs part of an international Francqui Chair 2024-2025, the Faculty of Computer Science (UNamur) will have the pleasure of welcoming Professor Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Netherlands) from March 24 to 27, 2025, for a series of lessons on the theme: "Explainable Software Engineering".The inaugural lesson, entitled "Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector", will take place on Tuesday March 25, 2025 at 6:00 pm at PA02 (Sentier Thomas, 5000 - Namur).
Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector
The field of software engineering seeks to devise theories, methods, tools, and techniques that support the development, operation, and evolution of the digital infrastructure modern society relies on. While the software engineering capabilities have advanced substantially over the past decades, it remains challenging to deliver high quality systems in a timely and cost-effective manner. Government system in particular have a weak reputation in this respect.To better understand why, we analyze 125 complex software projects in the public sector in The Netherlands. The projects are described in public reports published by the Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), which advises the Dutch parliament and cabinet on riks and chances of success in complex Information Technology (IT) projects. The projects span a time period of 10 years, represent a total budget of over 14 billion Euros, and cover such areas as tax collection, social security, pensions, health, traffic control, defense, or water management.We study these reports through the lens of "explainability", focusing on supporting decision making. Furthermore, we reflect on current advances in software engineering, including modern software testing and large language models, in addressing current software engineering challenges.
Program
INAUGURAL LECTURE: Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector - Tuesday 25/03 - 18:00-19:00 - PA02 SESSION 1: Architectural decision making in software engineering - Monday 24/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33SESSION 2 : Tests as executable explanations - Tuesday 25/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 3: Technical debt, test smells, legacy systems - Wednesday 26/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 4: Artificial Intelligence for Software Engineering - Thursday 27/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33
About the speaker
Arie van Deursen is a professor at Delft University of Technology, where he leads the Software Engineering Research Group. His research interests include software testing, language models for code, trustworthy artificial intelligence, and human aspects of software engineering. He presently serves as chair of the Steering Commmittee of the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE).He is a member of the Dutch Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), as well as a member of the Advisory Board of ING Bank The Netherlands. In 2023, he was elected fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering (NAE).
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Francqui 2025 Chair - Explainable Software Engineering
English versionIn the context of an international Chaire Francqui 2024-2025, the Faculty of Computer Science (UNamur) has the honor to receive Professor Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Netherlands ) from the 24th to the 27st of March, for a series of lectures on the theme of: “ Explainable Software Engineering ”.The inaugural lecture, entitled “Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector”, will be held on the 25th of March 2025, at 6pm at PA02 (Sentier Thomas, 5000 – Namur).French versionDans le cadre d’une Chaire Francqui internationale 2024-2025, la faculté d’informatique (UNamur) aura le plaisir de recevoir le Professeur Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Pays-bas) du 24 au 27 mars 2025, pour une série de leçons sur le thème: "Explainable Software Engineering". La leçon inaugurale, intitulée "Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector ", se tiendra le mardi 25 mars 2025 à 18h00 au PA02 (Sentier Thomas, 5000 – Namur).
Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector
The field of software engineering seeks to devise theories, methods, tools, and techniques that support the development, operation, and evolution of the digital infrastructure modern society relies on. While the software engineering capabilities have advanced substantially over the past decades, it remains challenging to deliver high quality systems in a timely and cost-effective manner. Government system in particular have a weak reputation in this respect.To better understand why, we analyze 125 complex software projects in the public sector in The Netherlands. The projects are described in public reports published by the Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), which advises the Dutch parliament and cabinet on riks and chances of success in complex Information Technology (IT) projects. The projects span a time period of 10 years, represent a total budget of over 14 billion Euros, and cover such areas as tax collection, social security, pensions, health, traffic control, defense, or water management.We study these reports through the lens of "explainability", focusing on supporting decision making. Furthermore, we reflect on current advances in software engineering, including modern software testing and large language models, in addressing current software engineering challenges.
Program
INAUGURAL LECTURE: Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector - Tuesday 25/03 - 18:00-19:00 - PA02 SESSION 1: Architectural decision making in software engineering - Monday 24/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33SESSION 2 : Tests as executable explanations - Tuesday 25/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 3: Technical debt, test smells, legacy systems - Wednesday 26/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 4: Artificial Intelligence for Software Engineering - Thursday 27/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33
About the speaker
Arie van Deursen is a professor at Delft University of Technology, where he leads the Software Engineering Research Group. His research interests include software testing, language models for code, trustworthy artificial intelligence, and human aspects of software engineering. He presently serves as chair of the Steering Commmittee of the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE).He is a member of the Dutch Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), as well as a member of the Advisory Board of ING Bank The Netherlands. In 2023, he was elected fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Read more
Register for the event
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Francqui 2025 Chair - Explainable Software Engineering
English versionIn the context of an international Chaire Francqui 2024-2025, the Faculty of Computer Science (UNamur) has the honor to receive Professor Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Netherlands ) from the 24th to the 27st of March, for a series of lectures on the theme of: “ Explainable Software Engineering ”.The inaugural lecture, entitled “Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector”, will be held on the 25th of March 2025, at 6pm at PA02 (Sentier Thomas, 5000 – Namur).French versionAs part of an international Francqui Chair 2024-2025, the Faculty of Computer Science (UNamur) will have the pleasure of welcoming Professor Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Netherlands) from March 24 to 27, 2025, for a series of lessons on the theme: "Explainable Software Engineering".The inaugural lesson, entitled "Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector", will take place on Tuesday March 25, 2025 at 6:00 pm at PA02 (Sentier Thomas, 5000 - Namur).
Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector
The field of software engineering seeks to devise theories, methods, tools, and techniques that support the development, operation, and evolution of the digital infrastructure modern society relies on. While the software engineering capabilities have advanced substantially over the past decades, it remains challenging to deliver high quality systems in a timely and cost-effective manner. Government system in particular have a weak reputation in this respect.To better understand why, we analyze 125 complex software projects in the public sector in The Netherlands. The projects are described in public reports published by the Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), which advises the Dutch parliament and cabinet on riks and chances of success in complex Information Technology (IT) projects. The projects span a time period of 10 years, represent a total budget of over 14 billion Euros, and cover such areas as tax collection, social security, pensions, health, traffic control, defense, or water management.We study these reports through the lens of "explainability", focusing on supporting decision making. Furthermore, we reflect on current advances in software engineering, including modern software testing and large language models, in addressing current software engineering challenges.
Program
INAUGURAL LECTURE: Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector - Tuesday 25/03 - 18:00-19:00 - PA02 SESSION 1: Architectural decision making in software engineering - Monday 24/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33SESSION 2 : Tests as executable explanations - Tuesday 25/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 3: Technical debt, test smells, legacy systems - Wednesday 26/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 4: Artificial Intelligence for Software Engineering - Thursday 27/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33
About the speaker
Arie van Deursen is a professor at Delft University of Technology, where he leads the Software Engineering Research Group. His research interests include software testing, language models for code, trustworthy artificial intelligence, and human aspects of software engineering. He presently serves as chair of the Steering Commmittee of the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE).He is a member of the Dutch Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), as well as a member of the Advisory Board of ING Bank The Netherlands. In 2023, he was elected fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Read more
Register for the event
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Francqui 2025 Chair - Explainable Software Engineering
English versionIn the context of an international Chaire Francqui 2024-2025, the Faculty of Computer Science (UNamur) has the honor to receive Professor Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Netherlands ) from the 24th to the 27st of March, for a series of lectures on the theme of: “ Explainable Software Engineering ”.The inaugural lecture, entitled “Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector”, will be held on the 25th of March 2025, at 6pm at PA02 (Sentier Thomas, 5000 – Namur).French versionAs part of an international Francqui Chair 2024-2025, the Faculty of Computer Science (UNamur) will have the pleasure of welcoming Professor Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Netherlands) from March 24 to 27, 2025, for a series of lessons on the theme: "Explainable Software Engineering".The inaugural lesson, entitled "Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector", will take place on Tuesday March 25, 2025 at 6:00 pm at PA02 (Sentier Thomas, 5000 - Namur).
Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector
The field of software engineering seeks to devise theories, methods, tools, and techniques that support the development, operation, and evolution of the digital infrastructure modern society relies on. While the software engineering capabilities have advanced substantially over the past decades, it remains challenging to deliver high quality systems in a timely and cost-effective manner. Government system in particular have a weak reputation in this respect.To better understand why, we analyze 125 complex software projects in the public sector in The Netherlands. The projects are described in public reports published by the Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), which advises the Dutch parliament and cabinet on riks and chances of success in complex Information Technology (IT) projects. The projects span a time period of 10 years, represent a total budget of over 14 billion Euros, and cover such areas as tax collection, social security, pensions, health, traffic control, defense, or water management.We study these reports through the lens of "explainability", focusing on supporting decision making. Furthermore, we reflect on current advances in software engineering, including modern software testing and large language models, in addressing current software engineering challenges.
Program
INAUGURAL LECTURE: Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector - Tuesday 25/03 - 18:00-19:00 - PA02 SESSION 1: Architectural decision making in software engineering - Monday 24/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33SESSION 2 : Tests as executable explanations - Tuesday 25/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 3: Technical debt, test smells, legacy systems - Wednesday 26/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 4: Artificial Intelligence for Software Engineering - Thursday 27/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33
About the speaker
Arie van Deursen is a professor at Delft University of Technology, where he leads the Software Engineering Research Group. His research interests include software testing, language models for code, trustworthy artificial intelligence, and human aspects of software engineering. He presently serves as chair of the Steering Commmittee of the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE).He is a member of the Dutch Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), as well as a member of the Advisory Board of ING Bank The Netherlands. In 2023, he was elected fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering (NAE).
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Register for the event
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Francqui 2025 Chair - Explainable Software Engineering
English versionIn the context of an international Chaire Francqui 2024-2025, the Faculty of Computer Science (UNamur) has the honor to receive Professor Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Netherlands ) from the 24th to the 27st of March, for a series of lectures on the theme of: “ Explainable Software Engineering ”.The inaugural lecture, entitled “Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector”, will be held on the 25th of March 2025, at 6pm at PA02 (Sentier Thomas, 5000 – Namur).French versionAs part of an international Francqui Chair 2024-2025, the Faculty of Computer Science (UNamur) will have the pleasure of welcoming Professor Arie Van Deursen (TU Delft, Netherlands) from March 24 to 27, 2025, for a series of lessons on the theme: "Explainable Software Engineering".The inaugural lesson, entitled "Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector", will take place on Tuesday March 25, 2025 at 6:00 pm at PA02 (Sentier Thomas, 5000 - Namur).
Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector
The field of software engineering seeks to devise theories, methods, tools, and techniques that support the development, operation, and evolution of the digital infrastructure modern society relies on. While the software engineering capabilities have advanced substantially over the past decades, it remains challenging to deliver high quality systems in a timely and cost-effective manner. Government system in particular have a weak reputation in this respect.To better understand why, we analyze 125 complex software projects in the public sector in The Netherlands. The projects are described in public reports published by the Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), which advises the Dutch parliament and cabinet on riks and chances of success in complex Information Technology (IT) projects. The projects span a time period of 10 years, represent a total budget of over 14 billion Euros, and cover such areas as tax collection, social security, pensions, health, traffic control, defense, or water management.We study these reports through the lens of "explainability", focusing on supporting decision making. Furthermore, we reflect on current advances in software engineering, including modern software testing and large language models, in addressing current software engineering challenges.
Program
INAUGURAL LECTURE: Explainable Software Engineering in the Public Sector - Tuesday 25/03 - 18:00-19:00 - PA02 SESSION 1: Architectural decision making in software engineering - Monday 24/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33SESSION 2 : Tests as executable explanations - Tuesday 25/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 3: Technical debt, test smells, legacy systems - Wednesday 26/03 - 14:00-16:00 - I33SESSION 4: Artificial Intelligence for Software Engineering - Thursday 27/03 - 10:30-12:30 - I33
About the speaker
Arie van Deursen is a professor at Delft University of Technology, where he leads the Software Engineering Research Group. His research interests include software testing, language models for code, trustworthy artificial intelligence, and human aspects of software engineering. He presently serves as chair of the Steering Commmittee of the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE).He is a member of the Dutch Advisory Council on IT Assessments (AcICT), as well as a member of the Advisory Board of ING Bank The Netherlands. In 2023, he was elected fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering (NAE).
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"Pop-Code, a podcast for digital education
The evocative power of cinema helps us better understand modern digital issues. This is what Benoît Vanderose and Anthony Simonofski, professors at the University of Namur in the Faculty of Computer Science and Management Science, wish to highlight through their "Pop-Code" podcast. The authors explore the use of Pop-Culture for digital education, while examining its challenges and limits. With almost 10 episodes, "Pop-Code" has just celebrated its first anniversary, and the authors are already setting high ambitions for the coming months.
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The power of influence of a scientific publication: computer science researchers rewarded!
The Ten-years Most Influential Paper award has just been presented to three members of UNamur's Faculty of Computer Science: Xavier Devroey, Gilles Perrouin and Maxime Cordy. The award recognizes the paper published ten years previously that has had the greatest impact on the research community. It was awarded at the 18th edition of the International Working Conference on Variability Modelling of Software-Intensive Systems (VAMOS '24), which took place in early February in Bern, Switzerland..
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25 years of shift-work computing: meeting a pressing social need
How to cope with the Y2K bug? How to ensure the transition to a single currency in Europe, the euro? It's the late 1990s, and the need for IT manpower is greater than ever to meet the growing needs of the IT industry. It was against this backdrop that UNamur and its Faculty of Computer Science boldly and proactively developed a new course of study: a staggered timetable leading to a Master's degree in Computer Science. Twenty-five years later, interest in this training and its societal necessity are more relevant than ever.
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Practical information
Useful links
RegulationsRèglement des études et évaluations (REE)PhD regulationsCode of good conductInternal Regulations of the Faculty of Computer Science (ROI)Everyday lifeSpecial needs students - EBSLGBTQI Circle of NamurThe LGBTQIA+ youth guideCommunication awareness sheetLa Protection Harcèlement Etudiant - PHARECultural workshopsBrochure SI (licenses and software)
Corporate Relations
Companies, administrations and organizations wishing to obtain information or consider collaborating with the faculty are invited to contact us via the address entreprise.info@unamur.be. UNamur, like other French-speaking universities, has equipped itself with a tool to help its students and graduates develop their professional careers. The UNamur Career Center platform lets you refine your professional project, prepare for interviews and find the ideal internship or job.
More about Namur Career Center
Prize list for "memoirs
Each year, the Faculty of Computer Science awards a prize for a dissertation that particularly stands out for its quality, originality, rigor and the scope of the results obtained. Created in 2013 as a tribute to Professor Emeritus Jean Fichefet, who played a leading role in the founding and consolidation of the Faculty of Computer Science, this prize salutes the spirit of innovation, enterprise, investing in new fields and new avenues. Since 2023, the prize has been renamed and divided into two categories:Computing dissertation prize, societal impact: a prize that tends to promote dissertations distinguished by their societal character. The themes focus on a technology or development that improves the quality of life together, or on an ethical reflection based on a technology or development studied.Computer Science dissertation prize, general impact: prize that tends to promote dissertations in all themes studied within the Faculty of Computer Science, including societal themes.
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Map of the Faculty of Computer Science
Ground Floor2nd Floor2nd floor FSESG3rd floor4th floor
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Prize list master's thesis
Each year, UNamur's Faculty of Computer Science awards the Prix Jean Fichefet for the best master's thesis in computer science. From the 2022-2023 year, there will be two awards, which are entitled: Best Thesis Award (General Impact) and (Societal Impact).
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