In the digital age, artificial intelligence is applied to every aspect of our life and combining this cutting-edge technology with the real economy has become a key demand for our national economic growth and progress. As a result, interdisciplinary talents are in urgent need in high-tech areas. Given this context, Tianjin University has endorsed the concept of “new business” aimed at cultivating versatile talents.
The team led by Professor Zhang Xi and Doctor Zhao Hongke took part in the Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Cup (KDD Cup) and won the third place in Task two. It is the first time that Tianjin University has won this award.
The KDD Cup is an international competition held by the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (SIGKDD) in the field of data mining research. It is the largest and most widely influential events in field of big data and many of its winners have been hired by prestigious universities and high-tech companies. The competition is open to both business and academia. In 2019, more than 3000 teams from around the world participated in the competition and submitted at least 5000 proposals.
Led by Professor Zhang, the team includes the members of the “Big Data Knowledge Management and the International Financial” group, such as Zhao Hongke, Wei Xin, Liu Nanlin, Liu Xiaopei and Wang Tao, Chen Yuan from Alberta University, and Mu Shijun from Nankai University.
The team theme was “How to Build ‘Age-friendly’ Cities: Based on Big Data from Baidu Map”. The background and the motivation was that in 2015, there were 900 million aged people, an increase of 48% when compared with 2000. Meanwhile, this data can be predicted to grow to 1.4 billion by 2030 and 2.1 billion by 2050 (United Nations 2015). In order to cope with the challenge of an ageing population, the world health organization (WHO) proposes the concept of the "friendly city", and points out that the key indicators of constructing the elderly friendly city include: Equity Measures, Accessible Environment Outcomes, such as the accessibility of public transportation, and an inclusive social environment. Although each indicator takes multiple levels of considerations into accounts, no operational quantitative indicators have been formed. Based on Baidu Map’s big data and the key indicators of building an age-friendly city and in response to the national policy of constructing a healthcare system servicing the elderly, the team proposed a fair approach to the elderly from the aspects of transportation, public services and security. Starting from the perspective of social welfare and the theme of caring for the elderly, this program applies big data methods to practical problems, enabling the implementation and integration of information technology and economic management.
By: Zhang Yimeng
Editors: Qin Mian and Keith Harrington
