Join us for the 6th Accelerating AI Workshop! This virtual event serves as a premier platform, bringing together experts from industry and academia to showcase ground-breaking advancements in AI, machine learning, hardware/software co-design, and cutting-edge microarchitectures. This year, we are excited to introduce new focus areas, including Generative AI at the edge, as well as exploring the transformative impact of IoT and AI on industries both in Canada and globally.
Agenda
| Time (PM-EDT) | Presenter | Organization | Title |
| 1:00 – 1:10 | Yassine Hariri | CMC Microsystems | Welcome and opening remarks |
| 1:10 – 1:30 | Pierre Paulin | Synopsys | Cost-effective Solutions for GenAI at the Edge |
| 1:30 – 1:50 | Davis Sawyer | NXP Semiconductors | Secure, Fine-tuned LLMs for Gen AI at the Edge |
| 1:50 – 2:10 | Warren Gross | McGill University | Parameter Efficient Fine-tuning of Transformer-based Language Models Using Dataset Pruning |
| 2:10 – 2:30 | Burak Cakmak | Edge Signals | Implementing Generative AI in Edge Environments: Challenges and Solutions |
| 2:30 – 2:35 | Break | ||
| 2:35 – 2:55 | Kateryna Nekhomiazh | NVIDIA | NVIDIA’s Edge AI Stack – Software and Hardware |
| 2:55 – 3:15 | François Leduc Primeau | Polytechnique Montréal | Polara: Collaborative Design of an Open-Source RISC-V Multicore Processor |
| 3:15 – 3:35 | Li Chen | University of Saskatchewan | Radiation Effects in Convolutional Neural Networks implemented with FPGAs and Mitigation Techniques |
| 3:35 – 3:55 | Niraj Mathur | Blumind AI | All-Analog Neural Network Processors to Deliver Highly Efficient and Performant AI Inferencing |
| 3:55 – 4:30 | Walter Knitl | AIoT Canada | Panel session: Pioneering the Future of Generative AI at the Edge: Challenges, Opportunities, and Innovations |
| 4:30 | Closing Remarks | ||
Topics
- Machine Learning Applications: Computer Vision, NLP, EDA, CAD, and more.
- Generative AI at the Edge: Latest developments in bringing generative models to resource-constrained environments.
- IoT and AI Integration: Applications in healthcare, manufacturing, smart cities, and transportation.
- Novel AI Hardware: GPUs, FPGAs, and Custom Accelerators.
- Software Stack: Libraries, Compilers, and ML Frameworks.
- ML Benchmarking on Emerging Hardware.
- Latest Trends in AI Chip Design and Commercialization.
This workshop will
- Foster Innovation: Facilitate the adoption of advanced technologies and provide early access to silicon and systems for accelerating AI workloads across the spectrum, from cloud to edge.
- Explore Transformative Potential: Highlight the intersection of IoT and AI and their combined power to drive innovation across sectors while addressing complex challenges and accelerating digital transformation.
- Build Collaboration: Share insights and experiences, explore collaborative opportunities, and establish connections between industry leaders, AI researchers, and start-ups.
- Influence Future Trends: Shape technology selection and development activities of emerging AI trends.
Target Attendees
The workshop is open to industry and academia who are eager to explore and discuss the future of AI innovation.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Location |
| May 7, 2025 | 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm EDT | Online |
Organizer
Yassine Hariri, Hariri@cmc.ca, CMC Microsystems
Over 15 years of experience in advanced computing systems from the cloud to the very edge, with a focus on artificial intelligence, computer vision, video, image and sensor fusion workloads acceleration, FPGA-based prototyping, software stack, and domain-specific hardware architectures. Currently leading projects related to the specification, development, implementation, deployment, and support of the next generation of advanced computing infrastructure mainly FPGAs, GPUs, and Custom Hardware for AI applications. Dr. Hariri earned his B.A.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Ecole Marocaine des Sciences de l’ingénieur, Casablanca, Morocco, in 1998, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Ecole de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Montreal, QC, Canada, in 2002 and 2008, respectively, all in electrical engineering.
