A summer school on “Neural Circuit Complexity: Neuroscience, Models and Robotics (BrainCosmos)” was organized in Italy by Dr. Shyam Diwakar jointly with colleagues from the University of Milan as part of the Lake Como School of Advanced Studies, from August 30- September 3, 2021. The summer school was organized by professors Giovanni Naldi, Thierry Nieus and Simone Sarasso of Università degli Studi di Milano along with Dr. Shyam Diwakar of the Amrita Mind Brain Center.

Dr. Shyam Diwakar also gave a talk “Oh, the Places You’ll Go! – From Neurons to Population Signals to Learning Algorithms and Virtual Laboratories” on September 2, 2021, remotely. 28 Ph.D. students and postdocs from Europe participated in the event. Dr. Shyam’s talk addressed ongoing computational neuroscience studies of the cerebellum and inter-related circuits, neuro-inspired devices and methods and Amrita Virtual Labs.

The summer school provided an opportunity for discussion to a very diverse scientific community, creating a forum for young researchers to be exposed to the appealing questions intermingling neuroscience, modelling, robotics and theories. The talks and cross-disciplinary training relating the theories of brain function with computational modelling techniques relevant to understanding brain function and dysfunction and included the #exploration and development novel bioinspired abstractions for robotics and artificial intelligence.

Recently established, the Amrita Mind Brain Center has its research focus on Neuroscience, Cognition, Computations and Neuroengineering while pursuing immediate societal impact. With a focus on brain and mind-related health and technologies, the center will orchestrate the development and application of new technologies to investigate brain function, dysfunction, and therapy.