Džemila Šero invited as plenary speaker at this year's NWO ICT.Open in Rotterdam

The annual NWO ICT.OPEN conference is the largest Dutch ICT event, typically drawing between 500 and 600 attendees.

This year's theme was The Art of ICT, which celebrated technology as both craft and creativity highlighting how imagination, design, and innovation shape ICT (Information and Communication Technology) solutions that are intuitive, elegant, and impactful. It explores the space where algorithms meet aesthetics, data becomes storytelling, and systems are crafted with both precision and purpose. Ultimately, with The Art of ICT, NWO ICT.OPEN2026 celebrated ICT as a form of craftsmanship that transforms ideas into meaningful digital experiences for society.

Dzemila Sero presented her research, Heritage Biometrics: from x-raying cute angels made of clay, estimating the age and sex from partial human impressions, up until the discovery of matching fingerprints on 350-year-old sculptures, she took the audience into a journey where makers from the past can be identified from traces under extreme conditions, such as partiality and material-induced distortion.

Relevant publications (fully open-access):

1. 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡”: https://lnkd.in/eTwUUrhb

2. 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨-𝐂𝐓 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐑𝐢𝐣𝐤𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (i.e., sex and age estimation from partial impressions on a Rijksmuseum sculpture): https://lnkd.in/dP8CgBiv

3. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞-𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞: 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬: https://lnkd.in/etmxpdWE