---

About Me

I was born on 29th May, 1993 in Heraklion, Crete. I received a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from the University of Crete in 2018. I currently work as a Postgraduate Research Fellow at Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH). Meanwhile I am studying for a Master's Degree in Telecommunications and Networks and in Distributed Computer Systems in University of Crete (expected graduation: July 2020).

I consider myself as a highly motivated and hardworking individual who seeks perfection over simplicity. Extremely organized, methodical and focused, with a keen eye for Computer Networks, Data Analysis and Software Developement.
My practical skills include:

programming interactive applications

creating and verifying simulated or emulated setups for testing

orchestrating measurements for gathering and analyzing real-world network data

I study the aforementioned concepts both from a theoretical (modeling, analysis, and optimization) and applied (system design, measurements, real experiments) point of view.

---

Current Research Work

Over the last year I have familiarized with Machine Learning and Big Data, and I have recently started practicing on Neural Networks and Deep Reinforcement Learning.

I use Machine Learning techniques to "Quantify the Interplay of QoS and User interest when designing Recommender Systems"

Furthermore, I am implementing an Open-Source Experimental Platform, in Python, for Researchers working on the Communication Networks field.

Recently worked on a semester project to "Enhance Anomally Detection using Machine Learning Methods over Big Data".

---

Education

Computer Science Department, University of Crete

M.Sc. Telecommunications and Networks and Distributed Computer Systems / 2018 - 2020

Thesis: Towards Network Aware Recommendations

Main Research Topics: Recommendation Systems, Multimedia Services/Applications, Quality Of Service

  Supervisor: Prof. Xenofontas Dimitropoulos
  Advisor: Postdoc. Researcher Pavlos Sermpezis

Computer Science Department, University of Crete

B.Sc. Computer Science / 2011 - 2018

Thesis: Designing a Network aware Recommendation System for YouTube, including the implementation of an Android application, the recommendation algorithm design and extensive experimental evaluation

  Supervisor: Prof. Xenofontas Dimitropoulos

---

Work Experience

Postgraduate Research Fellow

ICS-FORTH / Feb 2019 - Present

Towards Network-aware Recommendation Systems (Latest Work)

Design and Implementation of a Real Users' Experimental Testbed called CABaRet

Research Engineer

ICS-FORTH / Jul 2018 - Aug 2018

Implementation of a simulation framework to analyze the effect of Joint Caching and Recommendations on Communication Networks Ecosystem

Undergraduate Research Fellow

ICS-FORTH / Jun 2016 - Jun 2018

Design and Implementation of a Network-friendly Video Streaming Android Application (Graded with 10 / 10)

---

Computer Skills

OS:
     Windows
     Linux/Unix

Programming Languages:
     Python
     JavaScript
     C/C++
     Java

Platforms/Technologies I am familiar with:
     Visual Studio
     Scikit-Learn, Numpy, Pandas
     NodeJS
     YouTube API
     GitHub
     Latex/Overleaf
     Apache Spark
     Amazon Web Services

---

Publications

[1] Savvas Kastanakis, Pavlos Sermpezis, Vasileios Kotronis, Xenofontas Dimitropoulos, "CABaRet: Leveraging Recommendation Systems for Mobile Edge Caching", in ACM MECOMM (SIGCOMM workshops), August 2018.

[2] Savvas Kastanakis, Mateus Nogueira, Felipe Assis, Pavlos Sermpezis, Daniel Menasche, Thrasyvoulos Spyropoulos, "Towards QoS-friendly Content Recommendations: An Experimental Framework", in ACM CoNEXT Poster Session, December 2018.

[3] Felipe Assis, Mateus S. Nogueira, Daniel S. Menasche, Joao Ismael Pinheiro, Pavlos Sermpezis, Savvas Kastanakis, Thrasyvoulos Spyropoulos, Carla Delgado, "Content Recommendation and QoE: An Experimental Study on the Role of QoS Towards Video Preferences", in Proceedings of the XVIII Workshop on Performance of Computer and Communication Systems, SBC, July 2019.

---

Honors and Distinctions

Honourable Mention Award

SBC, 18th WPerformance - Workshop on Computing and Communication Systems Performance / Jul 2019

received an honourable mention award for the paper "Content Recommendation and QoE: An Experimental Study on the Role of QoS Towards Video Preferences"

Second Prize Winners

ACM SIGCOMM Hackathon in Nokia Skypark, Budapest / Aug 2018

participated with the Measurements Lab (MLAB) team, presenting the Selection of Similar Vantage Points Project

Best Semester Project Award (among more than 25 participating teams)

CS335, Computer Networks, Computer Science Department, University of Crete / Jun 2016

implemented a proxy network for secure and efficient file downloading, using client-server architecture

Conference Attendance

HiPEAC Computing Systems Week in Bilbao / Oct 2019

Graduate Students Conference in Heraklion / Oct 2019

ENISA-FORTH Summer School / Sep 2019

ACM CoNEXT in Heraklion / Dec 2018

FOSSCOMM in Heraklion / Oct 2018

ACM SIGCOMM in Budapest / Aug 2018

---

Languages

Native Greek Speaker

Fluent English Speaker

---

Contact Information

Email:

     kastan {at} csd [dot] uoc [dot] gr
     kastan {at} ics [dot] forth [dot] gr

Skype:

     Savvas Kastanakis

Slack:

     Savvas Kastanakis

LinkedIn:

     savvas-kastanakis

Google Scholar:

     Savvas Kastanakis

---

Last Updated: Oct-2019