Remarkable progress has been made in applying computing technologies to real-world problems. However there exists a class of problems, specifically knowledge discovery problems, for which traditional computational methods are not applicable or sufficient. Given the explosion of digital information and knowledge that permeates all sectors of the society today, there is a great need for expertise in processing existing information and knowledge banks for the betterment of society. This category of problems requires solutions that mimic human intelligence. This thematic area seeks to use tools, techniques, algorithms and problem-solving methods that are applicable to real-world problems whose solution requires approaches that mimic human intelligence. This area endeavors to work closely with industry to address real-world needs by linking computational intelligence techniques to real-world applications and projects in areas such as business, finance, natural language engineering and control systems.