DEADLINE APPROACHING: SSSW09, The 7th Summer School on Ontological Engineering and the Semantic Web

*** DEADLINE APPROACHING ***

THE SEVENTH EUROPEAN SUMMER SCHOOL ON ONTOLOGICAL ENGINEERING AND THE  
SEMANTIC WEB (SSSW-2009)
5-11 July, 2009 Cercedilla, near Madrid, Spain.
http://sssw09.org


Applications due by 15th April 2009



INTRODUCTION

We are pleased to announce the seventh European Summer School on  
Ontological Engineering and the Semantic Web (SSSW 2009). The  
successful and groundbreaking SSSW series of summer schools was  
launched in 2003 and is now a well-establish event within the research  
community and a role model for several other initiatives. Presented by  
leading researchers in the field, it represents an opportunity for  
postgraduate students to equip themselves with the range of  
theoretical, practical, and collaboration skills necessary for full  
engagement with the challenges involved in developing Ontology-based  
and Semantic Web applications.
To ensure a high ratio between tutors and students the school will be
limited to 50 participants.


APPROACH

 From the very beginning the school pioneered an innovative  
pedagogical approach, combining the practical with the theoretical,  
and adding teamwork and a competitive element to the mix.  
Specifically, tutorial/lecture material is augmented with hands-on  
practical workshops and we ensure that the sessions complement each  
other by linking them to a group project. Work on developing and  
presenting a project in cooperation with other participants serves as  
a means of consolidating the knowledge and skills gained from lectures  
and practical sessions. It also introduces an element of competition  
among teams, as prizes are awarded to the best projects at the end of  
the week. Participants will be provided with electronic versions of  
all course lectures and all necessary tools and environments for the  
hands-on sessions. PC access with all tools pre-installed will be  
available on site as well.
SSSW09 will provide a stimulating and enjoyable environment in which  
participants will benefit not only from the formal and practical  
sessions but also from informal and social interactions with  
established researchers and the other participants to the school. To  
further facilitate communication and feedback all attendees will  
present a poster on their research.


COURSE TOPICS

Ontology Design, Knowledge Representation, Design Patterns, Linked  
Data, Publishing on the Web of Data, Semantic Web technologies for  
Knowledge Management, Ontology Matching and Alignment, Exploring and  
Using the Semantic Web, Language Technologies for the Semantic Web.


ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Enrico Motta (Director and Founder), e.motta@open.ac.uk
Asun Gomez-Perez (Co-Director), asun@fi.upm.es
Mathieu d'Aquin (Vice-Director), m.daquin@open.ac.uk
Oscar Corcho (Vice-Director), ocorcho@fi.upm.es
Barry Norton (Student Projects Coordinator), b.j.norton@open.ac.uk


TUTORS

Mathieu d'Aquin (The Open University, UK)
Sean Bechhofer (University of Manchester, UK)
Fabio Ciravegna (University of Sheffield, UK)
Jérôme Euzenat (INRIA and LIG, France)
Aldo Gangemi (ISTC-CNR, Italy)
Asun Gomez-Perez (UPM, Spain)
Enrico Motta (The Open University, UK)
Valentina Presutti (ISTC-CNR, Italy)

INVITED SPEAKERS

Philipp Cimiano (Delft University of Technology, Netherlands)

Stefan Decker (DERI, Ireland)

Mark Greaves (Vulcan Inc., US)
Tom Heath (Talis, UK)
Peter Mika (Yahoo!, Spain)


HOW TO APPLY

We welcome applicants from anywhere in the world. Normally, but not  
exclusively, applicants will be postgraduate students in relevant  
disciplines with some knowledge of ontological or knowledge  
engineering and/or the development of applications for the Semantic  
Web. Some basic acquaintance with knowledge representation and  
Semantic Web technologies (RDF, OWL, etc.) is required.

Applications can be submitted using the online form available from http://sssw09.org 
. The deadline for applications is 15th April 2009.

Accepted candidates are expected to arrive on Sunday, July 5th,  
between 3pm and 6pm and to participate fully in the activities of the  
school until its conclusion, at 2pm on Saturday, July 11th. Applicants  
should keep in mind that we will not consider applications from  
students who cannot commit themselves to a full participation for the  
whole duration of the school. Students are also required to bring a  
poster describing their own research to the summer school.

Apart from activities directly related to lectures, the summer school  
is rightly famous for its unrivalled social programme, which enables  
informal interaction between all participants to the school, students,  
tutors, invited speakers, school staff, etc. These events include a  
gala dinner outside Cercedilla, walks in the mountain, discos, and  
sport activities.

VENUE AND ACCOMMODATION

Cercedilla is a small village in the mountains near Madrid. The school  
will be held in the Residence of the Universidad Politecnica de  
Madrid. The Residence has a range of facilities to make your stay more  
pleasant including en suite bathrooms and nearby activities like a  
swimming pool, bars and restaurants in the village.

The nearest airport is Madrid-Barajas.
Participants will be able to use local rail links from Madrid to  
Cercedilla.

More information about how to reach Cercedilla can be found at
http://sssw09.org/venue-details.php

COST OF SUMMER SCHOOL INCLUDING ACCOMMODATION, MEALS AND EXCURSION: €  
800.

IMPORTANT DATES

Registration opens: 1st March 2009
Registration closes: 15th April 2009
Notification of acceptance: 1st May 2009
Deadline for payments: 1st June 2009
Summer school: 5th to 11th July 2009