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

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 started in 2003, as part of the activities of the OntoWeb Network Consortium, continued from 2004 to 2007 as part of the activities of the Knowledge Web Network of Excellence, 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 Ontologies 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 Heterogeneous Structures, Linked Data, Publishing on the Web of Data Semantic Web technologies for Knowledge Management Ontology Matching and Alignment Exploring and Using the Semantic Web Social Semantic Webs, Trust

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Enrico Motta (Director and Founder), This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Asun Gomez-Perez (Co-Director), This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mathieu d'Aquin (Vice-Director), This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Oscar Corcho (Vice-Director), This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Barry Norton (Student Projects Coordinator), This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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 (Provisional)
Mark Greaves (Vulcan Inc., US)
Tom Heath (Talis, UK)
Stefan Decker (DERI, Ireland)
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.
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 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 schedule is rightly famous for its unrivalled social programme, which
enables informal interaction between all participants to the school - i.e., 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