Call for Tutorial Proposals

ISWC 2013, the Eleventh International Semantic Web Conference, will be held from 21-25 October 2013 in the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, overlooking Sydney's stunning harbour.

This is the primary conference on the use of semantic technologies on the web and linked data, constantly attracting a high number of high quality submissions and participants from academia and industry alike. It brings together researchers from different areas of computer science, such as artificial intelligence, databases, natural language process, information retrieval and others that aim at the development and use of novel technologies for accessing, interpreting and using information on the web in a more effective way.

In addition to the regular research and workshop program, ISWC’13 will feature a tutorial program addressing the interests of its varied audience: Semantic Web practitioners that wish to learn new technologies, novices to the Semantic Web interested in introductory tutorials to key Semantic Web/Linked Data topics, government and industry representatives focusing on the applicability of Semantic Web/Linked Data technologies in practical settings.

We hereby invite you to submit a tutorial proposal on a topic relevant to the ISWC’13 audience.

Topics of Interest

The decision on acceptance/rejection of tutorial proposals will be made on the basis of the overall quality of the proposal, its appeal to a viable fraction of the Semantic Web community as well as how it fits in with the conference.

In order to meet these goals, tutorials should satisfy the following criteria:

1. the topic falls in the general scope of ISWC 2013
2. there is a clear focus on a specific technology, problem or application
3. there is a sufficiently large community interested in the topic.

We expect proposals for the following types of tutorials:

1. Tutorials providing an introduction to the Semantic Web
2. Tutorials describing the application of Semantic Web technology in specific domains (e.g., business intelligence, life-sciences, health care)
3. Tutorials presenting concrete Semantic Web technologies and trends. We encourage proposals focusing both on established technologies that are increasingly used by the community and on novel, ground-breaking technologies.
4. Tutorials presenting techniques from other research fields that are of relevance for Semantic Web research (e.g., machine learning, NLP).

Additionally, we expect tutorials to have practical parts in terms of examples or preferably exercises to be carried out by the participants.

Submission Guidelines

Tutorial proposals should be submitted via EasyChair as a single PDF file containing the following information:

1. Title
2. Abstract: 200 word summary of the tutorial purpose and content
3. Motivation: Why is the topic timely and of particular interest to ISWC participants? What is the relation of this tutorial to other similar tutorials presented at other events? (one to three paragraphs)
4. Detailed description: Overview of content, description of the aims, presentation style, tutorial format, potential/preferred prerequisite knowledge (max 2 pages)
5. Audience: Who and how many people are likely to attend? (one paragraph)
6. Presenters: Information about presenters (name, affiliation, contact info), their expertise in the tutorial topic as well as their experiences in teaching and in tutorial presentation. Please indicate which presenter is the primary contact. (1-2 paragraphs per presenter)
7. Length: Half-day or full-day?
8. Requirements: Audio-visual or technical requirements and any special room requirements (1-2 paragraphs).

Proposers of accepted tutorials will be required to prepare a tutorial web page containing  detailed information about the tutorial content, schedule and organization. Tutorial organizers are also responsible for the production and distribution of all material to be used for teaching the tutorial (slides, notes, technical papers, etc.). In the case of a hands-on tutorial requiring software, it is strongly recommended that tutors place any software prerequisites online for participants to download and install in advance of the start of the tutorial. Additionally, tutors should avoid, as much as possible, depending on live web-based services that could be hampered by unexpected technical issues. 

Organizers of the accepted tutorials will receive one free registration to their tutorial. Tutorial attendees must pay the ISWC 2013 tutorial registration fee, if any, as well as the conference registration fee.

Submissions of tutorial proposals can be made at: https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iswc2013tutorials.

Important Dates

1. 3 May 2013, Tutorial Proposals Due
2. 17 May 2013, Notification of Accepted Proposals
3. 1 July 2013, Tutorial Webpage finalized

Chairs

1. Marta Sabou (http://www.modul.ac.at/sabou), MODUL University Vienna, Austria
2. Benjamin Johnston (http://www.benjaminjohnston.com.au), University of Technology, Sydney, Australia