[Last call for participation] 1st Semantic Web Services Winter Retreat

[Jacek Kopecky]

[[ Please forward this to anyone who might be interested. ]]   
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             FIRST SEMANTIC WEB SERVICES WINTER RETREAT   
                       Call for participation   

                           March 1-7, 2009   
               Seefeld Olympic Region, Tyrol, Austria   

               Deadline for applications: Jan 10, 2009

          http://education.sti2.org/events/sws-retreat-09/   

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INTRODUCTION:

The Semantic Web Service (SWS) Retreat aims to be an intensive 5 day
course, training existing and new researchers and practitioners in the
field of Semantic Web Services, so as to encourage their participation
in this growing field and to give them access to its top experts. 
In particular, the retreat will bring together 20–30 students and 
10 tutors, allowing the participants to immerse themselves within 
the community and to interact on a one-to-one level with established
researchers to gain deeper insights and clarity.

The SWS Retreat is organized by STI International and by STI Innsbruck.
The retreat is partially funded by the Austrian FIT-IT funding agency
and by the EU project Service Web 3.0.


PROGRAM:

The program for the retreat, detailed on the website, combines
theoretical lectures, tutorials and hands-on sessions, and mini-project
teamwork, to maximize the knowledge gained by the participants. On top
of these formal parts, the program also contains social networking
activities for deeper interaction, and also a skiing afternoon.

The lectures and tutorials will present the following topics:

     1. Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
     2. Semantic technologies, ontologies
     3. Web Services Modeling Ontology (WSMO) and Language (WSML)
     4. SWS Automation Tools, incl. Web Services Modeling Tool (WSMT)
     5. Invited talks on advanced topics, such as Business Process
        Modeling, Enterprise perspective on SWS, or RESTful Web services

More information at http://education.sti2.org/events/sws-retreat-09/


ACCOMMODATION, TRAVEL AND LOCAL INFORMATION:

The retreat will be held in a hotel in the Seefeld Olympic Region, with
full board and accommodation provided for each participant. Seefeld is 
a mountain resort that hosted the Nordic events of the 1964 and 1976
Winter Olympics. It is located 17km northwest from Innsbruck, Austria,
at the heart of the Alps. The nearest airport is in Innsbruck, with 
many wintertime connections. The major airport in Munich offers further
connections. Seefeld is accessible easily by train and by car, both from
Innsbruck and from Munich. In case of sufficient demand, we will
organize a bus from Innsbruck to the SWS Retreat venue.


PARTICIPATION:

We welcome applications from anywhere in the world, with some degree 
of preference given to Austrian applicants. We especially target
postgraduate students and industry professionals in relevant fields.
Some basic acquaintance with the principles of Service-Oriented
Architectures and Semantic Technologies is useful.

Accepted attendees are expected to participate fully in the activities
of the SWS Retreat for its complete duration. We will not consider
applications from persons who cannot commit themselves to full
participation for the whole duration of the retreat.


COST AND APPLICATION:

The cost for each participant is €400, which covers lecture materials,
accommodation, full board (three meals per day) and the social events.

We also plan to organize a skiing afternoon, which will be paid by the
participants themselves and should not exceed €50 for ski-pass plus
equipment rental.

To apply for participation in the retreat, please fill out the
application form at http://education.sti2.org/sws-retreat.php
All applications will be carefully considered and accepted 
participants will be notified in mid-January.

Participants from Austrian institutions can apply for a lower rate of
€300. Please email a short CV and justification to jacek.kopecky at sti2.at


IMPORTANT DATES:

Application deadline:                 10 January  2009
Notification of acceptance:           15 January  2009
Deadline for registration/payments:    1 February 2009
Retreat:                             1-7 March    2009


ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE:

Jacek Kopecky,     STI Innsbruck,     jacek.kopecky at sti2.at
Dr. Elena Simperl, STI Innsbruck,     elena.simperl at sti2.at
Alexander Wahler,  STI International, alexander.wahler at sti2.org