[ecoop-info] Master's degree on "Semantic Web" - scholarships for Europeans

[Enrico Franconi]

      *** Master's degree on "Semantic Web" - Computer Science ***
	       http://www.semantic-web-academy.eu/msc/

The  Faculty of  Computer Science  at  the Free  University of  Bozen-
Bolzano (FUB),  in Italy (at the  heart of the  Dolomites mountains in
South-Tyrol), is  launching a  Master's degree on  "Semantic Web"  - a
curriculum part of its Master of Science in Computer Science offer.

The  Semantic  Web and  its  technology  are  increasingly becoming  a
central  element of  many  activities in  computer  science. The  main
topics of  the Master's  degree on "Semantic  Web" are  the up-to-date
technologies in the Semantic Web area. The goal of the Master's degree
on  "Semantic  Web" is  to  build a  new  generation  of Semantic  Web
experts, and up-skill the European  workforce with ideas that point to
the future. Students  will be prepared for a future  PhD, will come in
contact  with  the  international  research  community,  and  will  be
integrated into ongoing research  projects; in addition, students will
develop   competence   in    foreign   languages   and   international
relationships, thereby improving their social skills.
Students  enrolled in  the Semantic  Web  curriculum will  be able  to
exploit synergies with the  highly successful European Masters Program
in  Computational  Logic  <http://www.computational-logic.eu> and  the
European  Masters Program in  Language and  Communication Technologies
<http://www.inf.unibz.it/mcs/lct>  which are  run in  parallel  by the
Faculty of Computer Science at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.

LAST APPLICATION DEADLINE:

- 21 AUGUST 2009: last deadline *only* for EUROPEAN students;
   http://www.unibz.it/en/inf/progs/mcs/admission/Pre_Enrolement_Master.html

SCHOLARSHIPS:

European citizens  can apply to scholarships which  are granted purely
on the  basis of  the yearly  income of the  applicant and  of her/his
parents or husband/wife.  This scholarship may amount up  to more than
6,000 EUR  per academic  year, plus support  on the  accommodation and
total reimbursement of the enrolment fees.  European students may also
get a  LLP Socrates Erasmus scholarship  for the second  year of study
abroad, which is 330 EUR per month.

The IBM Center  for Advanced Studies in Rome  supports scholarships of
up to  2,400 EUR to  work on  a research project  or on the  thesis at
their labs in Rome. The BIT Mobility Programme supports students to do
their project and/or  their thesis with a scholarship  (up to 500€ per
month)  at   the  nearby  universities   Leopold-Franzens  Universität
Innsbruck  (STI Innsbruck  - with  a large  expertise on  Semantic Web
topics) or Università degli Studi di Trento.


THE SEMANTIC WEB:

Society  is moving  from being  information-based  to knowledge-based.
Work is increasingly collaborative, and business and scientific endea-
vours are conducted in a  global networked way. Knowledge is no longer
held  locally but  is globally  distributed. Data  and  information is
growing exponentially in all sectors of society. Communities generate,
model, augment, exchange and  transform information so the information
pool  rapidly changes  its content  and structure.  Most of  the major
scientific  aims  to achieve  an  all  inclusive information  society,
networked  business and  government depend  on  distributed knowledge-
based  systems. Knowledge  is the  object of  this Master's  degree on
"Semantic Web". The Master's degree on "Semantic Web" will provide the
technological  basis  for  easier  and efficient  knowledge  creation,
sharing and  exploitation: technologies at the heart  of the knowledge
economy.
Although the World  Wide Web has resulted in  a revolution in informa-
tion  exchange among  computer applications,  it still  cannot provide
easy interoperation  and information exchange. In  the next generation
of  the Web (the  Semantic Web),  web resources  will be  more readily
accessible  by  both  human  and  computers with  the  added  semantic
information   in  a  machine-understandable   and  machine-processable
fashion. In this context, knowledge in the form  of ontologies plays a
pivotal role  by providing  a source of  shared and  precisely defined
terms that can be understood and processed by machines.


THE STUDY PROGRAMME:

Applicants should have a Bachelor degree (Laurea) in Computer Science,
Computer  Engineering, or  other relevant  disciplines;  special cases
will be considered.  The programme is a curriculum  part of the Master
in Computer Science, and it  has various strengths that make it unique
amongst Italian and European universities:

* Curriculum taught entirely in English:  The programme is open to the
    world and prepares the students to move on the international scene.
* Possibility of a strongly research-oriented curriculum.
* Possibility  for  project-based  routes  to obtain  the  degree  and
    extensive lab facilities.
* International student community.
* Direct  interaction with  the local  and international  industry and
    research centres,  with the  possibility of practical  and research
    internships that can lead to future employment.
* Excellent scholarship opportunities and student accommodations.


THE FREE UNIVERSITY OF BOZEN-BOLZANO:

The Free  University of Bozen-Bolzano, founded in  1997, boasts modern
premises  in the centre  of Bozen-Bolzano.  The environment  is multi-
lingual, South Tyrol being a  region where three languages are spoken:
German, Italian and  Ladin. Studying in a multilingual  area has shown
that our students acquire the cutting edge needed in the international
business world. Many  of our teaching staff hails  from abroad. Normal
lectures are  complemented with seminars, work  placements and labora-
tory work, which give our students a vocational as well as theoretical
training,  preparing them for  their subsequent  professional careers.
Studying  at the  Free University  of Bozen-Bolzano  means,  first and
foremost, being  guided all the way through  the student's educational
career.
Bozen-Bolzano, due to its enviable geographical position in the centre
of the  Dolomites, also  offers our students  a multitude  of opportu-
nities for  spending their free-time. The city  unites the traditional
with the  modern. Young people  and fashionable shops throng  the city
centre where  ancient mercantile buildings are  an attractive backdrop
to  a city that  is in  continual growth.  To the  south there  is the
industrial and  manufacturing area  with prosperous small  and medium-
sized businesses  active in  every economic sector.  Back in  the 17th
century Bozen-Bolzano was already  a flourishing mercantile city that,
thanks to its particular geographic  position, functioned as a kind of
bridge between  northern and southern  Europe. As a  multilingual town
and a  cultural centre Bozen-Bolzano still  has a lot  to offer today.
Its plethora  of theatres,  concerts with special  programmes, cinemas
and museums, combined with a  series of trendy night spots that create
local colour make Bozen-Bolzano a  city that is beginning to cater for
its increasingly demanding student population. And if you fancy a very
special experience, go and visit  the city's favourite and most famous
resident -  "Oetzi", the Ice Man  of Similaun, housed in  his very own
refrigerated room in the recently opened archaeological museum.
Bozen-Bolzano and its surroundings are an El Dorado for sports lovers:
jogging  on the  grass alongside  the River  Talfer-Talvera,  walks to
Jenesien-S.Genesio   and  on   the  nearby   Schlern-Sciliar  plateau,
excursions  and mountain climbing  in the  Dolomites, swimming  in the
numerous nearby lakes and, last but not least, skiing and snowboarding
in the surrounding ski areas.


FURTHER INFORMATION:

For any info please write to fub at semantic-web-academy.eu

Master's degree on "Semantic Web" - Computer Science
Faculty of Computer Science
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
Piazza Università 1
I-39100 Bozen-Bolzano BZ, Italy

Phone: +39 0471 016 000
Fax:   +39 0471 016 009
Email: fub at semantic-web-academy.eu
Web site: http://www.semantic-web-academy.eu/msc/