As part of our support for SSSW2011, the 8th Semantic Web Summer School, taking place this week in Spain, Talis is sponsoring a student to attend the school, who through lack of funds would not otherwise be able to attend. After a significant number of applications for the funded place and a challenging selection process, the grant was awarded to Kelli de Faria Cordeiro. Kelli is a PhD student in the Knowledge Engineering Group (GRECO) of the Computer Science Department / Institute of Mathematics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Just before we arrived in Spain for the Summer School, I caught up with Kelli to find out about her research and her hopes for the Summer School.

Tom: In simple terms, what is the focus of your research?

Kelli: My research is centred on Advanced Conceptual Modelling of Complex Information Systems, focusing on Linked Open Data as a Complex Information System. The main issue is how to semantically enrich Linked Data keeping the flexibility of Linked Data Principles.

Tom: How did you come to be doing research in this area? What led you here?

Kelli: I have been studying semantic web for the past 5 years, and I have been an enthusiast on data integration and analysis during my whole professional life. The Linked Data Principles as an approach to integrate heterogeneous and dynamic data called my attention. The possibilities to create a data analysis environment with the data available on the web took my thoughts since I started to study it.

Tom: Could you explain a bit about the context in which your research is taking place?

Kelli: Currently, I am working on the LinkedDataBR Project – Expose, Share and Connection of Open Data Resources on the Web, supported by the National Education and Research Network (RNP) of Brazil. Central functionalities to be included are data cleaning, transformation, association, annotation and referencing to terminology mechanisms. At this project, we have been facing critical issues about the role of ontologies on Linked Open Data Publish Process, and I hope to address some of these issues with my research work. Moreover, there has been a Brazilian governmental movement to open data, leading to the development of applied projects to support it with tools and guidelines with a broad scope. The consequence is the need for human resources qualification, and I also expect to meet this demand with my studies on the subject.

Tom: What are you most looking forward to about the Semantic Web Summer School?

Kelli: I want to improve my learning on Ontology Engineering, Knowledge Representation and Linked Open Data by developing my technical and social skills, having great time with tutors and other students. Besides the contributions to my PhD Thesis, one of the main objectives of attending the school is to learn as much as I can and then share the knowledge with my colleagues in Brazil with whom I am working on Linked Data Research Projects.

Tom: In what ways do you expect the Summer School to benefit your research?

Kelli: The development of my research can benefit as I learn the current key topics in the field. It can also be improved with discussion and validation of the ideas and approaches to solve my research problems with tutors, invited speakers and other students. I look forward discussing the description of aggregate data as well as analytical processing over Linked Data.

Way back in the mists of time, aka July 2005, when I was a young, starry-eyed PhD student, I found myself in the hills outside Madrid with 50 other people fitting the same description. The occasion was the International Summer School on Ontology Engineering and the Semantic Web, and in the week that followed we received a crash course in Semantic Web technologies, delivered by some of the top researchers in the field.

This year I return to the school as a tutor, and I’m taking three of my Talis colleagues with me — one each from the Consulting, Kasabi and Platform teams. I’m intrigued to see what they each make of it, bringing as they do a really diverse range of skills and experience, from training people in the fundamentals of Linked Data, to Web design and user experience, to frontline operation of our Talis Platform.

We’re also very proud to be sponsors of the Summer School. As part of this arrangement we’re sponsoring a student from Brazil to attend the school, and in the next few days I’ll be introducing her and her work through a post on this blog. Stay tuned.