The Semantic Web and Linked Data have established themselves as key technologies for the 21st Century and have been taken up by major players within the Web, Media, and the Public Sector. Aligned areas such as Data Science and Big Data have also come to the fore recently.
We know from a range of studies that there is a growing need across a variety of industries for professionals trained to manage data in all its forms. One of the best known of these studies as conducted by McKinsey [1] which estimated already in 2011 that the United States will soon require 60 percent more graduates able to handle large amounts of data as part of their daily jobs. Also a number EU countries forecast an increase of almost 100 percent in the demand for data science positions in less than a decade [2].
Given the successful mainstreaming of Semantic Web and Linked Data technologies and the growing industrial need for trained Data Scientists semantic educational activities are of great importance today. For this reason we elected to setup the ESWC Summer School Advisory Board to give strategic advice to our ESWC Summer School. The Advisory Board provides scientific and technical leadership, enhances the School's outreach as well as supporting the school's organisation through personnel and other resources. In short the Advisory Board will ensure that the School remains aligned to the latest research topics associated with Semantic Web and Linked Data and the needs of industry and the semantic community in general.
The founding members of the Advisory Board are comprised of the following:
Saint Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies Mechanics and Optics (ITMO) in Russia
Represented by Dmitry Muromtsev
The consortium is open to new members as approved by the current consortium members and STI International.
References
- https://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/big_data_the_next_frontier_for_innovation (no longer available)
- https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240174273/Demand-for-big-data-IT-workers-to-double-by-2017-says-eSkills (no longer available)