Logic-Based Ontology Engineering (SoSe 2023)

Description

Ontologies are tools for structuring the working knowledge of an application domain. They are used for building automated systems that support human domain experts, such as medical practitioners, engineers, and business analysts. Ontology Engineering describes a collection of techniques that support the whole ontology life cycle: the creation of an ontology, forming links with other ontologies, ontology updates, and repairing the ontology.

This lecture introduces students to the field of ontology engineering, from the point of view of the standard ontology language OWL 2, as well as its underlying formalization in description logics. Specifically, we will learn about different techniques that support ontology-engineers throughout the ontology life-cycle.

It is expected that students are acquainted with first-order logic. Knowledge of description logics and the semantic web is helpful, but not required.

To participate in the course, you need to register for the course in OPAL.

Organization

This course is structured into 12 units. Each unit takes 1 week and consists of self-learning at home (using the provided slides, videos, quiz, and additional resources), followed by 2 in-person meetings. In the meetings, we will discuss the unit contents (based on your questions and additional discussion topics) and you will work on the exercises in groups of 2–3 students. I will be available to give individual feedback to the groups, and we may discuss particularly challenging exercises among all students at the end of the second meeting.

The videos were recorded for the 2020 and 2021 lectures on Logic-Based Ontology Engineering. The structure of this lecture is very similar to the 2021 one, with minor changes. The structure of the 2020 lecture differs a little more, mostly in the first 6 units. In particular, slide and theorem numbers will be different. The videos from 2021 were recorded during the online lectures, they are longer and contain more details and examples. The videos from 2020 were pre-recorded and will be shorter in general, but cover roughly the same content. The amount of material can vary from unit to unit.

Model solutions for the theoretical exercises will be made available a few weeks after each tutorial, but at the latest at the end of the lecture period. Apart from theoretical exercises, there will be a number of practical exercises where you will develop an ontology using the ontology editor Protégé (mostly during the first 6 units). You will need to bring your own laptop for these exercises.

The groups will be formed during the first tutorial and should remain stable throughout the semester. Please contact me if your group changes, e.g. due to students leaving the course.

The meetings will take place every Wednesday 9:20–10:50 and Friday 13:00–14:30 in room APB/E005, except on April 7th (Good Friday), May 10th (Dies Academicus), and May 29th – June 2nd (Pentecost). The meetings for the first unit will take place on April 5th and April 12th.

Currently, I do not plan to do hybrid meetings since they are not well-suited for group work. If you would like to participate remotely, please contact me to discuss how this could be done.

SWS/Modules

SWS: 2/2/0
This course can be used in the following modules:

• Bachelor Informatik: INF-B-510, INF-B-520

• Master/Diplom Informatik: INF-BAS2, INF-VERT2, INF‑BAS6, INF‑VERT6, INF‑PM‑FOR

• Diplom Informationssystemtechnik: INF-BAS2, INF-VERT2

• Master Computational Logic: MCL‑ILS

• Master Computational Modeling and Simulation: CMS-LM-AI, CMS-LM-ADV

Exams

You need to register for oral exams before the deadline set by the examination office. To schedule the exam, please contact Kerstin Achtruth or the (secretary of the) other examiner immediately after registering. (Do not wait for confirmation from the examination office, which could take some time.)