Semantic Archives and Collections: Navigating the Linked Open Data Landscape
March 16 - 27, 2026
During the winter school, students will learn about Linked Open Data (LOD) and its role in preserving cultural heritage. The course will cover case studies and discussions that highlight the benefits of using LOD in research, cultural memory, and dissemination efforts.
First, students will be introduced to concepts such as digital preservation, semantic web, publishing data principles.
Then, laboratory classes will introduce students to essential tools and standards in Linked Open Data, such as the Resource Description Framework (RDF), the query language SPARQL, and semantic ontologies.
Finally, to get hands-on experience with practical applications of LOD in cultural heritage preservation, students will be divided into groups. Each group will explore a specific aspect, such as cultural heritage knowledge representation, extraction of linked open data via querying, analysis of specific semantic collections, or development of small-scale semantic models to enhance digital collections.
To help participants get started, the partner museums (Staatlichen Museum Ägyptischer Kunst and Museum für Abgüsse Klassischer Bildwerke) will provide students with sample data from their collections.
By the end of the course, students will have gained a better understanding of the complexities involved in preserving and disseminating cultural heritage in the digital age. They will also present the results of group projects that they developed, gaining experience in the dissemination of research products in the field of digital heritage.