General Chair

• Christine Choppy, Paris 13, France

Program Committee

• Frédéric Benhamou, Université de Nantes
• Christine Choppy, Paris 13, France
• Gregor Engels, Paderborn, Germany
• Victor Gergel, Nizhny-Novgorod, Russia
• Antoine Petit, INRIA, Paris - Rocquencourt, France (Chair)
• Hans-Ulrich Heiss, TU Berlin, Germany
• Andrew McGettrick, Strathclyde, UK
• Bertrand Meyer, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
• Enrico Nardelli, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" and GRIN
• Rumen Nikolov, University of Sofia
• Jørgen Staunstrup, IT U. of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Letizia Tanca, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
• Jan van Leeuwen, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Department Chair Workshop Organizer

• Jørgen Staunstrup, IT U. of Copenhagen, Denmark

Informatics Europe is the association of (PhD granting-) Computer Science and Informatics departments of universities and of top research laboratories in IT, public and private, in the European region and neighbouring areas.

The 2009 Summit will be devoted to the many strategic issues in the development of research and teaching in Computer Science/Informatics at the European level. The theme of the 2009 Summit is:

Informatics among the Sciences - Scientific principles in Informatics

The Summit will consist of invited talks by prominent academics and professionals, panels, and contributed talks. The Summit is the unique yearly meeting place of heads of CS departments, faculties, academic and national research institutes, and leaders of industry in the European software and IT domain.

Submit your proposed contributed presentation

Informatics Europe invites position papers for presentation with views, insights, theories, challenges and best practices. Contributions are sought on all issues relevant to Computer Science/Informatics in Europe and ECSS 2009 in particular.

Possible topics include e.g.:

• Impact of Informatics on other Sciences.
• What fundamental researchs in Informatics will be useful for other Sciences ?
• Informatics and ethics.
• What do other Sciences need in Informatics: engineers or researchers ?
• New problems in Informatics arising from other Sciences.
• What is a pluridisciplinary researcher ? How is one formed ?
• How to evaluate pluridisciplinary researches ?
• Multi-disciplinary curricula: myth or reality ? At which level: bachelor, master, PhD ?

How to submit

To contribute to the Informatics Europe 2009 Summit program, submit an abstract of your position paper by August 22nd, 2009. Submissions will be evaluated and selected by the ECSS 2009 program committee on the basis of relevance to (and capacity of) the program. Proposals may aim at a 20 minutes presentation or demonstration, and should consist of an abstract containing:

• A header with a clear title of your contribution, your name, position, and affiliation
• A clear text/summary describing your contribution
• A total size (of the abstract) not exceeding two A4 pages

Submit your proposed contribution to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Accepted position papers will be included in the web record of ECSS 2009.

Program committee of ECSS 2009

• Frédéric Benhamou, Université de Nantes
• Christine Choppy, Paris 13, France
• Gregor Engels, Paderborn, Germany
• Victor Gergel, Nizhny-Novgorod, Russia
• Antoine Petit, INRIA, Paris - Rocquencourt, France (Chair)
• Hans-Ulrich Heiss, TU Berlin, Germany
• Andrew McGettrick, Strathclyde, UK
• Bertrand Meyer, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
• Enrico Nardelli, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" and GRIN
• Rumen Nikolov, University of Sofia
• Jørgen Staunstrup, IT U. of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Letizia Tanca, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
• Jan van Leeuwen, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Important dates

• Abstract Submission: August 22nd, 2009
• Notifications: September 14th, 2009
• Final version (not exceeding 20 A4 pages): September 26th, 2009
• Pre-summit workshop for chairs and research leaders: October 7th, 2009
• ECSS 2009 Conference: October 8-9, 2009

Participation

ECSS 2009 is open to all heads (deans, chairs, directors, etc.) and deputy heads of departments, institutes, laboratories, or comparable units in Computer Science (Informatics, Information Technology etc.) from PhD granting universities or research organizations in the European region. In addition, the conference is open to authors of accepted abstracts. If you do not fit these categories but would like to attend as an observer, please contact the organizers of ECSS 2009. Examples of observers include representatives from industry, government, university administration, and representatives from other organizations with related aims in Europe and other regions.

We look forward to seeing you at the Informatics Europe ECSS 2009 Summit!

Informatics (or Computing) has a fundamental impact on science, business, industry and society and thus on every facet of our daily lives. Informatics progresses steadily in the fundamental understanding of complex information processing systems and it leads to the marvels of Information Technology that are at the basis of many innovations, from intelligent systems to interactive services of unprecedented caliber. Informatics is seen by many as one of the leading disciplines of the 21st century, crucial to progress and economic growth, see e.g. IKT 2020 - Research for Innovation.

While companies and industries are increasingly dependent on the advances of Informatics and its technologies, many obstacles must be overcome in the development of the field. This is experienced daily by departments and research institutes everywhere: in securing their positions, in setting their strategies for the future, in acquiring research funds, in finding and keeping top researchers, in adjusting their PhD-, MSc-, and BSc-programs to the ever changing needs of science and society, in attracting students in sufficient numbers to the field, and in battling against wrong images of the field.

Summit 2009

The European Computer Science Summit 2009 is devoted to the place of Informatics among the Sciences and to the Scientific principles in Informatics, both from research and high-level education point of views.

Topics

Workshops

Informatics Europe has formed a number of working groups that will report on their progress, recent activities and challenges concerning:

- Setting standards for computer science curricula

- Evaluating the quality of computer science research

- Student enrollment and image of the discipline

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Hotel ibis Paris Berthier Porte de Clichy

http://www.ibishotel.com/gb/hotel-2189-ibis-paris-berthier-porte-de-clichy/location.shtml

The European Computer Science Summit 2009 will take place in Paris, in the Hotel Ibis Paris Berthier Porte de Clichy.

We recommend travelling to the hotel by either taxi or metro. More detailed instructions can be found on the location information portion of the hotel's website. Additional public transit information (route planning, route maps) can be found on the RATP site.

Registration for ECSS 2009

• Pre-summit Workshop: before September 22, 2009
• Early registration: before September 22, 2009
• Late registration: before October 7, 2009

Abstract Submission

• August 22nd, 2008

Notifications

• September 14th, 2009

Early Registration

• September 22, 2009

ECSS 2009 Pre-summit Workshop

• October 7, 2009

ECSS 2009 Summit

• October 8-9, 2009

ECSS 2009 Location

• Paris

The European Computer Science Summit 2009 will take place in Paris, in the Hotel Ibis Paris Berthier Porte de Clichy. We suggest to stay in the very same hotel, which is located a short walk from Montmartre in the north of Paris (Sacré Coeur, Butte Montmartre), close to the Champs Elysées and Palais des Congrès. There are 688 air-conditioned rooms with free Wi-Fi access, including 7 suitable for people with reduced mobility. There are also two restaurants, a bar, an indoor car park, and a fitness center with swimming pool and sauna.

Since this is a quite busy period for hotels in Paris, you are required to reserve your room early, the latest on September 22nd. To make sure that you are registered as ECSS09 participants please do so by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and don't forget to mention your attendance to the Informatics Europe event.

The organizational process requires you to register for ECSS 2009 and the pre-summit Workshop. The registration fee of the Summit covers:

• Participation in all activities of the Summit
• Coffee breaks and lunches, and the conference dinner on Thursday evening
• Conference materials

For those attending the Department Chair Workshop an additional registration is required, covering the activities, materials, lunch, coffee and tea breaks.

• Companion invitations at the conference dinner on Thursday, October 8th are available for EUR 40.

In the following table are the registration fees for ECSS 09:

Please, register early to take advantage of the reduced fees.

Registrations are closed.

If you have trouble with the online payment form you can do one of two things:

• Send credit-card details by fax to +41 44 632 14 35.
• Bring the appropriate amount in cash, after your arrival to the event.

In either case, you mustcontact us by email to let us know that you will be using one of the above alternative payment options.

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Pre-summit workshop for Department Chairs and Research Directors on Research Leadership

Paris, 7 October 2009

Informatics Europe is the association of (PhD granting-) Computer Science and Informatics departments of universities and of top research laboratories in IT, public and private, in the European region and neighbouring areas. The day before its annual Summit meeting, a special workshop is organized for (new) Department Chairs and Research Directors of current or prospective Informatics Europe members.

Keynote Speaker: Professor and Dean Willy Zwaenepoel, EPFL, Lausanne

Workshop chair: Provost Jørgen Staunstrup, IT University of Copenhagen

Workshop Aims

The goal of the workshop is to discuss and develop excellent research leadership; it provides a forum for strengthening your leadership and management competencies by exchanging best practices and by building relationships between department heads at European Informatics research institutions. The workshop will be a mixture of discussions/knowledge sharing in smaller groups and plenary sessions.

The workshop focuses on the role of the department chair and developing the quality of research applications. Both new and experienced department heads are invited for an exchange of best practices, new ideas and common challenges.

Benefits for participants include:

• Learning best practices from heads of European Informatics departments and research labs
• Offering a networking platform heads of European Informatics departments and research labs
• Inspiration for improving applications for research funding

Workshop Program

How to register

For attending the Pre-summit Workshop an additional registration is required, covering the activities, materials, lunch, coffee and tea breaks, and buffet costs of the Workshop.

The registration fee for the Pre-summit Workshop is EUR 150/170 for early/late member registration, and EUR 200/220 for early/late non-member registration. Early registration for the Pre-summit workshop is requested (before September 22).

Please register through the registration webpage of ECSS 2009.

Venue

The workshop will take place at the Hotel Ibis.

8-9 October 2009, Paris
With a pre-summit workshop for Department Chairs and Research Directors on 7 October, 2009

Update: ECSS 2009 was successfully held in Paris. A pictorial highlight is also now available.

Informatics among the Sciences - Scientific principles in Informatics

ECSS 2009 is the 2009 Summit of ALL CURRENT AND PROSPECTIVE members of Informatics Europe, the organization of leading faculties, department and research institutes in Computer Science and Informatics Departments and Research Institutes in Europe. The 2009 Summit will be devoted to the current issues of common interest and urgency for the scientific and strategic positioning of our field.

• Conference Chair: Christine Choppy, Paris 13 University
• Program Chair: Antoine Petit, INRIA Rocquencourt, France
• Department Chair Workshop Organizer: Jørgen Staunstrup, IT U. of Copenhagen, Denmark

Informatics (Computer Science/Computing) is the discipline of the future: the key to many new developments in science, innovations in industry, and novel services in the information society. Yet, the impact and expectation of ICT pose great challenges to all faculties, departments and research institutes in Informatics worldwide.

What should our strategy for the future be? Our Program

As for the previous Summits, the program consists of special Invited Talks, workshops, panels and other interactive sessions devoted to common issues, problems and proposals. Special features of the 2009 Summit are

Invited talks:

• Pre-summit workshop for Department chairs and Research Directors led by Jørgen Staunstrup on October 7, 2009
• Special focus on: "Informatics among the Sciences - Scientific principles in Informatics"
• Submitted talks on "Informatics among the Sciences - Scientific principles in Informatics" by colleagues from all over Europe. (see the Call for Submissions)

Audience

The ECSS audience includes anyone with a stake in the future of Information Technology research and education in Europe. Traditionally, many department heads, directors of both industrial and academic labs, and other decision makers make up a substantial share of ECSS participants.

Special ACM Event

As a special feature of ECSS 2009, ACM will for the first time host a special event in conjunction with Informatics Europe in honor of the achievements of European computer science. The reception (on October 8, followed by the ECSS banquet) will recognize European Turing Award winners and ACM fellows. It will be hosted by the ACM President, Professor Dame Wendy Hall from the University of Southampton, and the Chair of the ACM Europe Council, Fabrizio Gagliardi from Microsoft Research Europe, and will be attended by many luminaries of computer science. This is the first time ACM hosts such a high-profile event outside of the US and it promises to be a memorable evening.

What's the purpose of the European Computer Science Summit?

• To create an international network of deans, heads of departments, and research directors in Informatics.
• To provide a forum for discussion and the exchange of solutions and best practices on common issues.
• To examine ways in which deans, department heads, and research directors in Informatics can work together to improve teaching and research, implement the Bologna process, can influence the policies of their universities, governments and the EU, and take joint initiatives on many other issues.
• To provide a liaison with other groups pursuing relevant interests, such as the CRA in the US.

The successful 2007 Summit (ECSS 2007) and 2008 Summit (ECSS 2008) were held respectively in Berlin and in Zürich.

Featured Speakers

• Alain Berthoz , College de France, French Academy of Sciences
  New frontiers between Informatics, Robotics and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Alain Finkel , ENS de Cachan, France
  Mental Imagery in Computer Science
• Georg Gottlob , University of Oxford, UK
  Computer Science as the Continuation of Logic by other Means
• Wendy Hall , President of the ACM, Fellow of the Royal Society, University of Southampton
  What is Web Science and why is it important?
• Mark Harris, Intel
  The role of Informatics in addressing the Big Global Challenges
• Yrjö Neuvo , European Institut for Innovation and Technology board
  Research, Education and Business - European Institute of Innovation and Technology
• Khalil Rouhana, European Commission, DG INFSO, Head of Unit, Strategy for ICT research and innovation
  An EU strategy for ICT research and innovation: raising the game
• Joseph Sifakis, Turing Award 2007, CNRS, France
  Embedded Systems Design – Scientific Challenges and Work Directions
• Marko Tadic , University of Zagreb, Croatia
  Language Technologies: a Happy Marriage between Linguistics and Informatics

Sponsors

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