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 2008

The European Computer Science Summit 2008 is devoted to the many issues in strengthening the position of research and high-level education in Informatics in Europe: strategic issues in leading our departments, trends in research strategies, creative approaches in PhD- and MSc curricula, and ways of attracting new generations of students ad researchers to the challenges of Informatics.

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

On October 8, 2008 a special pre-Summit workshop will be held for beginning and prospective department heads and research leaders, devoted to issues in the daily responsibilities of their job. The workshop will be very interactive, and includes e.g. a session on best practices in coaching and writing large proposals in IT.

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 2008 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 2008 Summit is:

Informatics Matters - Image, Impact, Innovation

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 2008 in particular.

Possible topics include e.g.:

- Image of Informatics: in society, in industry, trust in IT, trends in research, attractiveness of curricula, Informatics in high school across EU, public perception of the field, Informatics as a discipline, theory versus practice, role in innovation

- Impact of IT trends in business and industry: role of universities, consequences for research and training in Computer Science, need for renewing educational programs, experience with new approaches.

- Innovation with Informatics: expectations in industry versus academia, relationships and experiences, impact of research collaboration, impact on research strategies

- Teaching CS: curriculum innovations, life after Bologna, qualification level of the bachelor degree, graduate programs (from MSc to PhD), didactic approaches in Informatics, algorithmic and computational thinking, careers in IT.

- Curricula in CS: best practices throughout EU, accreditation standards, joint degrees, internationalization, European Qualification Framework, attracting students, competition on the world-wide market for higher
education in Computer Science

- Research in CS: Strategic directions in Europe, national focus programs, research agendas, research infrastructures, interdisciplinary research, research evaluation standards, philosophy of Informatics

- Leadership in Informatics: responsibilities, being a department head, leading professionals in Informatics, setting strategies, how to achieve top rankings.

How to submit

To contribute to the Informatics Europe 2008 Summit program, submit an abstract of your position paper by August 15th 2008. Submissions will be evaluated and selected by the ECSS 2008 program committee on the basis
of relevance to (and capacity of) the program. Proposals may aim at a 20 minute 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 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 2008.

Program committee of ECSS 2008

Giorgio Ausiello (Rome, Italy))
Frederic Benhamou (Nantes France))
Janos Csirik (Szeged, Hungary)
Josep Diaz (Barcelona, Spain)
Gregor Engels (Paderborn, Germany))
Hans-Ulrich Heiss (Berlin, Germany)
Jeff Magee (London, UK)
Andrew McGettrick (Glasgow, Scotland)
Roumen Nikolov (Sofia, Bulgaria)
George A. Papadopoulos (Nicosia, Cyprus)
Antoine Petit (Paris, France)
Marc Shapiro (Paris, France)
Oded Shmueli (Haifa, Israel)
Paul Spirakis (Patras, Greece)
Jørgen Staunstrup (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Letizia Tanca (Milano, Italy)
Esko Ukkonen (Helsinki, Finland)
Jan van Leeuwen (Utrecht, The Netherlands, chairman)
Pierre Verbaeten (Leuven, Belgium)
Jiri Wiedermann (Prague, Czech Republic)

Important dates

- Abstract Submission: August 15th, 2008
- Notifications: September 10th, 2008
- Pre-Summit workshop for chairs and research leaders: October 8th, 2008
- ECSS 2008 Conference: October 9-10, 2008

Participation

ECSS 2008 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 2008. 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 2008 Summit!

General Chair

- Jan van Leeuwen (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)

Program Committee

- Giorgio Ausiello (Rome, Italy)
- Frederic Benhamou (Nantes France)
- Janos Csirik (Szeged, Hungary)
- Josep Diaz (Barcelona, Spain)
- Gregor Engels (Paderborn, Germany)
- Hans-Ulrich Heiss (Berlin, Germany)
- Jeff Magee (London, UK)
- Andrew McGettrick (Glasgow, Scotland)
- Roumen Nikolov (Sofia, Bulgaria)
- George A. Papadopoulos (Nicosia, Cyprus)
- Antoine Petit (Paris, France)
- Marc Shapiro (Paris, France)
- Oded Shmueli (Haifa, Israel)
- Paul Spirakis (Patras, Greece)
- Jørgen Staunstrup (Copenhagen, Denmark)
- Letizia Tanca (Milano, Italy)
- Esko Ukkonen (Helsinki, Finland)
- Jan van Leeuwen (Utrecht, The Netherlands, chairman)
- Pierre Verbaeten (Leuven, Belgium)
- Jiri Wiedermann (Prague, Czech Republic)

Advisory Committee

- Christine Choppy (Paris, France)
- Bertrand Meyer (Zurich, Switzerland)
- Willy Zwaenepoel (Lausanne, Switzerland)

Press and Media Contact

- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (IT University Copenhagen)

Organization Committee (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)

- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Peter Kiowski
- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The EUROPEAN COMPUTER SCIENCE SUMMIT 2008 will be held at the ETH Zürich (Switzerland). The ETHZ is the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ = `Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich'). The ETH is one of the premier European universities of science and technology.

The ETH has been home to `Informatics Europe' from the very beginning. In fact, Informatics Europe was founded in 2005 during the 2nd European Computer Science Summit, which was also held at the ETH in Zürich. Informatics Europe is now an organization with many member institutions from all over Europe. Its weekly `Informatics Europe Tech Watch Digest' is published and distributed by the Department of Computer Science of ETH.

ECSS 2008 will take place in the main building of the ETH. This building is located in the center of the city, close to the main station. Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland (population 376,815 in 2007; for the urban agglomeration 1,007,972). It is the capital of the canton of Zürich and Switzerland's main commercial centre, and it has the country's largest airport (ZRH).

Location

The ECSS 2008 Summit will take place in the ETH main building (`Hauptgebäude', also referred to as `HG'), on the first floor:

ETH Zürich
Hauptgebäude
Rämistrasse 101
CH-8092 Zürich

Signs will be set up to guide you from the entrance of the building to the registration office, and from there to the main auditorium.

Pre-Summit Workshop Venue

The workshop will take place in the Alumni Pavillion. To reach it, from the exit of the Polybahn (cable car) go right. After one-minute walk, there are stairs on the right. Descend them and immediately on the right there is the Alumni Pavillon. You are next to the Polymensa (student restaurant), and close to one of the entrances of the main building of the ETH Zurich (also called Hauptgebäude).

Site plans for ETH Zurich: http://www.ethz.ch/about/location/index_EN

Registration for ECSS 2008

- Pre-Summit Workshop: before September 15, 2008
- Early registration: before September 15, 2008
- Late registration: before October 8, 2008

Abstract Submission

- August 15th, 2008

Notifications

- September 10th, 2008

Early Registration

- September 15th, 2008

ECSS 2008 Pre-Summit Workshop

- October 8, 2008

ECSS 2008 Summit

- October 9-10, 2008

ECSS 2008 Location

- ETH Zurich

The organizational process requires you to register for ECSS 2008 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

The registration fees are EUR 250 (CHF 400), for participants registering before September 15 (early registration), and EUR 275 (CHF 450) for late registrations.

For attending the pre-Summit Workshop an additional registration is required, covering the activities, materials, lunch, coffee and tea breaks. The registration fee for the pre Summit Workshop is EUR 100 (CHF 160). Early registration for the pre-Summit workshop is requested (before September 15).

Companion invitations at the conference dinner on October 9 are available for EUR 60 or CHF 100.

Registration form

Please register here: Registration ECSS 2008

After you have completed the registration process, you can display and print the receipt here: Registration receipt

To access your receipt you will need a user id (your email) and a password (that can be requested in the same form).

Dates

- Early registration: up to September 15

- Late registration: up to October 1

- On-site registration: October 8 (for pre-Summit workshop + Summit), October 9 (Summit only).

Cancellations are possible until September 15 with a charge of EUR 50. After this date, we are obliged to charge a cancellation fee of 50%. If you cancel your registration after October 1, 2008, we are obliged to charge the full registration fee.

Questions

Any questions about the registration process should be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Links for hotel reservations:

German English French Italian

Please mention ECSS 2008 when booking. You can also book via email or by fax at Zurich Tourism:

E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pre-Summit workshop for Department chairs and Research Directors on IT-Department Leadership
ETH, Zurich, 8 October 2008

Please register here

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 (beginning) Department chairs and Research Directors of current or prospective Informatics Europe members.

Keynote Speaker: J Strother Moore
Chairman Department of Computer Science
University of Texas at Austin

Workshop chair: Jørgen Staunstrup
Prorector/Provost
IT University of Copenhagen

Workshop Aims

The workshop aims at Informatics department leadership; it provides a forum for strengthening your 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 quality of research applications. Both new and experienced department heads are invited for an exchange of best practice, new ideas and common challenges.

Benefits for participants include:

* Learning best practice from European CS department heads
* Offering a networking platform for European CS department heads
* Inspiration for improving applications for research funding

Keynote speaker is Professor J. Strother Moore, Inman Chair and Department Chair
Department of Computer Sciences The University of Texas at Austin.

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 100 (CHF 160). Early registration for the pre-Summit workshop is requested (before September 15).

Please register through the registration webpage of ECSS 2008.

Venue

The workshop will take place in the Alumni Pavillion. To reach it, from the exit of the Polybahn (cable car) go right. After one-minute walk, there are stairs on the right. Descend them and immediately on the right there is the Alumni Pavillon. You are next to the Polymensa (student restaurant), and close to one of the entrances of the main building of the ETH Zurich (also called Hauptgebäude).

9-10 October 2008, Zurich
With a pre-Summit workshop for Department Chairs and Research Directors on 8 October, 2008

Informatics matters: Image, Impact, Innovation

ECSS 2008 is the 2008 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 2008 Summit will be devoted to the current issues of common interest and urgency for the scientific and strategic positioning of our field.

Conference Chair: Jan van Leeuwen, Utrecht University

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 2008 Summit are

- Invited talks

- Pre-Summit workshop for Department chairs and Research Directors led by J. Staunstrup (IT University Copenhagen) on October 8, 2008

- Special focus on: "INFORMATICS MATTERS: Image, Impact, Innovation"

- Submitted talks on `Image, Impact, and Innovation' by colleagues from all over Europe. (see the Call for Submissions)

Who is the Summit intended for?

The European Computer Science Summit 2008 is the 4th annual event of Informatics Europe. The Summit is intended for: all leaders (deans, chairpersons, heads, research directors) of Departments (Schools, Faculties, Institutes, Chairs) of Computer Science (or Informatics, Informatique, Information Technology, Computing, Computer Engineering etc) in PHD-GRANTING Universities and leading research institutes (in Academia, Business, or Industry) in the European region.

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) was held in Berlin.

Participation

Participation is intended for (and limited to) all heads of CS departments and leaders of research institutes in ICT or their permanent deputies (but no other substitutions) as defined above, in the European region. In addition, a limited number of observers from industry (research labs and companies), governments (national and EU) and university administrations can be admitted. Attendees are welcome to suggest observers.