Asset management solution provider Knowledge Focus has successfully brought US-based search and categorisation provider Convera`s highly acclaimed course on taxonomy and classification to SA. The company hosted the three-day course in Johannesburg recently, where it was attended by no fewer than 20 students from a broad spectrum of private sector companies, tertiary institutions and government departments.
The course provided in-depth, hands-on understanding on the development and implementation of taxonomies and classifications. Students explored various categorisation and classification systems and discussed and analysed examples of semantic networks, thesauri, taxonomies, ontologies and classifications. They also participated in a variety of hands-on exercises for designing taxonomies and classifications.
"Search alone is insufficient for finding real answers to complex problems, and today`s knowledge workers are spending too much time looking for information," says Knowledge Focus managing director Piet Dempsey. "Taxonomies can provide both enhanced metadata for your content and rich browsing structures for your end-users. This course is specifically geared to showing how to organise enterprise information, improve the user`s search and browsing experience, and expose hidden assets by achieving information consistency across the enterprise."
After completion of the course, students were able to define taxonomy-related terminology and identify examples of semantic networks, thesauri, taxonomies, ontologies and classifications. They were instructed in creating stable, consistent hierarchical taxonomies to assist in the creation of metadata for unstructured content. Additionally, students gained valuable exposure to Convera`s taxonomy and classification creation product The Categorisation and Classification Workbench, and learnt how to benchmark the quality of taxonomy and classification resources.
The course was presented by Dr Andy Podolsky, senior ontologist at Convera, provider of categorisation and classification consulting and training for governmental and commercial projects worldwide. Prior to conducting the course in Pretoria, Dr Podolsky had most recently offered the class in Canberra, Australia as well as for the US Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Virginia. Based at Convera`s headquarters in Washington DC, Dr Podolsky reported that he was delighted to travel to SA to offer the course in conjunction with Knowledge Focus.
"I was impressed with the level of expertise among the students," he said. "They exhibited a high level of competency in identifying problems and were eager to acquire new skills. There seems to be a feeling among South Africans that they lag behind other countries when it comes to taxonomies and classifications, but I believe this perception is totally unfounded."
According to Dempsey, the overwhelming response to the course and the positive feedback received from students has set the stage for a second one later in the year.
"Based on our initial success, the next one will likely be presented on a larger scale and to a wider audience," Dempsey concludes.
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