This was SEMANTICS 2016

September 29, 2016 by Julia Holtze, Sandra Bartsch

Our 2016 Conference in Leipzig, Germany, was again an impactful event, combining informative talks with interactive and enlightening discussions. Over 270 attendees joined the SEMANTiCS Conference, making it a rousing success!

The twelfth edition of SEMANTiCS combined 276 researchers, professionals and practitioners from across the globe - from a total of 30 different countries. Compared to 2014, when the SEMANTiCS was held in Leipzig, there is a growth in participation of 20 %. Most visitors and participants came from Germany, Netherlands, Austria, UK and Belgium.

This year's SEMANTiCS started with a full day of various exciting and interesting side events. 6 parallel scientific tracks, industrial workshops and tutorials provided a forum for discussion and learning about the recent and advanced topics in Semantic Web research. The conference program included a total of 6 keynote speakers, 40 industry presentations, 30 scientific paper presentations, 40 poster & demo presentations and a huge number of satellite events. The 4-day format also included a festive Conference Dinner on the second evening, where attendees enjoyed the singular atmosphere of the historical vaults of Moritzbastei. The attendees were able to network informally and the location provided the perfect framework for the official ceremony for the 2016 “European Linked Data Award”, awarded in two categories - Linked Enterprise Data and Linked Open Data.

Besides the talks and presentations the conference provided plenty of room for networking and knowledge transfer. Most of all the marketplace with all exhibitors, poster and demo presenter gave new insights into new products. Our MeetUp and the DBpedia Day concludes a vital, vibrant and differentiated experience for the visitors. The high number of social events provided the perfect end to the conference and provided more opportunities for discussion about all that had been learned.