Newsletter Issue 6

Editorial | Summer School on Preservation | ELAG 2006 Workshop

DELOS Digital Library Manifesto | Multilinguality in the European Library

Summer School on Multimedia Digital Libraries | DELOS Researcher Exchange

DELOS Researcher Exchange: Interview with Ingo Frommholz

In the frame of the DELOS Researcher Exchange Program, Ingo Frommholz, from the University if Duisburg, was able to spend three weeks at the University of Padova working on information modelling. Ingo works with Professor Norbert Fuhr at the University of Duisburg and during his stay in Padova he worked with Professor Maristella Agosti's group.

DELOS Newsletter: How did you find out about the DELOS Researcher Exchange scheme?

Ingo Frommholz: In fact it was Professor Maristella Agosti herself who happened to drew my attention to the exchange programme.

NL: What was the research work you did in the context of your exchange?

IF: I am interested in annotation-based information retrieval, which means document search using annotations or discussion search (i.e.. searching for relevant annotations in a given discussion). These methods need to be evaluated, and traditional information retrieval evaluation measures like recall and precision might not necessarily prove sufficient. Therefore I took the opportunity to discuss possible new evaluation metrics and user scenarios with my hosts. I worked most closely with Professor Maristella and members of her team, especially Dr. Nicola Ferro and Giorgio Di Nunzio.

Furthermore, we prepared a joint paper about our work on the DELOS project called DiLAS (Digital Library Annotation Service). I am pleased to say this paper was accepted for the "Workshop on Digital Libraries in the Context of Users' Broader Activities" at JCDL2006 in Chapel Hill, NC.

Ingo Frommholz soaks up the atmosphere in his research destination of Padua, Italy

NL: What were the main benefits of your stay in Padua as regards your professional work?

IF: One of the main benefits was to get opinions about my ideas and work in general from people outside my own institution who inevitably can offer a different perspective given their different background. In the past I have found it easy to explain my ideas to my colleagues or my supervisor who, of course, already know my work; but I found it more challenging but also quite stimulating to have to explain things to colleagues whom I did not know and who on occasions questioned things that I had taken for granted, that I had thought were well-founded - all of which was extremely useful since these discussions with my hosts raised a whole range of new ideas and thoughts.

And of course I found the time to reflect at greater length on new evaluation methods, without the usual interruptions by the daily round of tasks to which we are all inevitably subject in our institution back home. I very much valued that opportunity to take a longer look at my work.

NL: What do you think you got out of the exchange from a more personal point of view?

IF: In my case it was the first time I had ever stayed in another country other than when on holiday. It was very interesting to live in Italy and cope with all the ordinary tasks, and to learn to deal with the language barrier, since even a knowledge of English did not always help me. It was nice staying in a different city with different people, and it was very interesting to see at first hand how research is done not only in another institution but also in another country. Personally, it was a very important experience for me and certainly broadened my horizon.

NL: Would you recommend a researcher exchange to others and why?

IF: Yes, I would recommend it! The reasons are pretty evident I hope from what I have already related: it broadens your horizon, you see your work in a different light, and you inevitably hit upon new ideas and approaches. Plus the obvious benefit of living in another country or city for a while, but engaging not as a tourist, but in a more focused way, which is a very valuable experience that no one should not miss! …And you meet many nice people!

NL: Has this exchange changed your outlook on your future research work in any way?

IF: It changed my outlook in an indirect way. I have been considering working abroad after finishing my PhD, and this stay provided me with first-hand experience of what it is like to live - and work - somewhere else. Of course three weeks are not very representative, but they did give me an important initial impression, not least because I learned that you can get used to different practices and other customs surprisingly quickly.

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