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let.ruu.nl>THE FOURTH EUROPEAN SUMMER SCHOOL ON LANGUAGE AND SPEECH COMMUNICATION DIALOGUE SYSTEMS **************** BUDAPEST, HUNGARY 8-19 JULY 1996 INTRODUCTION The fourth European Summer School on Language and Speech Communication will be organised at the Technical University of Budapest from July 8-19 1996. The topic will be Dialogue Systems. There has been a growing interest over recent years in the theoretical and practical issues associated with the design and use of computer systems which are able to participate in spoken or written language dialogues. Some of the questions which have occupied the researchers include the following: * what kind of information should be included in a dialogue model? * what does it mean to "co-operate" in dialogue? * is it necessary to model the beliefs of the other party? * how much planning is required in dialogue? * how should a dialogue system be specified? * is there any benefit in simulating systems before building them? * how do people react to dialogue systems? * what happens in multimodal dialogues? * what is the relationship between human-human and human-computer dialogue? * what is the effect of task domain on dialogue structure? * how can dialogue failures be recognised and repaired? * how should dialogue systems be evaluated? * what practical applications exist for dialogue technology? These, and many other questions relating to dialogue systems will be addressed by leading practitioners in the field. The courses will be a mixture of short plenary sessions dedicated to surveys or particularly difficult or controversial topics, and weekly courses of 5x2 hours or 5x1 hours held in plenary or in parallel. Several of the courses will set practical exercises, and there will be ample opportunities for students to present their own work. As is fitting in a Summer School on dialogue, participants will be encouraged to play an active part in the learning process. Background knowledge in a relevant area such as linguistics, speech processing, artificial intelligence, computer science or psychology would be useful, but no prior experience in the area of dialogue systems will be assumed. The Summer School is open to undergraduate students, PhD students, postdocs, and staff members from academic and industrial sites. PROGRAM COMMITTEE The program committee for this year's Summer School consists of Niels Ole Bernsen (Roskilde University, Denmark), Norman Fraser (Vocalis, United Kingdom), Klara Vicsi (Technical University of Budapest, Hungary), with the help of Louis Boves (KPN Research, The Netherlands), Steven Krauwer, Gerrit Bloothooft (Utrecht University), Joaquim Llisterri (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona) as advisers. LOCAL ORGANISER Klara Vicsi (Technical University of Budapest) LOCAL COMMITTEE Geza Gordos (Technical University of Budapest), Laszlo Kalman (Lorand Eoetvoes Scientific University), Geza Nemeth (Technical University of Budapest), Andras Illenyi (Technical University of Budapest), Gabor Proszeky (MorphoLogy), Gyoergy Takacs (Ericcson), Klara Vicsi (Technical University of Budapest) SPONSORS This year's school is sponsored by the European Network in Language and Speech (ELSNET), the Copernicus Program: ELSNET goes East, and supported by the European Speech Communication Association (ESCA) and the European Chapter of the Association of Computational Linguistics (EACL). Local support is provided by the Technical University of Budapest, the National Scientific Research Fund, and SUN Europe. GENERAL INFORMATION VENUE The Summer School will be held at the Technical University of Budapest. The University was founded in 1782 by King Joseph II. It was reorganised as the Royal Palatine Joseph Technical University in 1871. Since 1949 it has been called the Technical University of Budapest and developed into one of the largest institutions of higher education in Hungary and is one of central Europe's most important research centres. Today, more than 110 departments and institutes operate within the structure of seven faculties at the TUB. About 1600 lecturers, 350 researchers, numerous invited lecturers and practical specialists participate in education and research at the TUB. Approximately 10% of the 9.000 students are from 40 countries abroad. The capital of Hungary, Budapest has a special geographical location. It is situated along a 28 km stretch along the Danube which divides the city into two parts: the hills of Buda and the plain of Pest. Budapest is often called the "Pearl of the Danube". TRAVEL Budapest can easily be reached by air or train from all major European cities. An Airport Minibus service is available from the airports to each hotel. The cost for one fare is approximately 800 HUF (8 DM or 5,5 USD, much less than the taxi price). Railway Stations are connected with Public Transportation. One ticket for tram, bus or metro costs 50 HUF (0,5 DM or 0,3 USD) and must be purchased in advance at metro stations or in kiosks. REGISTRATION The emphasis of the Summer School is on small-group work and on interaction between participants and staff. The number of participants will therefore be limited to 60. Because it is expected that the Summer School will be oversubscribed, pre-registration is strongly recommended. Deadline for pre-registration: May 1, 1996 To ensure that participants have the opportunity to attend the school from a wide range of countries and disciplines, notices of acceptance will not be sent before the pre-registration deadline. Deposits will then become due for those who have been offered a place. Applicants who cannot be offered a place at that time will be put on a waiting list and be given a final decision as soon as possible, but by June 1 at the latest. PARTICIPATION FEES full time students 130 USD or 190 DM academic staff members 260 USD or 380 DM employees of industry 520 USD or 760 DM Deadline for payment: June 1 1996 Late payment after 1 June: full time students 143 USD or 210 DM academic staff members 286 USD or 418 DM employees of industry 572 USD or 836 DM ACCOMMODATION COSTS Youth Hostel located in the University Campus (very moderate quality) 2 persons/room and common showers at each floor USD 15/person/night (breakfast included) [total 195 USD for 13 nights] Middle category hotel (two stars), 15 minutes from the University by tram Double rooms with shower in each room for a single person USD 68/night [total 884 USD for 13 nights] for two persons USD 38/night/person [total 494 USD for 13 nights] (breakfast included) The ACCOMMODATION COSTS and the PARTICIPATION FEE should be paid together at the same time. DEADLINE FOR FULL PAYMENT: June 1 1996 Payment can be made only by bank transfer or bank check. Unfortunately we are not able to accept credit cards. Bank account: MNB 10032000-01425279 Bank holder: Technical University of Budapest Bank name and address: Hungarian National Bank 1054 Budapest, Szabadsag ter 6-8, Hungary Reference: ELSNET 14899-509 Postal address: Technical University of Budapest Conference Office Muegyetem rkp. 3., Building K, 1st Floor 64. CANCELLATION If an accepted applicant has to withdraw from the summer school, fees paid will be returned (-20 USD handling charge). The withdrawal should be received before 1st of June. In the event of withdrawal after 1st of June, the applicant will forfeit 50 % of the paid fees. GRANTS Some limited grants will be made available for students from Central or Eastern Europe. To be eligible for this grant, one should write a well-argumented letter to the local organiser Dr. Klara Vicsi (address at the end of the booklet). In this letter one should write something about his/her background in the Language and Speech Technology, and make it clear why he/she would like to attend the Summer School. A letter of recommendation, written by his/her professor will certainly be advantageous. The application will be transfered for evalution to ELSNET goes East. CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE Students who attend lectures regularly will be given a Certificate of Attendance. With the agreement of the student's home university, the courses taken as part of the summer school may be recognised as credits for the student's course of study. SOCIAL EVENTS The summer school fee will include welcome and farewell parties. An optional programme of outings and visits will be organised, which will enable participating students to get to know each other better, and to be introduced to the culture and history of Hungary. Excursions at the weekend: 1. Szentendre Sightseeing in the small medieval town at 20 km from Budapest, well known for its picturesque old streets, 18th century houses and churches. Visit to the Open Air Museum. 2. Kecskemet the Hungarian "puszta" Sightseeing in the city, where you can find beautiful examples of the Hungarian art nouveau architecture. Visit a horse-show at Lajosmizse puszta. STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF THE COURSE WEEK 1. MORNING PLENARY SESSIONS 9.00 - 10.45 PLENARY Monday-Tuesday : HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE DIALOGUE SYSTEMS FIELD Lecturer: Louis Boves KPN Research, Leidschendam, The Netherlands Wednesday-Thursday: DIALOGUE TYPES Lecturer: Francoise Neel LIMSI-CNRS Orsay, France Friday: PROSODY IN SPOKEN DIALOGUE Lecturer: Julia Hirschberg AT&T Bell laboratories, Murray Hill, USA 10.45 - 11.15 coffee break 11.15 - 12.00 PLENARY Monday-Friday: STUDENT PRESENTATION SESSION 12.15 - 13.00 PLENARY Monday-Friday: MULTIMODAL SYSTEMS Lecturer: Niels Ole Bernsen Centre for Cognitive Science, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark 13.00 - 15.00 lunch 15.00 - 16.45 PARALLEL 1 Monday-Friday: SPEECH INPUT AND OUTPUT Lecturers: Rolf Carlson, Kjell Elenius and Bjorn Granstrom Department of Speech Communication and Music Acoustics, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden PARALLEL 2 Monday-Friday: EMPIRICAL FOUNDATIONS OF DIALOGUE DESIGN (with practicals) Lecturers: Hans Dybkjaer and Laila Dybkjaer Centre for Cognitive Science, Roskilde University Roskilde, Denmark WEEK 2. 9.00 - 10.45 PLENARY Monday: PROSODY IN SPOKEN DIALOGUE Lecturer: Julia Hirschberg AT&T Bell Laboratories USA Tuesday-Wednesday: EVALUATION OF DIALOGUE SYSTEMS Lecturer: Paolo Baggia Centro Studi e Laboratory Telecommunicazioni, Torino, Italy Thursday: COMMERCIAL REALITIES Lecturer: Nick Ostler Linguacubun Ltd., Batheaston Villa, UK Friday: PANEL DISCUSSION topic: Advantages and drawbacks of dialogue technology Gyoergy Takacs, Ericsson Ltd. Budapest, Hungary and all lecturers 10.45 - 11.15 coffee break 11.15 - 13.00 PARALLEL 1 Monday-Friday: NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING INPUT OUTPUT Lecturer: Paul Heisterkamp, Daimler-Benz AG,Institute for Information Technology, Germany 11.15 - 13.00 PARALLEL 2 Monday-Friday: DIALOGUE MODELLING (with practicals) Lecturer: Harald Aust Philips Forschungslaboratorien, Aachen, Germany 13.00 - 15.00 lunch 15.00 - 16.45 PARALLEL 1 Monday-Friday HUMAN FACTORS Lecturer: Sharon Oviatt Center for Human-Computer Communication, Department of Computer Science, Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology, Oregon, USA PARALLEL 2 Monday-Friday SYSTEM ISSUES (with practicals) lecturer: Norman Fraser Vocalis Limited, Cambridge, UK STUDENT PRESENTATIONS One hour during the first week has been reserved for student presentations, and students are encouraged to use this opportunity to help everyone improve their knowledge of each other's interests. Participants who want to take advantage of this opportunity are requested to indicate this on the application form. Each speaker will be given 15 minutes. The other possibility for students is the poster presentation. Poster board will be available during the time of the Summer School. Size of the poster board: 80cm x 150cm. A one-page abstract of the student presentation is expected by 1st June 1996. ELECTRONIC INFORMATION The information included in this booklet can also be found on the following World Wide Web sites: http://www.ttt.bme.hu http://www.cogsci.ed.ac.uk/elsnet/summerschool96.html During the school the participants will have access to Email facilities. NOTE Although all the information in this booklet is correct at the time of printing, we reserve the right to make alterations to course titles and to the list of lecturers if necessary. PRE-REGISTRATION FORM European Summer School on Language and Speech Communication July 8 - 19, 1996 Please complete this form and return it by May 1, 1996 Further information will be sent only to those who return this form. Title: First name: Last name: Street/No: Postal code/City: Country: Phone: Fax: Email: University degrees or other qualifications with dates: Current occupation: Name of university or company: COURSE REGISTRATION I wish to apply for admission under the following category: O Full time student (include proof of status) O Academic staff member O Employee of industry ACCOMMODATION If admitted to the course, I wish to reserve accommodation from 7 July to 19 (13 nights) O - Youth Hostel located in the University Campus O - Middle category hotel (two stars) at 15 minutes from the University (by tram) O - I do not need hotel reservation Please indicate whether you would like to present your own work to the participants in the Summer School: O Yes, I would like to present my own work during the school. O Oral presentation O Poster presentation O No, I will not be involved in the student presentations. Please give a brief account of previous work done in the area of dialogue systems. I have an interest in the following optional courses: WEEK 1. 15.00 - 16.45 O PARALLEL 1 SPEECH INPUT AND OUTPUT Lecturers: Rolf Carlson, Kjell Elenius and Bjorn Granstrom O PARALLEL 2 EMPIRICAL FOUNDATIONS OF DIALOGUE DESIGN (with practicals) Lecturers: Hans Dybkjaer and Laila Dybkjaer WEEK 2. 11.15 - 13.00 O PARALLEL 1 NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING INPUT OUTPUT Lecturer: Paul Heisterkamp O PARALLEL 2 DIALOGUE MODELLING (with practicals) Lecturer: Harald Aust WEEK 2. 15.00 - 16.45 O PARALLEL 1 HUMAN FACTORS Lecturer: Sharon Oviatt O PARALLEL 2 SYSTEM ISSUES (with practicals) Lecturer: Norman Fraser Signature: ____________________________ Date: ____________________________ The local organiser Klara Vicsi and the local committee can be reached by the Conference Office of TUB. All correspondence should be addressed to: Technical University of Budapest Conference Office Muegyetem rakpart 3.-9. Building K. 1st floor. room 64. H-1521, Budapest, Hungary Phone: 36-1-463-2666 Phone-fax: 36-1 463-3542 E-mail: schoolMail to author|Respond to list|Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue