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Release September 2022

IRI
http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn
Authors:
Alice Bordignon
Francesca Borriello
Lorenza Pierucci
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Ontology Specification Draft

Abstract

UniOn is an ontology representing Universities educational offer. It includes information to describe academic fields, degree programs, access methods and requirements, educational activities, titles and qualifications, location, organization and more

URL: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn

Creators: Alice Bordignon, Francesca Borriello, Lorenza Pierucci

Website: https://alicebordignon.github.io/UniOn/

UniOn on Github

Introduction back to ToC

UniOn is intended to represent and organize information in order to:
  • Orient oneself by getting an overview of university educational programs.
  • Compare different universities’ offers.
  • Extract useful information about a variety of issues.
It could thus prove useful for prospective students looking for the most suitable university course as well as for universities or other related institutions willing to describe and publish information about their training offer.

Namespace declarations

Table 1: Namespaces used in the document
uo<http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn>
owl<http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl>
rdf<http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns>
xml<http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace>
xsd<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema>
DUL<http://www.ontologydesignpatterns.org/ont/dul/DUL.owl>
rdfs<http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema>

UniOn: Overview back to ToC

This ontology has the following classes and properties.

Classes

Object Properties

Data Properties

Named Individuals

UniOn: Description back to ToC

In order to build our vocabulary, we made use of the following sources:
  • Universities websites, specifically webpages providing information about the training offer;
  • Open datasets (mainly CSV format) containing related information;
Since we intended our vocabulary to organically include information from both kinds of sources, we adopted a hybrid approach, merging top-down and bottom-up techniques:
  • Top-down: we defined general concepts of the domain and then classified them into specific hierarchies by analyzing relevant information sources, i.e. university websites.
  • Bottom-up: starting with existing data structures, we defined specific concrete concepts.
Integrating these two approaches gave us the opportunity to effectively balance theoretical appropriateness and feasibility (concretely applying the vocabulary to existing data). Moreover, in order to guarantee interoperability and reusability to UniOn, we decided to make use - when possible - of existing vocabularies, mapping our classes and properties with widely adopted ones. We thus reused some classes and properties from DULCE (DOLCE+DnS Ultralite), a foundational ontology presenting general categories and relations that come to hand when building a lower-level ontology like ours.

Cross-reference for UniOn classes, object properties and data properties back to ToC

This section provides details for each class and property defined by UniOn.

Classes

academic fieldc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#AcademicField

The fields involved in an educational offer of a university (e.g. Humanities, Business, Sciences etc.).
is in domain of
is academic field of op
is in range of
has academic field op
is disjoint with
access type c, assessment method c, curriculum c, degree programme c, department c, educational activity c, italian public university c, qualification c, place c

access typec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#AccessType

The modality of access the degree courses require.
is equivalent to
{ Limited Access , Open Access }
is access type of op some degree programme c
is in domain of
is access type of op
is in range of
has access type op
has members
Limited Access ni, Open Access ni
is disjoint with
academic field c, assessment method c, curriculum c, degree programme c, department c, educational activity c, italian public university c, qualification c, place c

assessment methodc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#AssessmentMethod

The evaluation modality for each educational activity (e.g. Written exam, Oral exam etc.)
is equivalent to
{ Eligibility , Oral Exam , Project , Written Exam }
is assessment method of op some educational activity c
is in domain of
is assessment method of op
is in range of
has assessment method op
has members
Eligibility ni, Oral Exam ni, Project ni, Written Exam ni
is disjoint with
academic field c, access type c, curriculum c, degree programme c, department c, educational activity c, italian public university c, qualification c, place c

bachelor degreec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#BachelorDegree

The bachelor degree (180 CFU) is a first cycle degree whose normative time to completion is three years.
has super-classes
degree programme c
is disjoint with
master degree c, single cycle degree c

coursec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#Course

A university course is made up of a set of lessons held by one teacher or several teachers.
has super-classes
educational activity c
is disjoint with
internship c, laboratory c, seminar c

curriculumc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#Curriculum

The same degree program can have multiple curricula that include different training activities. E.g. For the degree course in "Literature", it is possible to choose between the curriculum in Classical or Modern studies.
is in domain of
is curriculum of op
is in range of
has curriculum op
is disjoint with
academic field c, access type c, assessment method c, degree programme c, department c, educational activity c, italian public university c, qualification c, place c

degree programmec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#DegreeProgramme

A university-specific degree programme referring to a more general academic field (e.g. Digital Humanities and Digital Knowledge degree programme at UniBo)
is equivalent to
(has academic field op some academic field c) and (has campus op some place c) and (has place of teaching op some place c) and (is delivered by op some italian public university c) and (is managed by op some department c) and (releases op some qualification c) and (has curriculum op min 0 curriculum c) and (has educational activity op min 1 educational activity c) and (has access type op exactly 1 access type c)
has sub-classes
bachelor degree c, international degree c, master degree c, single cycle degree c
is in domain of
has academic field op, has academic year dp, has access type op, has campus op, has curriculum op, has degree class dp, has educational activity op, has place of teaching op, has teaching language dp, has url dp, has years of duration dp, is delivered by op, is managed by op, releases op
is in range of
delivers op, is academic field of op, is access type of op, is campus of op, is curriculum of op, is educational activity of op, is place of teaching of op, is released by op, manages op
is disjoint with
academic field c, access type c, assessment method c, curriculum c, department c, educational activity c, italian public university c, qualification c, place c

departmentc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#Department

Organizational structure that within Italian universities promotes and coordinates the activities of one or more sectors of scientific research that are homogeneous in terms of aims and methods.
is equivalent to
(manages op some degree programme c) and (is part of op some italian public university c)
is in domain of
is part of op, manages op
is in range of
has part op, is managed by op
is disjoint with
academic field c, access type c, assessment method c, curriculum c, degree programme c, educational activity c, italian public university c, qualification c, place c

educational activityc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#EducationalActivity

Any kind of educational activity: exams, internships, laboratories, seminars etc.
has sub-classes
course c, final test c, internship c, laboratory c, seminar c
is in domain of
has assessment method op, has cfu dp, has ssd dp, has teaching code dp, is compulsory dp, is educational activity of op, is offered by op
is in range of
has educational activity op, is assessment method of op, offers op
is disjoint with
academic field c, access type c, assessment method c, curriculum c, degree programme c, department c, italian public university c, qualification c, place c

final testc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#FinalTest

The final examination: it consists in producing a dissertation on a topic that is consistent with the learning objectives of the degree programme, drafted in an original manner under the guidance of a supervising professor
has super-classes
educational activity c

international degreec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#InternationalDegree

A degree programme delivered in a foreign language.
has super-classes
degree programme c

internshipc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#Internship

An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization or an institution for a limited period of time.
has super-classes
educational activity c
is disjoint with
course c, laboratory c, seminar c

italian public universityc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#ItalianPublicUniversity

A specific public italian university (e.g. Unibo)
is equivalent to
(delivers op min 1 degree programme c) and (has part op min 1 department c)
is in domain of
delivers op, has part op, offers op
is in range of
is delivered by op, is offered by op, is part of op
is disjoint with
academic field c, access type c, assessment method c, curriculum c, degree programme c, department c, educational activity c, qualification c, place c

laboratoryc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#Laboratory

A laboratory deals with specific topics related to the degree programme and involves practical activities.
has super-classes
educational activity c
is disjoint with
course c, internship c, seminar c

limited access degreec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#LimitedAccessDegree

A degree programme in which places available are limited and enrollment is only possible after overcoming a selection.
is equivalent to
degree programme c and (has access type op value Limited Access)
is disjoint with
open access degree c

master degreec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#MasterDegree

The master degree is a second cycle degree (120 CFU) which can be earned in a two-year programme after the bachelor degree.
has super-classes
degree programme c
is disjoint with
bachelor degree c, single cycle degree c

open access degreec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#OpenAccessDegree

A degree programme in which there is no maximum number of available places and enrollment does not entail passing through a selection. An entry test, however may be required.
is equivalent to
degree programme c and (has access type op value Open Access)
is disjoint with
limited access degree c

placec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://www.ontologydesignpatterns.org/ont/dul/DUL.owl#Place

Place where the educational activity takes place and where the university campus is located.
is in domain of
is campus of op, is place of teaching of op
is in range of
has campus op, has place of teaching op
is disjoint with
academic field c, access type c, assessment method c, curriculum c, degree programme c, department c, educational activity c, italian public university c, qualification c

qualificationc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#Qualification

A qualification (or degree) is the official record of achievement you receive after completing a programme of study. There are several types of qualifications varying in level of study and length of time.
is equivalent to
{ Joint Qualification , Multiple Qualification , Single Qualification }
is released by op some degree programme c
is in domain of
is released by op
is in range of
releases op
has members
Joint Qualification ni, Multiple Qualification ni, Single Qualification ni
is disjoint with
academic field c, access type c, assessment method c, curriculum c, degree programme c, department c, educational activity c, italian public university c, place c

seminarc back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#Seminar

University seminars deal with a specific topic within a discipline from several points of view, involving specialists both internal and external to the university encouraging students to actively participate.
has super-classes
educational activity c
is disjoint with
course c, internship c, laboratory c

single cycle degreec back to ToC or Class ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#SingleCycleDegree

The single cycle degree is a five or six year degree (300 or 360 CFU), which does not require a previous first cycle degree for the admission
has super-classes
degree programme c
is disjoint with
bachelor degree c, master degree c

Object Properties

deliversop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#delivers

A property that relates an italian public university to the degree programmes it delivers.
has domain
italian public university c
has range
degree programme c
is inverse of
is delivered by op

has academic fieldop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasAcademicField

A property linking the degree programme to the academic field to which it belongs.
has domain
degree programme c
has range
academic field c
is inverse of
is academic field of op

has access typeop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasAccessType

A property relating the degree programme to the modality of access it requires.
has domain
degree programme c
has range
access type c
is inverse of
is access type of op

has assessment methodop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasAssessmentMethod

A property that relates an educational activity to a particular evaluation modality. Example of an assessment method include an oral or writtem exam, the subsmission of a project or an eligibility.
has domain
educational activity c
has range
assessment method c
is inverse of
is assessment method of op

has campusop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasCampus

A property that associates the degree programme to the particular place where the university campus is located.
has domain
degree programme c
has range
place c
is inverse of
is campus of op

has curriculumop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasCurriculum

A property linking a degree programme to the curricula it offers.
has domain
degree programme c
has range
curriculum c
is inverse of
is curriculum of op

has educational activityop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasEducationalActivity

A property that associates a degree programme to the educational activities it delivers.
has domain
degree programme c
has range
educational activity c
is inverse of
is educational activity of op

has partop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://www.ontologydesignpatterns.org/ont/dul/DUL.owl#hasPart

A property indicating that one entity (the university) includes another entity (the department).
has domain
italian public university c
has range
department c
is inverse of
is part of op

has place of teachingop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasPlaceOfTeaching

A property that relates the degree programme to the place where its educational activities take place.
has domain
degree programme c
has range
place c
is inverse of
is place of teaching of op

is academic field ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isAcademicFieldOf

A property describing the academic field to which a degree programme belongs.
has domain
academic field c
has range
degree programme c
is inverse of
has academic field op

is access type ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isAccessTypeOf

A property indicating the modality of access a degree programme requires.
has domain
access type c
has range
degree programme c
is inverse of
has access type op

is assessment method ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isAssessmentMethodOf

A property expressing the evaluation modality of an educational activity. Example of an assessment method include an oral or writtem exam, the subsmission of a project or an eligibility.
has domain
assessment method c
has range
educational activity c
is inverse of
has assessment method op

is campus ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isCampusOf

A property indicating the place where the campus of a particular degree programme is located.
has domain
place c
has range
degree programme c
is inverse of
has campus op

is curriculum ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isCurriculumOf

A property that indicates the curricula offered by the same degree programme.
has domain
curriculum c
has range
degree programme c
is inverse of
has curriculum op

is delivered byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isDeliveredBy

A property indicating the degree programmes delivered by an italian public university.
has domain
degree programme c
has range
italian public university c
is inverse of
delivers op

is educational activity ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isEducationalActivityOf

A property indicating the educational activity delivered by a degree programme.
has domain
educational activity c
has range
degree programme c
is inverse of
has educational activity op

is managed byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isManagedBy

A property indicating the university department managed by a public italian university.
has domain
degree programme c
has range
department c
is inverse of
manages op

is offered byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isOfferedBy

Superproperty that joins an educational activity to a particular italian public university via the degree programme.
has domain
educational activity c
has range
italian public university c
is inverse of
offers op

is part ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://www.ontologydesignpatterns.org/ont/dul/DUL.owl#isPartOf

A property indicating that one entity (the department) is a part of another entity (the university).
has domain
department c
has range
italian public university c
is inverse of
has part op

is place of teaching ofop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isPlaceOfTeachingOf

A property that indicates the location where the degree programme's educational acitvities take place.
has domain
place c
has range
degree programme c
is inverse of
has place of teaching op

is released byop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isReleasedBy

A property expressing the official qualification released to the student after the completion of a degree programme.
has domain
qualification c
has range
degree programme c
is inverse of
releases op

managesop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#manages

A property that associates the university deparment to the degree programme it manages.
has domain
department c
has range
degree programme c
is inverse of
is managed by op

offersop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#offers

Superproperty that joins an italian public university with a particular educational activity via the degree programme.
has domain
italian public university c
has range
educational activity c
is inverse of
is offered by op
has sub-property chains
delivers op o has educational activity op

releasesop back to ToC or Object Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#releases

A property that relates the degree programme to the official qualification the students receives after completing the study programme.
has domain
degree programme c
has range
qualification c
is inverse of
is released by op

Data Properties

has academic yeardp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasAcademicYear

The period in which the degree programme carries its traning activity.
has domain
degree programme c

has cfudp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasCfu

The CFUs of a particular educational activity. CFUs (university formative credits) are a numerical measure of the workload for each exam or activity.
has domain
educational activity c

has degree classdp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasDegreeClass

The degree class (a unique code) of each degree programme. (E.g. LM-43 - Information technology methods for the humanities)
has super-properties
has identifier dp
has domain
degree programme c

has identifierdp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasIdentifier

A property that expresses the particular identifiers used by the italian university system to describe and identify degree programmes and educational activities. (E.g. Degree Class, Ssd and Teaching Code)
has sub-properties
has degree class dp, has ssd dp, has teaching code dp
has domain
degree programme c or educational activity c

has ssddp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasSsd

The SSD of an educational activity. SSD stands for ‘scientific-disciplinary sectors’: they point to the disciplinary areas to which each educational activity belongs to.
has super-properties
has identifier dp
has domain
course c

has teaching codedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasTeachingCode

A numerical code chosen by each university to univocally identify its educational activities.
has super-properties
has identifier dp
has domain
educational activity c

has teaching languagedp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasTeachingLanguage

The language in which the degree programme is taught.
has domain
degree programme c

has urldp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasUrl

The Url pointing to the website of the degree programme.
has domain
degree programme c

has years of durationdp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#hasYearsOfDuration

The duration of a degree programme.
has domain
degree programme c

is compulsorydp back to ToC or Data Property ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#isCompulsory

The property indicates if an educational activity is compulsory or not.
has domain
educational activity c

Named Individuals

Eligibilityni back to ToC or Named Individual ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#Eligibility

Exam without grade (with eligible or not eligible result) which assesses the candidate competencies.
belongs to
assessment method c

Joint Qualificationni back to ToC or Named Individual ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#JointQualification

Joint qualification means obtaining a single qualification recognised and validated by all the institutions running the joint programme.
belongs to
qualification c

Limited Accessni back to ToC or Named Individual ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#LimitedAccess

The type of access indicating that the places available are limited and enrollment is only possible after overcoming a selection.
belongs to
access type c

Multiple Qualificationni back to ToC or Named Individual ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#MultipleQualification

Double or multiple qualifications implies that, at the end of the programme, students obtain not only a degree from their home university but also the academic qualifications from the other participating universities where they have obtained learning credits
belongs to
qualification c

Open Accessni back to ToC or Named Individual ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#OpenAccess

The type of access indicating that there is no maximum number of available places and enrollment does not entail passing through a selection. An entry test, however may be required.
belongs to
access type c

Oral Examni back to ToC or Named Individual ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#OralExam

An examination in spoken form to show how well a student has understood the material studied in the program.
belongs to
assessment method c

Projectni back to ToC or Named Individual ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#Project

Project-based assessments are an alternative to tests that allow students to engage with their learning in more concrete ways. Instead of merely studying theory, a hands-on project asks students to apply what they've learned to an in-depth exploration of a topic.
belongs to
assessment method c

Single Qualificationni back to ToC or Named Individual ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#SingleQualification

A single qualification issued by the university.
belongs to
qualification c

Written Examni back to ToC or Named Individual ToC

IRI: http://purl.org/ontology/UniOn#WrittenExam

An assessment method that requires the student to answer some questions in writing (or electronically).
belongs to
assessment method c

Legend back to ToC

c: Classes
op: Object Properties
dp: Data Properties
ni: Named Individuals

References back to ToC

DOLCE+DnS Ultralite http://www.ontologydesignpatterns.org/ont/dul/DUL.owl

Acknowledgments back to ToC

The authors would like to thank Silvio Peroni for developing LODE, a Live OWL Documentation Environment, which is used for representing the Cross Referencing Section of this document and Daniel Garijo for developing Widoco, the program used to create the template used in this documentation.