LETTER OF INTENT

ORGANIZATION OF A SUMMER TRAINING SCHOOL AT STINA DE VALE (ORADEA) ROMANIA

E. Roventa
Computer Science Department
Glendon College, York University
roventa@yorku.ca

Introduction

This project supports the organization of a summer training school in English for 1 week to be held in Stina de Vale, the mountain resort of the University of Oradea, Romania, on behalf of about 50 advanced students and junior faculty of this university. The primary objective of the project is to strengthen the Romanian expertise in the Social Sciences and Humanities by using Computer Science techniques and also advance the international reach of York University. Other objectives include starting common research projects with Romanian professors and establishing electronic linkages among groups of Romanian and Canadian students in their fields of interest.

Students will acquire professional skills in an intercultural context. The title of the training school will be “Some Applications of Logic in the Social Sciences and Humanities” (Linguistics, Business, History, and Computer Science). By increasing international expertise, Romanian students and faculty will benefit from a comprehensive approach in the study of important areas using Artificial Intelligence tools. This project represents higher education institution cooperation and will contribute to the development of this body of expertise by training both junior professors and advanced students. The different approaches taken by our instructors, each of whom in different field, will provide students with the background to appreciate good governance within the ambit of market economy.

Project Proposal

The training school will feature three conferences daily with round table discussions on selected topics, and will take place July 14-23, 2003. The lecturers will be five professors from Glendon College of York University, Toronto, with notable experience and expertise in their field of specialization. They are:

• Prof. E. Roventa, Glendon Computer Science, coordinator of the summer school
• Prof. I Gentles, Glendon History Department
• Prof. F. Mougeon, Chair, Glendon French Studies
• Prof. M. Ionescu, Glendon Computer Science
• Prof. D. Uritescu, Glendon French Studies.

Professor Roventa will lecture on “The Central Role of Logic in Computer Science”. He will also organize and coordinate the summer school and will be in charge with electronic linkages among groups of Canadian and Romanian students and with the creation of a web page advertising the summer school.

Prof. I. Gentles will lecture on “Logic and Causality in the English Revolution of the Seventeenth Century (1632-52)”.

Professor F. Mougeon will lecture on “Logic and Variation in Language Use”.

Prof. M. Ionescu will lecture on "Intelligent Systems in business environment".

Prof. D. Uritescu will lecture on “Reconstruction and Deduction in the History of Romanian Language”.

The success of this project will be judged by the evaluations of Romanian students, by the continuation of joint research projects among Canadian and Romanian professors and by the continuation of electronic linkages among students. All Canadian professors received official letters of invitation (see attachments).

Goals and Purpose

• Advancing of the internationalization and profile of York University by the participation of a group of five York professors in the functioning of the school
• The project will represent the dissemination of international teaching / curricula
• The school will establish new direct institutional linkages for research and student experience
• The project will “build bridges” across different disciplines and units at York (Linguistics, History, Business, Computer Science) having logical language and inferences as an essential crux.
• The training school responds to the recipient country’s needs
• The proposed summer training school will contribute to the institutional capacity development of the University of Oradea, Romania