The Doctoral Consortium will take place in conjunction with the 3rd International Conference on Software and Data Technologies (ICSOFT), to be held July 5-8 in Porto, Portugal. The ICSOFT'08 doctoral consortium will provide an opportunity for graduate students to explore their research interests in an interdisciplinary workshop, under the guidance of a panel of distinguished experts in the field.
The Doctoral Consortium on Software and Data Technologies is intended to bring together Ph.D. students within the software and data technologies field to discuss their research in an international forum. The Doctoral Consortium will provide students with an opportunity to:

• Present their research work in a relaxed and supportive environment
• Receive feedback and suggestions from peers and experienced faculty
• Gain an overview of the breadth and depth of software and data technologies research
• Obtain insight into directions for software and data technologies research taken by other doctoral candidates
• Discuss concerns about research, supervision, the job market, and other issues
• Network with peers and future colleagues

Thus, the symposium will help shape ongoing and future research projects aimed at software and data technologies, will promote scholarship and networking among new researchers in this emerging interdisciplinary area, and will expose these promising young researchers to the larger global community.

DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM REQUIREMENTS AND RULES

The Doctoral Consortium is based on the following requirements and rules:

- Doctoral Consortium is open only to Doctoral Students who have started their research;
- Each student with an accepted paper for the Doctoral Consortium must register and attend the ICSOFT Conference;
- The Doctoral Consortium Proceedings may be included in the conference proceedings; (this depends on the date we receive the final
versions of the papers)
- Each paper must be presented by the Doctoral Student;
- Submissions will be judged on originality, significance and clarity.
- Paper length: 4 to 12 pages
- Papers must be written in MS-Word or Latex including the following information:
     - stage of the research,
     - outline of objectives,
     - research problem,
     - state of the art,
     - methodology and
     - expected outcome.

HOW TO APPLY TO THE DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM

To apply for participation at Doctoral Consortium, please submit the following materials by e-mail (to the conference secretariat):

- Cover page with your name, title of your thesis, institution, full postal address, phone number and e-mail address;
- The paper (formatted as described in the previous section)

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

Full Paper Submission: May 9th, 2008
Authors Notification: May 19th, 2008
Final Paper Submission and Registration: May 29th, 2008

DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM CHAIR

Dr. Markus Helfert (Dublin City University)