Student awareness plan
Problem
The European language industries, as well as research projects in language
and speech, are in acute need of more and higher qualified personnel.
It seems that not enough students and prospective students are aware of
the opportunities for studying human language technology. They neither
know:
-
what language and speech technology means;
-
what current and potential applications are;
-
what the scientific challenges in the field are;
-
what kinds of job opportunities there are in the field;
-
what kind of competence is required for jobs in the field;
-
which institutions in Europe offer this competence;
-
what studying the field in practice entails.
Human language technology is an interdisciplinary and relatively new field
which does not have a established place among traditional academic disciplines.
It is not taught at secondary level at all, such that it remains unknown
to many students.
Goal
Students and prospective students should be provided with good and easily
graspable information to increase their awareness and their motivation
for studying language and speech technology subjects.
The goal is therefore to formulate concrete recommendations for national
educational authorities to spread awareness by providing teachers, students,
and prospective students with the information outlined above.
The recommendation will have the form of a concrete plan consisting
minimally of:
-
orientation for the implementer: current needs and intended outcomes
-
inventory of targeted audiences, information needs and suitable media (video,
interactive CD-ROM, Web, broadcast, teacher conferences)
-
scenarios
-
cooperation partners for implementation
National authorities are expected to implement the plan by adapting it
to various national or regional contexts (language, educational system,
etc.) and carry out actions which directly target the intended audiences.