GATE Training and Certification

1. Wh...?
2. Training
3. Certification
4. Upcoming courses
5. Previous courses
6. Course material

1. Wh...?

There's good news and bad news. The good news is that there's not really any need to pay for basic text analysis tools any more, as you can get state-of-the-art open source software to do all the stuff that the expensive commercial solutions do. The bad news is that coaxing state-of-the-art performance (accuracy, speed) from these tools is still a fine art, and likely to remain so. This combination of factors means that the most optimal configuration of a text processing solution is some combination of open source tooling plus either in-house or 3rd-party text processing specialists. How do you find and/or train up these specialists? In the past this has been a hit-or-miss affair, which is where the GATE training and certification programme comes in.

2. Training

We now run a regular 5-day training event at various times of the year. The next course will be be held from 18-22 June, 2012 in Sheffield, UK. Registration is now open, with early bird reductions available until 31 March, 2012.

The programme includes lectures, hands-on practical exercises, invited talks, question and answer sessions, social events, the possibility to take certification exams, and plenty of time for discussions with the GATE team.

Please contact us at gate-fig@lists.dcs.shef.ac.uk for any enquiries relating to the training course.

Topics covered include (in 4 parallel tracks):

Track 1: Introduction to GATE and Text Mining
- Module 1: Introduction to GATE Developer: GATE's application development environment
- Module 2: Information Extraction and ANNIE: Our open-source IE system
- Module 3: Introduction to JAPE: GATE's powerful rule-writing engine
- Module 4: GATE Teamware: Web-based Collaborative Annotation Environment
Track 2: Programming in GATE
- Module 5: GATE Embedded API: Using GATE as a library within bigger applications
- Module 6: Main GATE APIs: Programming in GATE
- Module 7: Creating new Resource Types: Writing new GATE text mining components
- Module 8: Advanced GATE Embedded: Using GATE within web apps, scripting and UIMA link
Track 3: Advanced GATE
- Module 9: Semantic Annotation with GATE
- Module 10: Advanced GATE Applications: complex applications, writing multilingual IE, business intelligence, evaluation
- Module 11: Machine Learning with GATE
- Module 12: Sentiment Analysis
Track 4: Semantic Technology
- Module 13: Semantic Technology and Linked Open Data: Basics, Tools, and Applications

Click on the track name for more information about the modules it contains. Note that in general you are advised to attend modules from a single track throughout the week; if you wish to mix and match modules from different tracks, please discuss this with us first to ensure suitability.

Download the course materials from 2011.

3. Certification

We are now pleased to be able to offer a certification programme. Certification allows GATE users to demonstrate their competence to prospective employers, and provides employers with a means of determining the level of GATE competency a prospective employee has. It also offers an opportunity to consolidate your knowledge after taking a training course and demonstrate your learning.

Each of the twelve GATE modules has an associated exam. Your certification level depends on the number of modules you have passed:

3 modules = GATE Certified Text Analyst
6 modules = Advanced GATE Certified Text Analyst
9 modules = GATE Guru

A list of certified GATE Text Analysts can be found in the Hall of Fame!

Current certification fees:

Students £75
Academics £250
Industrials £350

Exams can be taken on request in conjunction with training events, or on an ad hoc basis in Sheffield, Sofia or Connecticut (or elsewhere by arrangement). Please contact us at gate-fig@lists.dcs.shef.ac.uk for more information about certification.