Wikimedia CH/Grant apply/Wikidata Ontology Course, 2nd offering

Infodata

Name of the project: Wikidata Ontology Course, 2nd offering
Amount requested: 4400 Swiss Francs
Type of grantee: Group of unaffiliated individuals
Name of the contact: Peter Patel-Schneider
Contact: pfpschneidergmail.com

In case of questions, please write to grantwikimedia.ch

The problem and the context

What is the problem you're trying to solve?

Wikidata depends on having a good ontology to organize and describe the information it contains. There is a lack of methods for learning about the Wikidata ontology, and ontologies in general. This results in edits to Wikidata that result in items that violate various assumptions built into Wikidata, such as the misuse of ontology properties in proteins and genes. It also results in problems in the Wikidata ontology itself, such as violations of disjointness statements and class order issues.

What is your solution to this problem (please explain the context and the solution)?

We (Peter Patel-Schneider and Ege Atacan Doğan) want to revise and rerun our course on the Wikidata Ontology in late spring 2026, with more participants. We feel that courses like this one are good methods for Wikidata editors to learn more about the Wikidata Ontology and thereby improve the quality of data in Wikidata. We will update the course somewhat, including selecting one or two guest lecturers and changing the project requirements to more closely match what happend the first time.

In late spring 2025 we gave the first offering of the course. We enrolled around 20 students, with 11 completing all the course requirements. We continue to interact directly with three course participants. For more information, see https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikiProject_Ontology/Ontology_Course

Project goals

Update the course information and slide decks.
Present the course in late spring or early summer 2026.
1. Register about 20 participants.
2. Have at least 15 participants successfully complete the course.
Encourage continued participation in Wikidata by participants.

Project impact

How will you know if you have met your goals?

Successful preparation and presentation of the course, with significant participation.
Good evaluations of the course by participants.
Continued participation in Wikidata by participants.

Do you have any goals or metrics around participation or content?

Course registration of at least 25 participants.
Successful completion of course by at least 15 participants.
Continued significant participation in Wikidata editing by at least 10 participants. (This metric can only be determined after the project ends.)

Project plan

Activities

Publicize the course within the Wikidata community, and within related communities.
Update course material before start of course.
Register participants.
Present course in eight sessions.
Mentor course participants as they work on their projects.
Evaluate projects.
Prepare and send certificates.

Budget

Ege:

5 hours per week during course = 40 hours
5 hours before the course for publicity and registration
30 hours for evaluating projects
5 hours after the course for administration

at 25 Swiss Francs per hour = 2000 Swiss Francs

Peter:

5 hours per week during course = 40 hours
10 hours for evaluating projects

at 30 Swiss Francs per hour = 1500 Swiss Francs

Honoraria for up to two guest speakers at 250 Swiss Francs = 500 Swiss Francs

Upgrade Google Meet to allow for 2-hour sessions = 100 Swiss Francs

Logos for projects and related efforts, 10 logos at 25 Swiss Francs = 250 Swiss Francs

Bank fees = 50 Swiss Francs

Total: 4400 Swiss Francs

Community engagement

The previous version of the course had good participation and participants were happy with the course. The previous version of the course was publicized within the community to considerable positive feedback. Several potential participants have expressed interest in this version of the course even without any publicity beyond updating the course page. For more information, see the course page https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikiProject_Ontology/Ontology_Course and its discussion page.