Ontological Model as Support Decision Making in Study Opportunities: Towards a Recommendation System

A professional career selection is a complicated process for University student candidates and often little technical is available for who aim to enter to the superior education system, since it is necessary to consider the incidence of a multiplicity of variables to obtain a "satisfactory answer" that comes near to the idea that they have preconceived. These variables build up a complex relations map that requires the formulation of an exhaustive and rigorous conceptual scheme. In this research a domain ontological model is exposed as support to the student's decision making for opportunities of University studies level of the Venezuelan education system. For the declaration of the domain ontological model developed, the information provided by two organisms (OPSU & CNU) is used. Both are responsible to design the policies and strategies for the Superior education in Venezuela. The ontology is designed and created using Methontology approach, since this methodology offers the possibility of improving the progressive creation or captures and knowledge articulation, its elements and relations. In order to represent the ontology Protege 3.1.1 tool is used, based on the ontological language for the Web: OWL (Web Ontology Language) and; finally, to accede and to visualize the ontology, an application based on the Semantic Web is developed. In the field of the computation, computer science and the systems, the concept of profiles or users models has many meanings and connotations, his first and greater diffusion arise with the development and use of on-line increasing systems; however, they have gain great preponderance recently, not only to refer and/or to respond to the passive user who approaches "the system", but for the possibility of taking care of a user stimulated and attracted by "the system". In that sense, the possibility of this "personalized attention" and/or recommendations from "the system" will be obviously conditioned by the user context. Centered in the possibility of giving that "customized attention" from which they Must select an option between many, it is tried in the future to construct a meta-ontology that integrates the domain ontology with a user profile ontology, thus aiming towards to a recommendation system in the future, that serves as support to students decision making process of selection of study opportunities to this education level in Venezuela.