LEVERAGING OPEN DATA AND SEMANTIC WEB TECHNOLOGIES FOR COURSE RECOMMENDATION A case study of a university in Sweden

Abstract: Navigating the vast amount of information online is often challenging. This is apparent within the domain of higher education, where the sheer quantity of courses and programs on offer can be overwhelming. To address this issue, semantic web technologies can be used to provide a new perspective on how universities view their course and program catalog. The present study investigated if open data integration, knowledge graphs and semantic web technologies can enhance a university course catalog, and facilitate the development of a recommendation function. A case study was conducted at a university, using the proof of concept method. In addition, a small survey was conducted with study advisors from the university, to gather feedback on the function. The results of the study highlighted the potential of integrating open data and using semantic web technologies to develop a recommendation function. While the quantity and quality of available course data presented certain limitations, the recommendation function was positively received by study advisors. Future research should expand this work by incorporating course catalogs from various departments across multiple universities.