Brian Fitzgerald
Professor and a Science Foundation Ireland Investigator University of Limerick
IrelandAbstract of the presentation
CALIBRE and CALIBRATION: Co-ordinating European OSS Research and Policy Making The presentation outlines the role of the EU FP6 project CALIBRE (Co-ordination Action for Libre Software Engineering) in co-ordinating European OSS research and creating a European industry OSS research policy forum (CALIBRATION). The key goals and purposes of CALIBRE are detailed. Findings from a brainstorming session held with industrial representatives in The Hague on the 19th of November 2004 are presented, providing an industry perspective on the role of OSS in the European secondary software sector. These insights are summarized in the formulation of key factors involved in creating what we refer to as "Open Source Software, Inc." With this backdrop, the potential role of CALIBRATION in and beyond the European OSS policy process is discussed.
Bio:
Professor Brian Fitzgerald holds the Frederick A Krehbiel II Chair in Innovation in Global Business and Technology at the University of Limerick, and is also a Science Foundation Ireland Investigator. He was formerly at University College Cork, Ireland, and has held positions as Visiting Professor at Northern Illinois University, US, the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and University of Northumbria, UK. He received his PhD from the University of London and his research interests lie primarily in the area of software development, a broad area which encompasses the use of development methods, globally-distributed software development, agile methods and open source software. He has been Guest Editor for a number of special issues of international journals (The Information Systems Journal, IEE Proceedings Software, Informing Science, Systemes d'Information et Management), has served as Associate Editor for The Information Systems Journal, Data Base, and the Journal of Information Science and Technology, and is on the Editorial Board of Information Technology & People, Information Systems Review, and Health Information and Libraries Journal.
His publications include seven books and more than 60 papers, published in many of the premier international journals, including the Information Systems Journal, Data Base, Communications of the ACM, IEEE Software, IEEE Computer, Information & Management, and Information Technology & People.
Having worked in industry prior to taking up an academic position, he has more than 20 years experience in the software field. This experience was gained in a variety of companies (Citibank, eircom, IDS Computing, Ridge Tool Company) in a number of countries (Ireland, Belgium, Germany). He has also been involved in a number of consultancy projects, including an ERP systems evaluation for Dairibord, Zimbabwe, and has been successful in a number of research funding proposals from Science Foundation Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, and the EU. These projects have received funding in excess of €10 million.