IATEXT Anniversary - 10 years

The University Institute of Textual Analysis and Applications (IATEXT) was created by the Canary Islands Government Council on January 30, 2014 (BOC of 02/17/2014) and operates under the powers granted by the LOSU and the Statutes of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC). Its headquarters are located on “Campus El Obelisco” of the ULPGC.

IATEXT's general objective is to produce results in basic research and to develop digital resources for both research and the educational, cultural, and professional sectors. To achieve this, it focuses its interdisciplinary research on: a) the editing and analysis of various types of texts from linguistic, literary, historical, geographical, or computational perspectives; b) Digital Humanities; and c) Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence. Thus, it is an interdisciplinary institute where researchers from the Humanities work alongside researchers in Computer Science.

Currently, IATEXT is composed of ten Divisions with 58 full-time researchers affiliated with the ULPGC, 15 collaborating researchers, 8 honorary researchers, 5 researchers on predoctoral contracts, and 3 on postdoctoral contracts. Overall, IATEXT is a research center with gender equality among its research staff. These divisions carry out different lines of research: nine in basic Humanities research and digital resource development (Digital Humanities), and one in Natural Language Processing. IATEXT researchers have an extensive scientific output, placing IATEXT in the top third of ULPGC's University Research Institutes, as can be seen from the following graph, based on data from the ULPGC's institutional repository, AccedaCris (https://accedacris.ulpgc.es/# [Consulted: 12/12/2023]).

Fuente: accedacris. Portal de la investigación científica de la ULPGC (Consulta: 29/01/2024)

During its ten years of existence, IATEXT has developed 29 research projects funded through competitive calls by the Canary Islands Agency for Research, Innovation, and Information Society and the National R&D Plan, securing a total of €755,450 in funding. Currently, it is involved in a European project funded with €300,000. Additionally, €60,000 has been secured through collaboration with other entities (Article 83 of the LOMLOU/Article 60 of the LOSU) for the development of digital resources for research and the enhancement of heritage, including partnerships with organizations such as the Royal Spanish Academy and the Island Council of Gran Canaria. Because of this scientific activity, IATEXT has generated to date a catalog of 27 software applications for research, education, documentation, and society at large. Furthermore, it has developed InteLiText, a search engine model designed for fast and precise searches with Linguistic Intelligence, which is part of the service catalog of the ULPGC Science and Technology Park Foundation (https://otri.ulpgc.es/tecnologia/motor-de-busqueda-textual-con-inteligen...).

Drawing on its experience in research and knowledge transfer in the humanities, particularly in relation to historical and cultural heritage, IATEXT co-directs the UNESCO Chair in Creative Economy for Sustainable Development and Transforming the World, awarded in 2022 to the consortium formed by the Universities of Alcalá, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Rey Juan Carlos, along with the Spain Creative association. This Chair, aligned with the objectives of the UNESCO 2030 Agenda, aims to "contribute to transforming the world through education, research, dissemination, and empirical networked implementation, promoting creativity, culture, and innovation in sustainable development from a local level, placing humans at the center of the system as agents of change."

In August 2023, the Spanish consortium CLARIAH-ES (http://www.clariah.es/) was created, of which IATEXT is a founding member. Through this consortium, Spain became part of the European infrastructures CLARIN and DARIAH. CLARIN (Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure) aims to support the exchange, use, and sustainability of linguistic data and tools for research in Humanities and Social Sciences. Meanwhile, DARIAH ERIC (Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities) seeks to improve research and teaching of digital skills in Arts and Humanities, creating a network of individuals in member countries who mutually benefit from their expertise, knowledge, technologies, and tools. In this framework, IATEXT participated in the DARIAH DAY: Digital Humanities Day at CLARIAH-ES, organized by the National Library of Spain, with six outreach videos displaying different projects with digital results.