The KWARC research group conducts research in knowledge representation and reasoning techniques with a view towards applications in knowledge management. We extend techniques from [formal methods](http://kwarc.info/semantics.html#fm) so that they can be used in settings where formalization is either infeasible or too costly. We concentrate on developing techniques for marking up the [structural semantics](http://kwarc.info/semantics.html#ssem) in technical documents. This level of markup allows for offering interesting [knowledge management services](http://kwarc.info/projects/) without forcing the author to formalize the document contents.
### The Kwarc Topic Space
Kwarc topics can be roughly categorized along the following dimensions.
By identifying each student's preferences, we can place them in this space and find matching topics for them.
Solution lifecycle: Where does the topic in the development of IT and knowledge representation solution life cycle?
* language design (often MMT extensions or specializations)
* implementation (often Scala)
* content production (in MMT or similar languages)
* applications/services
Kind of problem: How theoretical/practical is a topic?
* theory (mathematics, formal logic, logical frameworks)
* ...
* practice (implementation, scalability, system integration, user interfaces)
Application domain: Which community benefits from the research?
* logic
* mathematics and its subfields
* adjacent mathematical sciences in STEM
* branching out into other fields (e.g., legal texts)
## Getting a Topic for a Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. Thesis
The KWARC group has a strong tradition of involving students in research early. We had
