Definition of a Technological Ecosystem for Scientific Knowledge Management in a PhD Programme Alicia García-Holgado GRIAL Research Group, Research Institute for Educational Sciences, University of Salamanca Paseo de Canalejas 169, 37008 Salamanca, Spain (+34) 923 294500 ext. 3433 aliciagh@usal.es Francisco J. García-Peñalvo GRIAL Research Group, Research Institute for Educational Sciences, University of Salamanca Paseo de Canalejas 169, 37008 Salamanca, Spain (+34) 923 294500 ext. 3433 fgarcia@usal.es María José Rodríguez-Conde GRIAL Research Group, Research Institute for Educational Sciences, University of Salamanca Paseo de Canalejas 169, 37008 Salamanca, Spain (+34) 923 294500 ext. 3433 mjrconde@usal.es ABSTRACT Successful knowledge management is one of the main challenges that any company or institution has to address if it wants to be part of the Knowledge Society in which we live. In the scientific scope, there is a clear commitment to the Open Knowledge, the use of Open Source technologies and the Open Access to Science, which have a directly impact in the scientific institutions. In this context, the PhD Programmes are scientific communities where early-stage and veteran researchers collaborate in the knowledge creation and in its visibility and dissemination. The aim of this paper is describe the architecture of the technological ecosystem that supports the scientific knowledge management processes in the PhD Programme on Education in the Knowledge Society at the University of Salamanca. Categories and Subject Descriptors D.2.11 [Software Engineering]: Software Architectures. D.2.13 [Software Engineering]: Reusable Software. H.1.2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine Systems - Human factors. H.3.5 [Information Storage and Retrieval]: Online Information Services - Web- based services. General Terms Management, Documentation, Experimentation, Human Factors. Keywords Information System, Technological Ecosystem, PhD Programme, Scientific Knowledge Management, Software Architecture, Quality. 1. INTRODUCTION Nowadays, the knowledge management plays a capital role in the development of the Knowledge Society. It emerges as a competitive advantage [21], so the organizations spend an important part of their resources on building their capacity to share, create and apply new knowledge continuously over time [18]. Companies and institutions, from the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) to universities or Public Administrations, include mechanisms that allow the knowledge management inside their internal processes. The rising complexity of the knowledge management processes inside any kind of organization cause the use of technological solutions with a high degree of obsolescence or problems for evolution. On the other hand, as became evident in the models of Nonaka and Takeuchi [21], each person takes an active role in her own knowledge management, which influence in the knowledge management of the organization. Therefore, it is not only important the institutional technological system, but rather the set of tools and services that each person configures in order to manage her own knowledge and learning sources, following a metaphor of the Personal Learning Environments (PLE) [2]. The concept of technological ecosystem appears when this set of tools and services are supported by an organization in charge of ensure a high integration degree and the successful evolution of their components [11]. The technological ecosystems as a solution to manage the knowledge inside organizations have increased during last years. There are several examples in the domain of Public Administration [13], in the informal learning management context [16], in the domain of Open Education [20], in the domain of Libraries [3], etc. This kind of technological solutions present several problems that appear when are implemented in an organization or institution [12]. In order to resolve them, the technological ecosystems should have a strong engineering base that ensures the proper integration of different components, which should evolve both individually and collectively. Moreover, even though each technological ecosystem is unique [11], this engineering base should provide the framework to ensure the software reusability. The architectural pattern defined by the authors in previous works [9; 11; 12] provides a solid framework to develop technological ecosystems more robust, maintainable and reusable.