ISCB-SC:pubs:10rules

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ISCB-SC:pubs:10rules Our experience organising successful scientific and educational events for students in the bioinformatics community (while operating on a low budget). Manuel Corpas*, Nils Gehlenborg and Sarath Chandra Janga (* To whom correspondence should be addressed) Preamble More and more scientific career articles [1] are converging on the need for students and researchers to be able to know how to organise a scientific meeting. Scientific meetings are at the heart of the scientist's professional life, since they provide an invaluable opportunity for learning, networking and exploring new ideas. In addition, meetings should be enjoyable experiences that add exciting breaks to the usual routine in the lab. The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) Student Council [2] is an organization within the ISCB that caters to computational biologists early in their career. The ISCB Student Council provides activities and events to its members that facilitate their scientific development. From our experience in organising the Student Council Symposium [3, 4], a meeting that so far has been held within the context of the ISMB [5] and ECCB conferences, we have gained some knowledge that is typically not part of an academic curriculum. We argue that the organisation of scientific and educational events by students has immense value for the development of their scientific careers as many essential skills are exercised: organisational, managerial, team work effort, etc. All of these skills are important assets that may make a difference in a successful scientific career path. Rules Rule 1 - Allow plenty of planning time Planning a conference should be both a learning experience and an enjoyable activity. We recommend a minimum planning time that ranges from nine months up to a year, depending on the size of your event, taking into account that bigger conferences require more time to prepare. Allow plenty of time to select your venue, for your attendees to book their flights early and for submission and review of material to be presented. Having outstanding keynote speakers at your event will also require you to contact them several months in advance. Rule 2 - Study all potential financial issues affecting your event Sponsors are usually your primary source of funds next to the delegates' registration fee. To increase the chances of being sponsored by industry write them a clear proposal stating how the money will be spent and what they can expect to get in return. You may also want to reserve a few time slots for industry talks or demos as a way of attracting more sponsors. Before approaching sponsors though, make sure you approach first the ones that match your interest topics the closest. If they say they are not interested this year, keep their contact as they might be able to sponsor you in future events. Approach them early rather than later in any case. The cost of your conference will be proportional to the capacity of the venue; therefore, a good estimation of the number of attendants can tell you a good estimate of your costs. You will need to include meals, coffee breaks together with the actual cost of renting your venue. Additional expenditures might include travel fellowships, publication costs of proceedings in a journal and awards for outstanding contributors. All these issues will determine how much you need to charge your participants to attend. [CAN WE MAYBE PRIORITIZE THIS A BIT? I.E. WHAT NEEDS TO BE PAID FIRST (VENUE?) AND THEN YOU CAN TRY TO FIND SPONSORS FOR INSTANCE FOR COFFEE BREAKS ETC.] Rule 3 - Choose an appealing theme/topic for your target audience When choosing a topic for your conference, it is important to have in mind the needs of your target audience. Make sure that you have a sufficiently wide range of areas, without being too general. The greater the number of topics covered the more likely are people to come, but the lesser the scientific interest. Emerging areas can attract greater interest, try to include them in your program as much as possible; let your audience decide their preferred topics if you have the capability of asking them. Rule 4 - Choose the right date and location Your conference needs to be as far away as possible from established conferences. Alternatively, you may want to organise your event around a main conference, in the form of a satellite meeting or Special Interest Group (SIG). Teaming up with established conferences may increase the chances of attracting more people (especially if this is your first time) and also save you a great deal of administrative work. If you decide to do it on your own, you should consider the accessibility of your location, how easy is to travel there, whether it has a strong local community in your field and has cultural or touristic highlights. Cheaper accommodation and cheaper airfares to your destination are always a plus in particular when your main target group are students. Rule 5 - Create a balanced agenda A conference is a place for people wanting to share and exchange ideas. Having many well known speakers will raise the demand of your event but this has to be balanced with enough time for presentation of submitted materials. We found that a mix senior scientists and junior scientists always work for the better. Young researchers may be more enthusiastic and inspiring for students, while top senior scientists will be able to present a more complete perspective of the field. Allow plenty of time for socialising too; breaks and meals are ideal occasions to meet potential collaborators and fostering networking among peers. Rule 6 - Select your key aides carefully: the organising committee It's not required that a single person is a master in all skills necessary for the successful organisation of your meeting, but the organising committee has to cover all of them. You might want to separate the areas of responsibilities between your aides depending on their interests and availability. Some potential responsibilities you should delegate are 1) contents and design of website; 2) promotion materials and marketing; 3) finance and fundraising 4) review and submissions 5) local organisation 6) programme and speakers; 7) awards. Your organising committee should be large enough to handle all the above but not too large, avoiding free loaders. It is invaluable to have a local organising committee; they will be able to involve local institutions, speakers and companies. Local organisations may also help you with administrative tasks, dealing with registration of attendees and finding suitable accommodation around the venue. Rule 7 - Meet everyone from the organising committees the day before the event For many people in the organisation may be the first time they come to the place, so it is crucial that they get familiarised with the venue. Make sure you have inspected all the facilities and the necessary materials for presenters: poster boards, pointers, a working computer, projectors, etc. Only then it is advisable to distribute responsabilities for the helpers: some of them will be needed at the registration table, some others carrying the microphones during sessions, recording if you have it, organise and change presentations, introduce the speakers, etc. Rule 8 - Have contact information for all relevant people during the event You want to be best prepared with a contingency plan if something goes wrong, especially if you need to make last minute decisions. We recommend that you have a list of the all names of the organisers, their mobile phones and their specific duties at hand. Also have the names and contact information of caterers, building managers, administrative personnel, technicians and the main conference organiser if you are having your event as part of another conference. It is also important that you have a designated meeting point where someone of the organising committee is going to be available at all times to help with problems. Rule 9 - Wrap-up the conference properly At the end of the conference you should give credit to everyone who helped to make the event a success. If you have awards to present this is the right time for the awards ceremony. Dedicate some time to thank your speakers and sponsors as well as everyone involved in the organization of the conference. Also collect feedback about the event from the delegates through questionnaires. This evaluation will help you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your conference and give you the opportunity to improve possible future events. Rule 10 - Make the impact of your conference last After the conference don't waste anytime submitting papers or abstract as a supplement to a journal if your budget permits this. Upload photos and videos of the event to the website and post the names of presenters that have received awards or travel fellowships. It is also a good idea to link the results of your evaluation to the website. Once the journal publishes your supplement its a good idea to send one last email to all delegates including a summary of the activities since the conference. This is particularly important if you are considering to hold future editions of your conference. In this case you also should include some information on your plans for the next event. Conclusion We have presented a set of simple rules for the organisation of a scientific event. Our experience comes primarily from events catering to the student community in the field of Computational Biology. However, we believe that our rules apply to any scientific event regardless of their target audience or topic. We have organised both satellite meetings associated with a major conference (Student Council Symposium at ISMB [6]) and helped with the organisation of standalone events (BioSysBio [7]). We believe that knowing how to organise scientific events should be part of the educational experience of the developing scientist as well as a distinctive mark of a successful scientific career path. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) for their support with the organisation of the Student Council Symposiums, in particular BJ Morrison McKay and Steven Leard. We are also grateful to the Student Council leadership for their enthusiasm and hard work. References Tomazou EM & Powell GT (2007) Look who's talking too: graduates developing skills through communication. 8, 724-726 (September 2007) | doi:10.1038/nrg2177 The International Society for Computational Biology Student Council. http://www.iscbsc.org Corpas M (2005) Scientists and Societies. Nature 436, 1204 doi:10.1038/nj7054-1204b Gehlenborg N, Corpas M, Janga SC (2007) Highlights from the Third International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) Student Council Symposium at the Fifteenth Annual International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB). BMC Bioinformatics 8(Suppl 8):I1 Lengauer T, McKay BJM, Rost B (2007) ISMB/ECCB 2007: The Premier Conference on Computational Biology. PLoS Comput Biol 3(5): e96 doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030096 3rd ISCB Student Council Symposium. http://www.iscbsc.org/scs3 Synthetic Biology, Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (BioSysBio) Conference. http://www.biosysbio.com THIS IS THE PREVIOUS MATERIAL: Before the Conference Choose an appealing theme/topic general scientific topic but focus on a particular question that students are interested in eg. academia vs. science, future of the field, etc. or pick a particular scientific topic that is just emerging (see BioSysBio) regular annual conference typically run by large societies??? make decision whether you want a general conference or an event that focusses on a particular topic - make sure you have a sufficiently wide range of topics in the former case Choose the right date and location either long before or after other major conferences in the field or as part of a major conference teaming up with a larger event will save the delegates a lot of money Locations should be easy accessible (train and plane, also local public transport) budget accommodation should be within reasonable distance. choose a place where attendees can make of it a holiday Create a balanced timetable Allow a significant proportion of the timetable to submitted, reviewed and accepted material Give ample time for socialising during the conference allows people to meet their peers colloborations confirm keynote speakers very early they are busy so the book out quickly having the names of keynote speakers helps to promote the event mix top senior scientists in the field and young PIs find a good mix and people that are committed to the student community Young PIs can give good insight into what it takes to get faculty or postdoc positions Top senior scientists usually have a great overview of the field and can comment on developments that are to be expected in the future and how current topics fit into the bigger picture big names makes your conference more attractive Surveys of your target audience can tell you what are the most suitable speakers Panel discussions where keynotes show they personal side are most inspiring to young researchers include social activities and time for networking Select carefully your key helpers: the organising committee Wide set of skills required website and printed materials reviewers from a wide range of areas finances and fundraising organization marketing evaluation managing/organisational skills local organization should be large enough to handle all aspects but not too large try to avoid having free loaders on your committees involve local organizations by inviting a speaker from the local community involve local organizations by inviting representatives from local companies (you might want to offer one spot for an industry talk as a means to raise money) will help to give easier access to venues, local organizing team/volunteers, etc Sponsors from the local area might be easier to target local organizations could take over administrative tasks (registration, find accommodation) give credit where credit is due: recognize contributions by sponsors, speakers, OC, PC, etc. Allow plenty of planning time 9 months to a year because: Submission deadlines need to be considered production deadlines as well confirming invited speakers and other aspects of the agenda spreading the word (ie. marketing) fundraising give enough time for people to get their visas and book their travel in advance for cheaper fares and accommodation get better rates on venues Study all potential financial issues affecting the event approach sponsors early make clear how they will benefit find best matching spnsors to your audience even of this timee your approached sponsor does not support your event, keep the contact for the future make an estimate of you cost for conference venue, meals, make an estimate of how many people you expect set registration fee appropriately fellowships for people who could otherwise not come awards for outstanding contributions allow publication of abstracts in a journal, etc. During the Conference Meet everyone from the OC the day before the event inspect the facilities discuss responsibilities if you haven't done so before contact point registration (this needs to happen earlier i guess) speaker liaison Have contact information for all relevant 3rd party people caterers building manager main conference organizer if you are having your event as part of another conference After the Conference Wrap-up all information aspects that may have a lasting impact in your community particularly important if you are planning to have a similar event in the future make evaluation publicly accessible submit abstracts to journal upload photos of the event to the website (videos too, if you have any!) post names of winners of awards and travel fellowships on the website' make an evaluation to improve the focus (if desired) of the conference identify issues that you were not aware of - i.e. what people didn't like Send one last email to all delegates informing them about the things that have happened since the conference include announcements for the next event if you are planning one