The MCE Conference Education Program is helping the IEEE conferences community learn strategies for designing high-quality conferences. The Conference Education team recently hosted a workshop on conference quality best practices for Region 8 Conference Leadership and another for Conference Organizers and Section Members. Over 300 participants joined the events, with over 40% having less than two years of experience with conferences.
Past Chair, IEEE Conference Committee, and conference quality champion, Fred Schindler, shared his thought leadership and experiences as a presenter and panelist at the workshops. Region 8 Director, Antonio Luque; Region 8 Technical Activities Vice Chair, Peter Nagy; and Region 8 Conference Coordinator, Habib Kammoun offered local perspectives and ensured the content was relevant to participants. Conference Education team member John Tracy was on hand to moderate the sessions and Q&A portions of the events.
The team aligned the content of the workshops to the needs and roles of each audience. The Conference Leadership session offered guidance on how participants can serve as conference quality advocates and support systems within their communities. Organizers and Section Members gained the skills to become quality architects for all facets of their conferences.
Both sessions covered core topics in conference quality. Fred discussed how a focused technical program is the backbone of a quality conference. He also offered guidance on how to plan a thorough peer-review process to ensure that only the best content makes it into your final program. Presenters also discussed the often-overlooked but critical topic of vetting your conference sponsors.
Region 8 Leadership presented insights on the role of local engagement in conference quality. Topics included non-IEEE sponsor evaluation processes by country, the importance of the Conference Coordinator in supporting conference quality, and Section approval processes. Leadership also provided an overview of Region 8 activities and where participants can find support within their Region.
Participants expressed high satisfaction with the workshops in providing a solid foundation in conference quality essentials. Workshop participants can carry their learnings forward to enhance conference quality at hundreds of future IEEE conferences.
If you are interested in organizing a workshop, please reach out to the Conference Education team.
