Tutorial Presenters
Q. What is the date and time of the tutorials?
A. The tutorials will be held on 29 Apr, 2020 from 2 pm to 6 pm. The duration is broken down into three parts: first part from 2-3.30 pm, a coffee break from 3.30-4 pm, and the second part of the tutorial from 4-6 pm.
Q. How long are the WHPC Tutorials?
A. WHPC tutorials are a half-day (4 hours) session, including a 30 minute break.
Q. What if a topic of interest can be covered in less than three hours?
A. Tutorial sessions must last for the full 3.5 hours. Multiple related subjects may be combined into a single “themed” session for presentation.
Q. What is a hands-on tutorial?
A. Hands-on tutorials give attendees an opportunity to work through pre-prepared demos or exercises during the tutorial. A well-done hands-on tutorial can provide a much richer learning experience to attendees than a non-interactive, lecture-only tutorial. Hands-on submissions are highly encouraged.
Q. If accepted, what additional information will I need to provide?
A. If accepted, you will be asked to provide a number of additional materials. These include promotional videos, bio information for the online program, tutorial abstract, who will be presenting and presenter bios, level of audience catered, consent and release forms, and final presentation materials.
Q. Why do I need to sign a consent and release form?
A. Tutorials presentation materials will be hosted on the WHPC website for registered Tutorials attendees. Organizers must also explicitly agree to the release of their tutorial presentations for this purpose as part of the tutorial proposal submission.
Q. Is a promotional video required?
A. Promotional videos are not required, but they are encouraged! Furthermore, promotional videos are a great way to advertise your proposal to potential attendees. Links to promotional videos will be posted on the WHPC website.
Q. When must the final presentation materials for accepted tutorials be submitted?
A. Final submission date is March 27, 2020.
Q. Can I make changes to my tutorial materials after I have submitted them?
A. Tutorial presenters are generally expected to use the material submitted, with no changes. Minor extensions may be granted to enable a presenter to include more timely material, or to comply with conditions beyond the presenter’s control (e.g., new decisions adopted by standards bodies). In such cases, the submitted material should be as close to a final version as possible, and clearly indicate where changes are anticipated.
Changes requested because a presenter had insufficient time to prepare and submit their materials cannot be accommodated.
Q. What are the expectations of tutorial presentations at the conference?
A. WHPC expects to attract a wide variety of audience for attendance. Tutorial abstracts must clearly present what lessons can be learned, and tutorial presenters are expected to deliver professional presentations and to treat tutorial attendees with respect. Each tutorial will be evaluated in detail by attendees after the session, and these evaluations will play a crucial role in the evaluation of future-year tutorial submissions.
About Being a Tutorial Presenter
Q. What is the difference between presenters, lead presenters, and assistants?
A. A “presenter” is a person who is eligible for a complimentary registration. We extend two complimentary registrations per every accepted tutorial.
A “lead presenter” is the presenter authorized to speak and make decisions for all of the tutorial’s presenters as recognized by the Tutorials Chair. The person who submits the tutorial materials is assumed to be the lead presenter.
An “assistant” is a person who assists with a tutorial but is not a designated presenter.
Q. How many presenters and assistants may each tutorial have?
A. Since the tutorials are half day, they may include up to two presenters and up to two assistants.
Q. Do presenters get complimentary access to the conference or to other tutorials?
A. Two presenters per tutorial will receive a complimentary registration for the tutorials day of the conference, so they may attend other tutorials on the same day. Otherwise, presenters must register for the conference and/or any tutorials they wish to attend.
Q. What else is required of tutorial presenters?
A. Tutorial presenters are expected to attend the Tutorial Breakfast on the day of their presentation. Final instructions are given at this breakfast. Presenters are expected to alert the Tutorials Chair if they are unable to attend.
Q. Are presenters reimbursed for the cost of traveling to the conference?
A. The presenters are expected to cover the cost of travel to the conference. Up to two presenters may claim complimentary registrations for accepted tutorials.
Review Criteria and Conflict of Interest (COI)
Q: Is my tutorial peer-reviewed?
A: Yes. Tutorial proposals are reviewed by a committee of experts. Each proposal will have at least three reviewers.
Q: Is the peer-review process double-blind?
A: No. Reviewers have access to the names of tutorial submitters. While Tutorials Committee members are named on the WHPC Planning Committee page, the names of the individuals reviewing each proposal are not made available to the authors.
Q: What are the guidelines for conflicts of interest (COI)?
A: A potential conflict of interest occurs when a person is involved in making a decision that:
- Could result in that person, a close associate of that person, or that person’s company or institution receiving significant financial gain, such as a contract or grant.
- Could result in that person, or a close associate of that person, receiving significant professional recognition, such as an award or the selection of a paper, work, exhibit, or other type of submitted presentation.
Authors and Tutorials Committee members will be given the opportunity to list any potential COIs during the submissions and review processes, respectively. The Tutorials Committee Chair will make every effort to avoid assignments that have a potential COI.
According to the SC Conference you have a conflict of interest with:
- Your PhD advisors, post-doctoral advisors, PhD students, and post-doctoral advisees forever;
- Family relations by blood or marriage, or equivalent (e.g., a partner);
- People with whom you collaborated in the past five years. Collaborators include: co-authors on an accepted/rejected/pending research paper; co-PIs on an accepted/pending grant; those who fund your research; researchers whom you fund; or researchers with whom you are actively collaborating;
- Close personal friends or others with whom you believe a conflict of interest exists;
- People who were employed by, or a student at, your primary institution(s) in the past five years, or people who are active candidates for employment at your primary institution(s).
Note that “service” collaborations, such as writing a DOE, NSF, or DARPA report, or serving on a program committee, or serving on the editorial board of a journal do not inherently create a COI.
Conference Infrastructure
Q: Are there coffee breaks during Tutorials?
A: Yes. There will be one 30-minute coffee break in the 3.5 hour tutorial.
Q: What is the seating capacity per room?
A: The seating capacity of the rooms where the tutorials will be presented will range anywhere between 20 and 25.
Q: What rooms and audio/video infrastructure are provided to each tutorial?
A: Tutorials are assigned a room equipped with standard AV facilities (built-in projector, microphone, wireless lapel microphone or wireless handheld microphone, and projection screen).
Q: What if I need additional infrastructure (e.g., power, wired internet access)?
A. The Conference will provide wireless network access to all tutorial rooms. There will be power available via power bars “hands-on” tutorials upon request. Tutorials requesting wired network and power must include a clear justification for the request in their proposal.
Q: What other things should I remember about infrastructure?
A. Presenters should remember to bring dongles to connect to the AV facilities, especially Mac users. While the organizers will make an effort to provide dongles, we make no guarantees because of the wide variety of makes and models.
Q: Will there be anyone present to help out with technical issues?
A: Yes. There will be IT staff available onsite to help with AV and general infrastructure needs.
Q: Can I record my tutorial?
A: No, this request cannot be accommodated within current conference policies and procedures.
Pravi Devineni, Tutorial Chair
Katie Schuman, Tutorials Co-chair
“I am honored to be the General Chair for the WHPC conference and to support and advocate for the voices of women in the workforce and HPC community. This conference will bring together like-minded women from the HPC industry to learn from each other and build our networks. WHPC is a supportive group, designed to advocate for one another and encourage continued growth and development in HPC. Together, we can empower, lead and inspire, not just each other but the businesses and organizations that we work for.”
