Doctoral consortium

The ICER 2016 Doctoral Consortium provides an opportunity for doctoral students studying computing education concerns to explore and develop their research interests in a workshop environment with a panel of established researchers. We invite students to apply for this opportunity to share their work with students in a similar situation as well as senior researchers in the field. Applicants to the Doctoral Consortium should have begun their research, but should not have completed it in its entirety.

Anthony Robins, University of Otago, New Zealand
Ben Shapiro, University of Colorado, USA
Contact us at: icerdc2016@gmail.com

What is the Doctoral Consortium?

The DC has the following objectives:

Provide a supportive setting for feedback on students’ research and research direction
Offer each student comments and fresh perspectives on their work from researchers and students outside their own institution
Promote the development of a supportive community of scholars
Support a new generation of researchers with information and advice on research and academic career paths
Contribute to the conference goals through interaction with other researchers and conference events

The DC will be held on Thursday, September 8, 2016. Students at any stage of their doctoral studies are welcome to apply and attend. The number of participants is limited to 15. Applicants who are selected will receive up to $600 (USD) to support their travel, accommodation and subsistence (i.e., food) expenses.

Preparing and Submitting your Consortium Proposal Extended Abstract

Candidates should prepare a 2-page research description covering central aspects of your PhD work, which follows the structure, details and format specified in the ICER Doctoral Consortium submission template Word / LaTeX.

Key points include:

Your program situation, i.e., the university doctoral program context in which your work is being conducted.
Context and motivation that drives your dissertation research
Miniature Background/literature review of key works that frame your research
Hypothesis/thesis and/or problem statement
Research objectives/goals
Your research approach and methods
Current and expected contributions

Appendix 1. A letter of nomination from your primary dissertation advisor, that supports your participation in the DC, explains how your work connects with the ICER community, and describes the expected timeline for your completion of your doctorate.

Appendix 2. Your concise current Curriculum Vita (1-2 pages).

Appendix 3. A small (e.g. 500×500) portrait style picture of yourself – these are shared before the Consortium so we can all recognise each other.

Once you have assembled – and tested – the PDF file, the entire submission file should be emailed to icerdc2016@gmail.com no later than 17:00 PDT on 20 May 2016. When submitting the applications, please put:

"ICER DC 2016 - <Last Name>"

in the Subject line.

Process Timeline:

Friday 20th May – initial submission
Friday 3rd June – notification of acceptance
Friday 17th June – camera ready copy due

Doctoral Consortium Review Process

The review and decision of acceptance will balance many factors. This includes the quality of your proposal, and where you are within your doctoral education program. It also includes external factors, so that the group of accepted candidates exhibit a diversity of backgrounds and topics. Your institution will also be taken into account, where we are unlikely to accept more than two students from the same institution. Confidentiality of submissions is maintained during the review process. All rejected submissions will be kept confidential in perpetuity. Upon acceptance of your Doctoral Consortium proposal authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection on June 3, 2016, or shortly after.

Authors of accepted submissions will receive instructions on how to submit publication-ready copy (this will consist of your extended abstract only), and will receive information about attending the Doctoral Consortium, about preparing your presentation and poster, about how to register for the conference, travel arrangements and reimbursement details. Registration benefits are contingent on attending the Doctoral Consortium.

Please note that submissions will not be published without a signed form releasing publishing copyright to the ACM. Attaining permissions to use video, audio, or pictures of identifiable people or proprietary content rests with the author, not the ACM or the ICER conference.

Before the Conference

Since the goals of the Doctoral Consortium include building scholarship and community, participants will be expected to read all of the Extended Abstracts. Although many fine pieces of work may have to be rejected due to lack of space, being accepted into the Consortium involves a commitment to giving and receiving thoughtful commentary.

At the Conference

All participants are expected to attend all portions of the Doctoral Consortium. We will also be arranging an informal Welcome Dinner for participants and discussants on Wednesday September 7, 2016 before the consortium begins. Please make your travel plans to join us this evening to get acquainted.

Within the DC, each student will present his or her work to the group with substantial time allowed for discussion and questions by participating researchers and other students. Participants will practice presenting their poster and receive feedback from the group.

Key: Students will also present a poster of their work at the main conference.

In addition to the conference poster, each student should bring a “one-pager” describing their research (perhaps a small version of the poster using letter or A4 paper) for sharing with faculty mentors, other students, and conference attendees.

After the Conference

Accepted Doctoral Consortium abstracts will be distributed in the ACM Digital Library, where they will remain accessible to thousands of researchers and practitioners worldwide.