FAQ

FAQ for first time ESSCIRC/ESSDERC attendees

Attending ESSCIRC/ESSDERC for the first time can be very intimidating with 500+ people attending and many questions that you cannot google to get the answer to. This page collects commonly asked questions for first-time attendees.

What happens at ESSCIRC/ESSDERC?

The conference program is here: https://esscirc-essderc2019.org/program/

The main activities include:

Tutorials on Monday. You need to register for these separately from the conference itself, and they usually have a limited scope. A tutorial introduces a topic for those who are new and want to learn the basics.
Plenary sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Invited speakers give talks about the state of the field. These are higher-level than paper presentations, and give the audience the industry trends and vision. Even if you are not interested in the specific topic, are usually worth attending to know the state-of-the-art direction of circuits.
Regular paper sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Authors present their papers. Typically, there are six sessions going on in parallel, and attendees choose them based on their interests.
Networking and Social times. Coffee breaks and lunches will be served free of charge at the conference to fully registered participants wearing their badges. Welcome Cocktail will take place at 7 pm on Tuesday, September 24^th2019, location: AGH University building A-0, av. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków.

The Conference Gala Dinner will take place on Wednesday, September 25^th 2019, deep underground in Wieliczka Salt Mine, Warszawa Chamber. Bus transportation will be arranged from the conference venue (4:00 pm – 4:10 pm).

What does a conference talk look like at ESSCIRC/ESSDERC?

Each regular paper has a 20-minute slot including Questions and Answers (Q&A), and is typically part of a session with papers on similar topics. One of the authors (usually the first author) will give a presentation on the paper. The presenter will not take questions during the talk, but afterward, there will be a few minutes for audience members to ask questions.

Should I attend every single talk?

It is impossible to attend every talk since multiple sessions happen simultaneously. It is encouraged for you to hop between sessions and it is commonly done. Feel free to choose the talks that are most interesting to you, and if there is a time when neither session interests you, this might be a good time to go out in the hallway and network with other conference attendees. Note that both papers and sessions start promptly on schedule to allow conference-goers to pick and choose which paper they want to go to.

Paper presentation

Presentations should come with a PowerPoint or PDF format (presentation template – see https://esscirc-essderc2019.org/program/). The speakers are entirely responsible for the presentation content (order, graphics, etc…). Presentations and questions must be delivered in English, as English is the official language of the conference. The duration of a regular presentation is 20 minutes including questions and answers after the presentations (17 min. talk + 3 min. Q&A). Timing is crucial at the ESSCIRC/ESSDERC 2019 conference and thus we kindly ask you not to go beyond your time limit. Keynote speakers (Joint Plenary Keynote, ESSDERC/ESSCIR Keynote) have 40 minutes slots including Q&A.

Uploading your presentation

Your presentation must be handed over to the ESSCIRC/ESSDERC 2019 staff on a USB stick in the Slide Room. The Slide Room is located on the ground floor, left from the entrance to the Auditorium Maximum (see map in the conference booklet). Your presentation must be uploaded as early in advance as possible but AT LATEST TWO HOURS BEFORE the beginning of your session. Presentations scheduled in early morning sessions should be uploaded the evening before.

Technicians will help you with uploading your presentation in the onsite presentation system. All presentations uploaded to the onsite presentation system will be automatically distributed to the room in which the presentation is taking place. Consequently, once uploaded to the presentation system, presenters will access their presentation directly through the laptop placed in the session room.

In the session room: the presentation will be loaded by an assistant showing you how to operate your presentation, remote control, etc. Please, do not come at the last minute with your own laptop. You will not be able to connect it. As mentioned, all the presentations must be uploaded in the Slide Room at least two hours in advance.

How do I ask a question to the authors?

Each talk has a 3-minute QnA session after the talk and we encourage anyone with a question to go to the microphones, state your name and affiliations. Keep questions concise. Be mindful of others wanting to ask questions and time is short, so only ask one question.

Internet/ Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi connection will be available on site.

How do I strike up a research conversation with someone I’ve never met before?

Don’t be intimidated about meeting and talking to authors you don’t know. Most people especially academics love to talk about their research. So, if you have attended a talk by them or read a paper by them, one way to start a conversation is to tell them something you found interesting about their work, or ask them a question about it.

How do I meet people?

Usually, it’s intimidating to be the only person you know at a conference and if you see people talking in circles it’s hard to break in. Try to find someone standing by themselves and strike up a conversation. You may also attend our special events:

Young Professionals and Students Micro-Mentoring and Career Coaching Session (Monday, September 23, 2019). 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm (Exhibition Room (level 2)). Complimentary event with light refreshments for all students, faculty & engineers within 15 years of their first degree. Leading experts from industry and academia, IEEE SSCS Executives, and Distinguished Leaders will share their experiences, 1 on 1 answers to all your questions on publications, entrepreneurship, industry vs. academia and career coaching and free SSCS student membership offer for event attendees

SSCS Diversity Luncheon: Cultivating Engineering Confidence (Tuesday, September 24, 12:40 pm – 2:00 pm. Bistro Room). Please pick up lunch and bring it along. Drinks, coffee and dessert will be provided. The luncheon will feature talks by industry and academic professionals sharing their experience in their careers where a challenge, a project or a mentor helped them becoming a better engineer and problem solver.

What do people wear or bring?

There is no official dress code and you will likely see clothing ranging from casual up to a suit. However, the majority of people dress one step up from student/tech job attire. Many people wear slacks or nice jeans; most people do not wear shorts. Button-down shirts, polos, or blouses are common. Authors who are presenting papers sometimes will dress up even more nicely, in a suit or a blazer. For females, other options include dresses, skirts or business suits.

What else should I know?

Keep belongings with you at all times. It is a public place so don’t leave your valuables unattended. Also, there are no photographs or recordings allowed during sessions.

References

[1] FAQ for first time ISCA attendees. The website that inspired this FAQ.