Doctoral Consortium

Doctoral Consortium (DC)

Sponsored by SICSA

Overview

Important Dates for DC

Submission 17 March
Notification 1 April
Doctoral Consortium 13 – 14 July
ITiCSE 2019 15 – 17 July

The ITiCSE 2019 Doctoral Consortium provides an opportunity for doctoral candidates studying computing education to explore and develop their research interests in a workshop environment with a panel of established researchers in the field. We invite doctoral candidates to apply for this opportunity to share their work with a community of candidates in a similar situation. This is an excellent opportunity to get feedback on a research topic, or ideas on future direction from senior researchers in the field.

Candidates of any seniority can apply as long as they will not have graduated before the event.

Contact Mark and Angela via iticse2019dc@easychair.org for further information.

What is the Doctoral Consortium?

The DC has the following objectives:

  • Provide a supportive setting for feedback on doctoral research and research direction.
  • Offer each candidate comments and fresh perspectives on their work from researchers and other candidates 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.
  • Furthermore, candidates attending the DC are also required to present a poster at the main conference, allowing them to start networking with the wider ITiCSE community. Further details on this will be given following acceptance.
  • The DC will be held on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th July 2019, but accepted candidates are expected to participate in the rest of the conference until Wednesday 17th July 2019. Candidates at any stage of their doctoral studies are welcome to apply and attend. The number of participants is limited to 10. Applicants who are selected will receive up to £450 (GBP) to support their travel, accommodation and subsistence (i.e., food) expenses.

Application for DC Participation

An application for Doctoral Consortium should be a single PDF consisting of two sections:

1. A 2-page research description (the Extended Abstract) covering central aspects of your PhD work, which follows the ACM Template. Only one (1) author should be present on this description – the candidate applying for participation in the DC. Please note that if accepted, this research description would be published in the conference proceedings – and therefore should be written to a high standard.

Key points may include the following, with the recommended section headings in italics:

  • An Abstract of approximately 50 words which gives readers a preview of your work.
  • Context and Motivation that drives your dissertation research.
  • Miniature Background/Literature Review of key works that frame your research.
  • Hypothesis and/or Problem Statement.
  • Research Goals.
  • Research Methods.
  • Current and Expected Contributions.

Please note that your bibliography should be included within the 2-page limit.

2. The following appendices. Whilst these will not be published, they will be used by the selection committee to identify suitable participants for the DC. These do not need to conform to any particular template:

  • Appendix A: A letter of nomination from your primary dissertation advisor, indicating support for your participation in the DC, as well as your programme situation (i.e., the university doctoral programme context in which your work is being conducted, explains how your work connects with the ITiCSE community, and describes the expected timeline for the completion of your doctorate).
  • Appendix B: Your concise current Curriculum Vitae (1-2 pages).

Once you have assembled – and tested – your PDF file, please submit to the ITiCSE 2019 EasyChair site, being sure to choose the Doctoral Consortium submission category. The deadline for submissions is March 17th, 2019 (Anywhere on Earth, UTC-12).

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 considered, where we are unlikely to accept more than two candidates from the same institution. Confidentiality of submissions is maintained during the review process. All rejected submissions will be kept confidential in perpetuity. Authors of Doctoral Consortium proposals will be notified of acceptance or rejection on April 1st, 2019, 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 ITiCSE 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.

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

Following the DC, all accepted candidates are required to present a poster of their work at the main conference.

In addition to the conference poster, each participant is encouraged 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 participants, 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.

AUTHORS TAKE NOTE: The official publication date is the date the proceedings are made available in the ACM Digital Library. This date will be one week prior to the first day of the conference. The official publication date affects the deadline for any patent filings related to published work.