CALL FOR TUTORIAL PROPOSALS


Fourth International Conference on

Generative Programming and Component Engineering (GPCE'05)

Sep 29 - Oct 1, 2005, Tallinn, Estonia
(co-located with TFP 2005 and ICFP 2005)

Sponsored by ACM SIGPLAN, in cooperation with ACM SIGSOFT

http://www.gpce.org/05/


Tutorial Chairs

  • Andrew Malton, University of Waterloo
  • Jeff Gray, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Tutorial chairs can be contacted at tutorials05@gpce.org

Important Dates

  • Proposal submission deadline: Feb 25, 2005
  • Notification of acceptance: Mar 18, 2005
  • Tutorial days: Sep 27-28, 2005

Early registration to conference and tutorials closes on Jul 29, 2005. Tutorials that have less than 10 early registrants will be at risk of cancellation.

Overview

Proposals for high-quality tutorials in all areas of generative programming and component-based development, from academic research to industrial applications, are solicited. Tutorial levels may be introductory, intermediate, or advanced.

A tutorial's basic purpose is to give a deeper insight into its area than a conventional lecture. Tutorials extend over a half or a full day. This gives the speaker better possibilities to structure the tutorial in a proper manner.

The topic of a tutorial can come from a truly broad spectrum. Any interesting theme related to the GPCE'05 Call for Papers topic list is welcome, from surveys to experience reports or specialized research topics. However, you should keep in mind that a tutorial must be expected to attract a reasonable number of participants. This is most likely the case if the topic is new or relevant to a broad community. If you have deep experience in a GPCE topic area, from which others could benefit, please consider submitting a proposal.

Submission Format

Proposals will be reviewed according to the following criteria. Various parts of the proposal for accepted tutorials may be edited for incorporation in the Advance Program, as indicated below.

Proposals are to be submitted by e-mail, as plain text or in PDF, please.

  1. Title
    • The title expresses the contents of the tutorial well without being too long.
    • An effective title attracts participants' curiosity.
  2. Speaker(s)
    • Give the full name and address of the tutorial speaker(s).
    • If there is more than one speaker, a contact person should be clearly designated.
    • Don't forget to specify the electronic mail address.
  3. Abstract (to appear in the Advance Program)
    • The abstract should concisely describe the contents and goals of the tutorial.
    • It should not be longer than 150 words.
  4. Outline (to present to the committee the proposed contents of the tutorial)
    • The outline should present a table of contents as a sequence of sections.
    • Each section should be described with a few brief sentences or keywords
    • For each section, an estimate should be given of the time to be spent.
  5. Duration
    • Tutorials can be half-day or full-day. Half-day tutorials are preferred.
    • A half-day tutorial lasts for about 3 1/2 hours, including a 1/2 hour break.
    • A full-day tutorial lasts for about 8 hours, including two 1/2 hour breaks, and a 1 hour lunch break.
  6. Level
    • The tutorial level can be introductory, intermediate or advanced
  7. Required Knowledge (to appear in the Advance Program)
    • The proposal should state the specific knoweldge or skills expected of your participants.
    • The statement should not be longer than 20 words.
  8. Expected audience
    • The proposal must describe typical or expected participants.
    • The proposal must outline the benefits to participants (e.g., in use of new skills or application of new knowledge).
  9. Extended speaker profile
    • The affiliation, interests, and experience of each speaker must be provided.
    • The profile should clearly explain why the speaker is the right person to give the tutorial.
  10. Summary speaker profile (to appear in Advance Program)
    • Provide a short version of the Speaker's profile to be included in the Advance Program.
    • It should not be longer than 40 words.
  11. Tutorial resume
    • The Resume describes previous offerings of the tutorial, if any.
    • If previously offered, provide the number and level of previous participants.
    • If available, include ratings of the tutorial as evaluated by previous participants.
  12. Equipment requirements
    • The proposal should specify the equipment required.
    • The conference organizers can arrange for slide projectors, video projection facilities, tables, power plugs, and paper boards.
    • Participants may be expected to bring computing equipment.
  13. Actual Presentation Materials
    • The proposal may include previously prepared tutorial materials such as slides or handouts: these are not required for submmission, however.
    • Submitted actual presentation materials show depth and maturity of the tutorial.
    • Even for a new tutorial a few sample slides would help the committee judge the expected quality of the presentation.

The tutorial submission should be contained within five pages (excluding any materials submitted under item 13 above).

What should a tutorial look like?

If your tutorial is accepted, the following offers suggestions for preparing and presenting your tutorial.

  1. Contents
    • When preparing the tutorial, keep your audience in mind.
    • People don't pay for a tutorial in order to hear things that they already know or that are irrelevant for their work.
    • Don't be vague, don't waste time with lengthy introductions, but speak to the point.
    • Don't try to impress the audience with the amount of your research, but convey practical knowledge and ideas that the participants will find useful for their own work.
    • Whenever possible, use examples and case studies and avoid lengthy abstract passages.
    • Consider demonstrations on video or an overhead panel.
    • In order to get an audience as homogeneous as possible, clearly state which knowledge you expect from the participants in the tutorial description.
  2. Slides and notes
    • You will have to prepare tutorial notes for the participants.
    • These handouts usually contain copies of the slides that you show.
    • Use at least a 14 pt (or better an 18 pt) font on all of your slides.
    • A good slide should not just repeat everything you say but summarize your presentation.
    • Use short phrases and keywords instead of full sentences.
    • People cannot read as fast as you speak. Make heavy use of pictures and examples.
    • Use colors where they are helpful, but remember that they will not appear in the black and white handouts.
    • Don't put too much or too little material on a single slide.
    • A good rule of thumb is to spend 3 minutes per slide.
    • Don't include slides that you will skip in the presentation; people will find that annoying.
    • You will have to deliver the tutorial notes in camera-ready form by Aug 26, 2005.
    • To avoid wasting paper, copy two slides on a single page (reduced size). The printed area of such a page must not exceed 27 x 17cm (10.5 x 6.7 inch).
    • In addition to the slide copies, also consider providing full-text handouts (papers, summaries, bibliography, etc.). Participants will appreciate that.
    • The maximum length of the notes for a half-day tutorial should be 50 pages for slide copies and another 20 pages for full-text material. For full-day tutorials these numbers can be doubled.
    • Try to achieve good printing quality.
    • We will add an uniform cover page to all tutorial notes.
    • Put slide numbers on the slides and page numbers on the pages.
  3. Presentation
    • The participants expect that your presentation will be much easier to understand than a book about the same subject.
    • Speak clearly and lively. Try to interact with your audience.
    • Encourage the audience to ask questions.
    • A presentation is much more lively if it also includes examples and demonstrations on the blackboard, on video or on an overhead panel.
    • Tutorials should be split into sessions of 1.5 hours each with a 1/2 hour coffee break in between.
    • Don't overrun your tutorial time. After the tutorial the participants will be asked to assess the tutorial with a questionnaire.
    • A good rating will help you when applying for other tutorials in the future.

Submission Process

Electronic submission of proposals must be sent to tutorials05@gpce.org. Proposals must be submitted no later than Feb 25, 2005.

The proposals received will be reviewed by the Tutorial Committee to determine a high quality and appropriate mix for the conference. The Tutorial Chairs will work toward a diverse program that attracts a large interest among the broad segments within GPCE.

Compensation

Each half-day tutorial will receive a honorarium of 150 Euro + 10 Euro for each registered participant (for a full-day tutorial the honorarium is doubled, i.e. 300 Euro + 20 Euro each registered participant). If there are multiple presenters, the honorarium must be shared. Tutorial speakers are expected to register to GPCE (at least for the day of the tutorial).

For More Information

For additional information, clarification, or questions please feel free to contact the Tutorial Chairs (tutorials05@gpce.org)