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Conext 2011 shadow TPC

Created by obo, at June 20, 2011, at 03:47 PM

In parallel with the CoNext 2011 conference, we organise a shadow TPC for recent PhD graduates.

Reviewing and selecting papers by participating in Technical Program Committee (TPC) are important aspects of a researcher's work. These are not formal parts of a PhD curriculum, and most young researchers are only trained on the spot. Opportunities to participate in TPCs for highly selective conference are very scarce in an early career. As a result, for many young researchers, the paper selection process at major conferences is almost opaque and this lack of understanding can even be, in some cases, the cause of great frustration. Meanwhile, the community strives to maintain a high quality review process.

The CoNEXT 2011 shadow TPC is an educational experience for young PhD graduates, post docs and junior researchers. Participants write real reviews for real papers submitted to CoNEXT 2011, which are then discussed in a Shadow TPC meeting organized in Toronto on Friday August 19th, 2011. The goal of the meeting is both to prepare a "shadow program" and to hold a discussion about what makes a good research paper, and how a conference program is chosen. The shadow TPC has no influence on the selection of the official Conext 2011 papers.

We are now recruiting members for the CoNEXT 2011 shadow TPC. We encourage all applications. In particular if you feel that a member or a former member of your research group would both qualify and benefit from this educational experience, please tell her or him to apply. Keep in mind that this can be the first occasion for a young researcher:

• to see how papers are assigned
• to review several papers in a batch, and compare them
• to see how reviews are used in a tpc meeting
• to participate in a formal technical discussion

In addition, participating in the CoNEXT 2011 shadow TPC is a chance to learn more about the networking research that is done today, and also a way to meet with other junior researchers in the field.

Candidate shadow TPC members should have already submitted a few papers in one of the main topics of the conference. They should also have at least three years of research experience. Each candidate shadow TPC member must agree to review up to about a dozen of twelve pages papers before the TPC meeting, participate in the email discussion phase during the first weeks of August and finally attend the shadow TPC meeting in Toronto on August 19th, 2011.

Additional information about the objectives and the organisation of the shadow TPC may be found in

• O. Bonaventure, Augustin Chaintreau, Laurent Mathy and Philippe Owezarski, The Conext shadow TPC, ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 38(2):85-86, April 2008.