Social Events at UIST 2021
Virtual conferences can be challenging to socialize and make new connections. With the unprecedented change of conference formats to a virtual experience, conference organizers moved the physical talks and conference events to online platforms like zoom and discord. While these tools greatly facilitated virtual interactions, many people still miss the “closeness” of in-person events.
This year, UIST will keep using the Zoom and Discord platforms for the technical sessions, but we will also offer additional events and innovative tools such as Ohyay to network, make new friends, and bring you “closer” virtually!
We are excited to introduce three different initiatives to make your virtual conference experience more fun: (1) Lighting Talks, (2) Ask-Me-Anything Sessions, and (3) Social Meetups.
Lightning Talks
New this year, young researchers, students, and professionals will get the opportunity to show a 60-second lightning talk at the beginning of the paper sessions on Zoom. These lightning talks are an excellent opportunity to introduce yourself to the UIST community, let people know what your research interest is, and can also be an opportunity to look for internship positions, find a Ph.D. advisor or simply getting to know more people at UIST.
While the content of the lightning talks is up to the attendee, it may include a brief introduction, their research interest, exciting hobbies, contact information, and what the student is looking for (e.g., having a coffee after the session and chat with people with similar interests).
We will show the lightning talks during the conference at the start of the paper sessions, which gives these talks high visibility. Throughout the conference, these talks will also be available on the UIST website including contact information. Additionally, there will be an opportunity for the students to chat directly during and after the conference via our Discord channel.
Interested attendees should send an abstract (<500 words) that includes a short bio as a .pdf and the lightning talk video to events2021@uist.org.
The deadlines are:
Abstract: September 16, 2021
Video: September 23, 2021
More details can be found in the call of participation on the conference website: https://uist.acm.org/uist2021/cfp.html#lightning_talks.
Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) Sessions
Curious about how academia or research works? Have questions about diversity, work/life balance, or more? Join an AMA session!
Ask-Me-Anything sessions offer a space to provoke discussion around research-related topics, share experiences about career development in academia and industry, or hear different opinions about how our field should move forward in regards to diversity and inclusiveness. Great AMA sessions raise questions, provoke discussions, and are controversial and innovative.
Topics for AMA sessions include, but are not limited to:
- Emerging developments in XR
- Social computing
- Novel fabrication technologies and physical user interfaces
- Career development
- Grant writing
- Diversity and accessibility
- How to survive the PhD?
- How to find postdoc positions
- More information on how to organize an AMA session can be found
We ask organizer(s) to propose their ideas for the virtual format of their AMA session being both innovative but also reasonable to the resources the conference can provide.
AMAs can be hosted on Discord (discussions, text), Zoom, although we recommend Ohyay as a fun platform for a more natural feeling of being at a conference. The AMA session will be held in parallel to the Demo/Poster slot in the main program (after the paper sessions).
Prospective organizer(s) should send a short PDF about the proposed event to events2021@uist.org. More information can be found on https://uist.acm.org/uist2021/cfp.html#ama.
Social Meetups
Come join us for our social hours and networking as we celebrate UIST 2021. We will be meeting in UIST’s crafted virtual hangout space on Ohyay!
To make the virtual socializing spaces look similar to a real one and minimize “Zoom fatigue,” we are using Ohyay.co to create a customized virtual space and make it a fun experience. We hope that this will help create a sense of belonging and togetherness. Chat, show your projects, dance, paint, and take pictures with fellow attendees!
We will also provide an opportunity for members of the UIST community to organize their own social meetups. These can be centered around research topics (e.g., augmented reality, personal fabrication) or research regions (country/continent), or they may be discussions about social issues (diversity in academia, accessibility).
If you would like to host a social meetup, simply send us the event’s theme, the date and time you want it to take place via the form on our website: https://uist.acm.org/uist2021/cfp.html#social_meetups. It takes less than 2 minutes!
We will add your event to the official UIST schedule and can help you to advertise your event on the website and UIST social media channels. In case you need it, we will also help with hosting your event by creating related Ohyay or Discord channels.
Have questions? Write us at events2021@uist.org
Michael Wessely
MIT CSAIL
Doga Dogan
MIT CSAIL
Janin Koch
Inria Paris-Saclay
