ACM Europe: First Call for Proposals for Seasonal Schools in 2024

January 4, 2024

The ACM Europe Council invites proposals for the organization of seasonal schools in 2024 under the ACM Europe umbrella. Proposals will be evaluated based on the educational merits and organizational and financial plans. This call targets schools that are happening before 30 June 2024, and aims at supporting at most two schools. There will be a second call for Summer Schools later in 2024.

Important Dates

  • Submission deadline: 30 January 2024
  • Notification: 15 February 2024

Submission Guidelines

Proposals for seasonal schools should be submitted via email ([email protected]) to ACM Europe Council with “ACM Europe Seasonal School Proposal” in the email subject. Proposals must be in PDF and include the following (in the order given):

  • Title of the seasonal school
  • Chairs and organizers
  • Contact information
  • A description of the school’s topic and its goals
  • A statement on how the school complements or relates to other events
  • Proposed venue (description, including pictures)
  • Desired school format, including preferred dates and duration, onsite or hybrid format, and a description of participants
  • A description of the application review process, including key dates, coverage of how conflicts of interest are handled, and inclusion & diversity criteria (including geography and gender balance)
  • Outline of the program (including lectures, coffee breaks, and social events)
  • Student accommodation plans
  • Potential (or accepted) speakers or lecturers
  • Publicity plans
  • Funding plans and preliminary budget: potential registration fees, plans for seeking sponsorship, information about downpayment to the venue if any, etc.
  • Inclusion plans: including criteria for student scholarships
  • Historical information about each of the most recent previous editions of the school (if this is not its first edition), including:
    • Date, venue, and affiliated event (if any)
    • Number of applicants
    • Number of participants
    • Ratings (each school will run a review form with participants and speakers)

Additional Information

Proposal evaluation criteria include topic importance, scientific quality, quality of proposed organization, evidence of interest (e.g., previous submission and attendance counts), and overlap with other proposals.

The organizers of accepted schools are required to announce the school and call for applications, solicit applications, conduct the applicant review process, compose the school program, and organize the event (i.e., school venue, participant accommodation, catering, social events). Workshop programs must comply with a joint catering schedule, and workshop programs must be published 15 days prior to the early registration deadline.

What “Organized by ACM Europe” means:

ACM Europe will host a limited number of seasonal schools every year. Accepted schools will be sponsored by ACM Europe (but are expected to have a concrete financial plan with additional financial resources). ACM Europe will also provide (if desired) IT support for the web site, registration, advertisement and management of the school data.

A topic that has been successfully repeated a few times may lead to the establishment of a School Series that will take on a life of its own, always under the ACM Europe umbrella, and continue yearly, with decreasing (and soon reaching zero) sponsorship from ACM.