Tutorials

What is A Tutorial?

SC Tutorials is one of the largest tutorial programs at any computing-related conference. Submitting to the Tutorials program is highly competitive. To avoid procedural issues, please check the submission process and review criteria carefully.

The Tutorials Committee strongly promotes diversity and inclusivity in all aspects. We particularly welcome and encourage tutorial collaborations that include a diversity of presenters and institutional types, particularly those typically underrepresented at the conference.

Topics

Hands-on Tutorials

As in previous years, the Tutorials Committee highly encourages “hands-on” tutorials – those that give attendees the chance to try pre-prepared demos or exercises during the tutorial. A well-done hands-on tutorial can provide a much richer learning experience to attendees than a non-interactive, lecture-only tutorial.

Typically, hands-on tutorials are full-day sessions, although half-day hands-on tutorials may be appropriate in some cases. Tutorials focused on software development and analysis tools are good candidates for hands-on demos, for example.

Tutorial Participant Designations

There are three roles in presenting tutorials.

• Lead Presenter: The presenter authorized to speak for and make decisions for all of the tutorial’s presenters, as recognized by the Tutorials Chair. A lead presenter is also considered a presenter. The tutorial submitter is assumed to be the lead presenter unless otherwise specified.
• Presenter: A person who is a presenter at the tutorial. A presenter is expected to attend the tutorial in person.
• Assistant: A person assisting with the hands-on component of a tutorial, but not designated as a presenter.

Tutorial Participant Quotas

There is a limited number of presenters and assistants based on the length of the tutorial.

• Full-day Tutorial: At most six presenters and two assistants.
• Half-day Tutorial: At most three presenters and two assistants.

Duration

Tutorials may be proposed for either a full day (six hours) or a half day (three hours). Half-day tutorials on new and emerging technologies are encouraged.

Tutorials must last for the full three or six hours. If your topic can be covered in less than three hours you can combine multiple related subjects into a single “themed” submission.

Format

Your information will be submitted via a web form and PDF file.

The file you upload should contain the following sections, each beginning on a separate page:

1. Abstract in text format (200-word maximum).
2. A detailed description of the proposed tutorial (two pages maximum) with the following sections:
   • Tutorial goals – i.e., what will the audience learn about?
   • Relevance for conference attendees – i.e., how does the topic fit with SC?
   • Target audience – i.e., what is the expected audience (researchers, students, developers, practitioners, etc.) and what each one of them will learn?
   • Content level – i.e., how is the content of the tutorial divided (in %) between beginner, intermediate, and advanced?
   • Audience prerequisites – i.e., what should the attendees know to successfully follow the tutorial?
   • Tutorial content – i.e., what is the content, schedule, and organization over the desired time (half- or full-day)?
   • Cohesion measures – i.e., how do you ensure a cohesive tutorial – only for tutorials with multiple presenters from different institutions?
   • Previous editions and potential updates – i.e., if, and where and when was this tutorial presented before, and how will it be updated for SC24?
3. Detailed outline of the tutorial (one page maximum, in outline form). This “detailed course outline” will be the most critical part of the submission.
4. Hands-on feasibility check/analysis: If you propose a Hands-on Tutorial (demo- or exercise-based tutorial), you must include an extra section in your tutorial proposal explaining to the committee how your demo and/or exercises have been thoroughly tested and debugged in a variety of settings, to ensure completely smooth operation at the conference. Add this information as part of the tutorial content (see 2, above), which could therefore be extended with at most half a page. Note: The conference will provide SCinet wireless network access to all tutorial rooms. Tutorials requesting wired Ethernet must include a clear justification for the request in their proposal.
5. Résumé or Curriculum Vitae for each presenter (six presenters maximum, two pages maximum each). Make sure this includes a list of short courses each presenter has taught.
6. A statement agreeing to release the notes for the SC24 tutorial digital copy.
7. A request for travel support, if any. This is not factored in the evaluation.

Additionally, submitting samples and/or descriptions of the slides, hands-on demos, and exercises (where applicable) is strongly encouraged. These samples can be submitted either as a stand-alone file or via a URL.

Review criteria

Submissions will be reviewed by the Tutorials Committee, which will consider, among other factors:

• Insights offered, in breadth and/or depth
• Quality of the proposal (clarity, completeness, and cohesiveness of the proposal) and quality of the visual aids)
• Relevance to the SC audience and suitability for a tutorial
• Timeliness of the topic
• Potential audience appeal
• Presentation history and teaching/speaking experience of the presenters
• For “hands-on” tutorials, evidence that demos or live exercises have been thoroughly tested

Review process

Each submission will receive at least three reviews. After the reviews are completed, the Tutorials Committee will discuss them and select the tutorials to be offered at the conference. A tutorial may be conditionally accepted, pending modifications requested by the Tutorials Committee.

conflict of interest

Please be aware of, and adhere to, these SC Conference guidelines regarding potential conflicts of interest and disclosure.

A potential conflict of interest occurs when a person is involved in making a decision that:

• Could result in that person, a close associate of that person, or that person’s company or institution receiving significant financial gain, such as a contract or grant, or
• Could result in that person, or a close associate of that person, receiving significant professional recognition, such as an award or the selection of a paper, work, exhibit, or other type of submitted presentation.

Program Committee members will be given the opportunity to list potential conflicts of interest during each program’s review process. Program Committee chairs and area chairs will make every effort to avoid assignments that have a potential COI.

According to the SC conference you have a conflict of interest with the following:

• Your PhD advisors, post-doctoral advisors, PhD students, and post-doctoral advisees;
• Family relations by blood or marriage, or equivalent (e.g., a partner);
• People with whom you collaborated in the past five years. Collaborators include: co-authors on an accepted/rejected/pending research paper; co-PIs on an accepted/pending grant; those who fund your research; researchers whom you fund; or researchers with whom you are actively collaborating;
• Close personal friends or others with whom you believe a conflict of interest exists;
• People who were employed by, or a student at, your primary institution(s) in the past five years, or people who are active candidates for employment at your primary institution(s).

Note that “service” collaborations, such as writing a DOE, NSF, or DARPA report, or serving on a program committee, or serving on the editorial board of a journal, do not inherently create a COI.

Other situations can create COIs, and you should contact the Technical Program Chairs for questions or clarification on any of these issues.

Plagiarism

Please review the IEEE guidelines on identifying plagiarism.

finalizing accepted Tutorials

Stage 1: Original Submission Materials

The original materials sent to the submissions website.

Stage 2: Program Material Due August 2, 2024

Program material refers to content that will be listed in the online SC Schedule. This includes title, abstract, bios, and presenter photos. Please update your title and abstract to reflect any reviewer comments prior to submitting to Stage 2. We do not need your slides at this time.

In addition, you will be asked to confirm infrastructure needs (wired Ethernet) and honorarium and support (we need a rough estimate of how many people will be accepting honorariums and support).

Stage 3: Honorarium and Support Due September 6, 2024

You will be asked to provide detailed information on honorarium and support distributions amongst presenters, consent and release forms.

Stage 4: Handouts and Slides Due October 25, 2024

You will be asked to provide tutorial presentation materials (i.e., handouts and slides). The suggested format is 1920 x 1080 (16:9) for all presentation slides. Your Tutorial presentation materials will be made available to all Tutorial registrants for download.

Honorarium & Travel Reimbursement

• Travel reimbursement is limited to airfare or the use of a personal vehicle only, with a maximum of $800 per presenter (increased to $1,400 for presenters traveling from outside North America). Air tickets must be obtained at least 28 days prior to travel using the SC-contracted travel service. Reimbursement for travel by personal vehicle must be approved by the Finance Chair at least 28 days prior to travel, where SC may reimburse the lesser of either actual mileage at $0.655/mile or coach airfare.
• At most four presenters may claim travel reimbursement for full-day tutorials, and at most two presenters for half-day tutorials.
• Full-day honorarium is $2,800.
• Half-day honorarium is $1,400.
• The honorarium may be split between at most four presenters for full-day tutorials and between at most two presenters for half-day tutorials.
• Assistants are not eligible to receive an honorarium or travel reimbursement

Registration

Presenters receive a complimentary one-day Tutorial pass registration for the day of their tutorial. Half-day presenters may attend other half-day tutorials on the same day. Otherwise, presenters must register for the conference and/or any tutorials they wish to attend. Please refer to Registration for fees.

Assistant registrations are only available upon special request for those tutorials with a hands-on component and require approval from the Tutorials Chair.

proceedings

A complete collection of Tutorials presentation materials (handouts and slides) is provided to each Tutorials registrant. Presentation materials are hosted on a password-protected download site for registered Tutorials attendees.

Organizers must also explicitly agree to the release of their tutorial presentations for this purpose as part of the tutorial proposal submission. We will not produce hard copies of tutorial presentations.

You will be required to upload your materials to the SC submissions website before October 25, 2024.

schedule & location

Tutorials will be held on Sunday, November 17 and Monday, November 18, 2024.

Tutorial presenters are expected to attend the Tutorial Breakfast on the day of their presentation. Final instructions are given and honoraria are disbursed at this breakfast. Presenters are expected to alert the Tutorials Chair if they are unable to attend. Note that assistants and attendees are not eligible to attend the Tutorial breakfast.

Tutorial Surveys

Surveys play a crucial role in shaping the tutorial program. Tutorial surveys are entirely electronic. No paper forms are used to gather attendee feedback. You will be asked to provide a specific QR code and evaluation URL on one of your presentation slides. We ask that you remind participants prior to break(s) and at the end of your tutorial to provide feedback.

infrastructure

Tutorials are assigned either a classroom or a theater room equipped with:

• Approximately ½ classroom-style (rectangular tables with chairs) and ½ theater-style (chairs only) seating
• One or more 16:9 projectors and screens depending upon room size
• Projectors offer HDMI connections only; you must provide adapters or dongles if required
• Podium with microphone and wired Ethernet connection
• One wireless handheld microphone
• Power strips at classroom tables
• Powered speaker system
• Wireless internet in the room

Those tutorials that requested wired Ethernet will also have wired Ethernet at classroom tables in their room.

Current SC Conference policies and procedures DO NOT include the following in your tutorial room:

• Poster boards
• Laser pointers (you may use your own)
• Materials taped to walls are not allowed
• Round tables
• Power strips under the chairs
• Recording of your tutorial

The conference will provide SCinet wireless network access to all tutorial rooms, and may provide wired Ethernet to classroom-style seating for “hands-on” tutorials upon request. Tutorials requesting wired Ethernet must include a clear justification for the request in their proposal.

There will be a student volunteer present throughout your tutorial to help with AV and general infrastructure needs. Student volunteers will have means to directly contact the Tutorials Chair and AV support staff in case any issues arise.

Food & Coffee Breaks

During Tutorials, two 30-minute coffee breaks, at 10 am and 3 pm, are provided on Sunday and Monday.

Lunch is provided for attendees, presenters, and assistants with Tutorials registration on their badge.

Breakfast is provided for presenters only on the day of their tutorial. Note that assistants and attendees are not eligible to attend the Tutorial breakfast.

What are the expectations of tutorial presentations at SC?

Tutorial abstracts must clearly describe the tutorial content (including, where applicable, hands-on elements), what will be taught, and how. The tutorial presentation at SC is expected to closely follow the proposed content and hands-on exercises. Tutorial presenters are expected to deliver professional presentations and to treat tutorial attendees with respect. Each tutorial will be evaluated in detail by attendees after the session, and these evaluations will play a crucial role in the evaluation of future-year tutorial submissions.

Can I make changes to my tutorial materials after I have submitted them?

Tutorial presenters are generally expected to use the material submitted, with no changes. Minor extensions may be granted to enable a presenter to include more timely material, or to comply with conditions beyond the presenter’s control (e.g., new decisions adopted by standards bodies). In such cases, the submitted material should be as close to a final version as possible, and clearly indicate where changes are anticipated.

Is the peer-review process double-anonymous?

No. Reviewers have access to the names of tutorial submitters. While Tutorials Committee members are named on the Planning Committee page of the conference website, the names of the individuals reviewing each proposal are not made available to the authors.

Will tutorial materials be provided on a USB?

No. Tutorial materials will be available for download in a password-protected repository.

Are vendors allowed to submit tutorials focused specifically on their products?

No. Commercial products are not appropriate subject matter for the SC Tutorials program. Proprietary product discussions belong in the Exhibitor Forum, or as a parallel activity outside the conference by the vendor. 

If the tutorials schedule results in the “double-booking” of one of our presenters, can our tutorials be rescheduled to avoid this?

Occasionally, an individual may be presenting in multiple tutorials. We consider and accommodate this as much as possible when scheduling tutorials. However, ultimately some conflicts are unresolvable. You should consult and strategize with your (potential) co-presenters regarding their participation in other tutorial submissions to anticipate any possible overlap and to help to alleviate this challenge.