Lessons learned running non US/North
American conferences
By Patrick Le Dû
France
(CEA and IN2P3/CNRS)
patrickledu@free.fr
25-july-2008
COPO08- SEATTLE
NPSS ADCOM member
as Transnational
Conference Liaison
General Chair
- RTC Beaune 1997
- NSS-MIC Lyon 2000
1
Goals of this presentation
Menu
Show the NPSS conference experiences
outside North America
- Lessons from Europe
- The Asian challenge
25-july-2008
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NPSS conference survey
Technical Committe
Sponsor
Computer Applications in
Nuclear and Plasma Science
(CANPS)
Real Time Conference (RTC)
Fusion Technology (FTC)
Symposium on Fusion
Engineering (SOFE)
Size
200
Venue
Europe, North
America
Asia (next)
Particle Accelerator Science Particle Accelerator
and Technology (PAST)
Conference (PAC)
200
North America
>1000
North America
Plasma Science and
Applications (PSAC)
International Conference on
Plasma Science (ICOPS)
500
North America
Europe in 2008
Pulsed Power Science and
Technology (PPST)
Pulsed Power Conference
(PPC)
600
North America
Radiation Effects (REC)
Nuclear and Space Radiation
Effects Conference (NSREC)
500
North America
Radiation Instrumentation
(RITC)
Nuclear Science Symposium
(NSS)
>1000
North America
Europe
>1000
North America
Europe 3
Nuclear Medical and Imaging Medical Imaging conference
Sciences
(MIC)COPO08- SEATTLE
25-july-2008(NMISC)
Real Time Conference features
NPSS strategy was starting with a moderate size
conference (150-200)
– Learning process !
Very specific community of fundamental research
scientific Engineers & Physicists close to
experimental facilities around particle accelerators
(CERN,DESY,SLAC,FNAL)
– Now attracting other fields (ITER, Medical Imaging..)
Participants
– Coming from High Energy Physics : 50 - 60%
– Already large European > 60%
– Regular attendance is high : 60-70%
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RTC survey
Beaune
France
Stockholm
Sweeden
Next
2009
2011
Beijing
Lisbon/Porto
China
Portugal
Va
nc
ou
ve
Ea
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st
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AL
20
07
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
25-july-2008
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Attendance
abstracts collected
paper presented
5
RTC experience
Beaune 97 - the first experience
– Congress center based + outside hotels
– Full logistic support and sponsorship of the french
Scientific research Institutions (CEA & CNRS/IN2P3) :
Financial contribution from France
Plus a lot of ‘in kind’ contribution
First lesson
– Great success !
– Difficult to justify a ‘surplus’ to our authorities
– We were starting to build a « support team »
Stockholm (2005)
– Alba Nova University based and support
– A full NPSS compliant organization
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Feed back Evaluation from particpants
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Conclusion RTC & next challenge
Very succesfull conferences
– Some accidents rapidly corrected (Valencia 2001)
Routine to go regularly (2/3) outside North
america
We have a stable ‘organization team’ and
management structure
– Not to ‘reinvent the wheel’ everytime
– Discover young talents
Next challenge ---> ASIA!
– RT 2009 in China (Beijing IHEP)
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RTC 2009 Beijing organization
Conference Chairs
Yifang Wang (General Chair) IHEP, China
Yantai Shu (Co-Chair) Tianjin University, China
Executive Committe
Chair J.P. Martin
Former and future Chairs
Plus Asian Chairs including Japan
(Masa Nomachi)
Local Organizing Committee (11p)
Chair Zhen’An Liu (IHEP )
Scientific Program Advisory Committee ( CANPS + ..)
Chair: Stefan Ritt
(Abstract evaluation , paper selection and session chairs)
Asian-Pacific Contact,
Promotion and Support
Benjamin M.W. Tsui
Ren-Yuan Zhu
And many others ….
NPSS Advisory and Support Group
TNS editor (Sacha Schmeling)
Conference promotion (CIP)
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LYON 2000 NSS-MIC summary
First ‘overseas’ NSS-MIC conference
– Initiated by W. Moses, G. Knoll, E. Lampo,E. Heijne in 1997
– Fully supported by all RITC and ADCOM members
A ‘challenge’  with some ’experimental ’new flavors
– Another logistic : a Palais des Congres separated from hotels
– New organization of the scientific program  convenors
Overview talks (NSS + MIC)
Technical seminar for exhibitors
Satellite workshops (Technology Transfer)
Public exhibition ( Hadrontherapy)
– Extensive promotion : poster, centralized databases (email, web)
Goals
Make NSS-MIC more ‘international’
– Improve interdisciplinary relationship (NSS and MIC)
– Attract new participants/students including ‘former east countries’
– Build a team of young motivated european ‘conference support team’
 initiation of Conference Information Promotion (CIP)
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NSS-MIC Lyon 2000
Participants
NorhAmerica
Europe
Toronto
Asie,Australie
Lyon
Russieet al.
Divers
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Total registered participants = 1250 (+ 65%)
–
Conference staff = 30, Exhibitor staff= 70
Conference participants = 1130 (NSS=52%,MIC=47%)
Exhibitors: 55 (+83%)
Short courses : 312 (+100%)
Social programme
–
–
–
Receptions = 1000 (+100%)
NSS banquet = 450 (+80%)
MIC dinner = 450 (+80%)
25-july-2008
600
400
Members
200
1998
COPO08- SEATTLE
Non
members
0
1999
2000
11
Evaluation questionnaire results
Excellent
Very good
Good
Satisfact..
Poor
Overall
15
36
31
14*
4*
>GOOD= 82%
Site
32
33
19
9*
7*
*Hotel too far
Registration
30
24
21
15
10
Secretariat
26
26
32
9
9
Plenary sessions
23
33
37
5
2
Overview sessions
22
40
31
6
1
Parallel sessions
7
42
29
16*
6
*Too many
Small rooms
Poster sessions
10
30
24
18*
18*
Not enough space
Industrial exhibit
20
39
32
7
2
Coffee breaks
28
37
22
9
4
NSS banquet
35
33
19
9
4
MIC Dinner
52
32
16
0
0
Social program
33
23
17
16
11
Travel connections
10
20
38
20*
12*
Accomodation
10
18
35
12*
25*
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*Hotel far from site
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Lyon 2000 Analysis and Lessons
A real breakthrough !
This is NOT a copy past of North American
conferences (big hotels are very limited!)
Some promized ‘european’ grants never came !
Conflict between ‘supported non profit’ conferences and others!…
VAT issues --> unclear at that time
Unforeseen expenses due to unexected attendance ! :
logging problems : transportation, food and dinners,
To be adapted and improved  recurrent over many
conferences!
Hotel availability, long term booking and management!
Service companies
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LYON
2000
Particpants
Submissions
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Roma
2004
Dresden
2008
Valencia
2011
NSS-MIC statistics
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
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Conclusion from Europe experience
A ‘great’ and enthousiastic experience
– We have a BIG ‘international’ instrumentation conference (> 2000)
– Europe is attractive & become a routine
 2004 (Roma)  2008 Dresden ---> 2011 Valencia
Today it is a place where it can be really international!  new european
countries …. but also others with US visa limitation
However some points to be ‘noticed’!
– European conferences has their ‘own’ rules and features
Need close link with local institutions & national labs
– ( CEA/CNRS, INFN, DESY/FZD …..)
Future: need better EU support & link
–  to be look at very seriously !
– Look more complex to organize
Congress centers & hotels are separated
not a ‘copy past’ from year to year !
- Taxes (VAT) is not simple to manage uniformly
- Currency exchange rate unstable!
- $ vs €  0.9 in 2000  1.60 now!
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Next: The Asian Challenge & Strategy
Asia is already our next ‘target’ after Europe …
How to make it ‘smoothly’ ?
New world, new culture: we have to learn
Strategy: start to get a first experience with a
‘small conference ‘ like we did succefully for
Europe:
RTC Beaune 97
NSS-MIC 2000 in Lyon …..then …. ‘almost routine!’
RTC 2009 will be in Beijing -IHEP next May
We visited IHEP,Tianjin University and IEEE Beijing office
All administrative work as been done (Licence)
Investigating NSS-MIC in Asia for 2013-14
China is not the only Asian/Pacific possiblity (Japan ,India ..…)
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My first comments about China
With RT organization and visit we already learn a lot
– Mainland China is a great opportunity for us
– Chinese culture is different from our!
We have to be very carefull to avoid dramatic frustration
– The centralized ‘administration’ is already there (for us the
Chinese academy of Sciences ) which make all decisions
(Conference licence …)
Everything should be approved by them !
– We cannot organize a conference as ‘standard’ US or even
European…
– Experience of RT (organization,budget,hotels …) is a unique
opportunity to learn and gain experience before to go ahead
to a bigger one.
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Conclusion & summary
Europe is becoming a routine
Asia is our next great opportunity
Cannot be a ‘copy -past’ of US conference
The knowledge of the local country and
administration is fundamental
VAT cannot be uniformly apply
Please bannish the term ‘surplus’
in the budget --> ‘administrative fees’
Thanks a lot for your attention
and your invitation !
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