"If you can't explain it to a 6-year old, you don't know it yourself."
~ Albert Einstein
Child Care Assistance Pilot for Conference Attendees
Conferences sometimes receive questions from attendees or presenters seeking childcare options while they attend the conference. The IEEE Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS) has gone even further, offering a financial reimbursement plan to its members.
The NPSS Child Care Assistance Program, launched in 2015 on a trial basis, assists conference attendees who incur additional childcare expenses from attending an NPSS conference. Application forms for the program are available on each conference website, with deadlines specific to the conference.
Applicants are notified prior to the conference if their request was selected for reimbursement. After the conference, they must submit an expense report and receipts for incurred child-care expenses. Awards are limited to $400 per family. NPSS has other specific eligibility and award criteria.
The NPSS program allows for the following expenses:
Babysitting or child-care expenses at the conference location while parent(s) attend sessions
Additional babysitting or child-care expenses incurred in leaving a child at home while parent(s) attend the conference
Transportation expenses for a childcare provider to care for child(ren) during the conference (e.g., an adult or relative not sharing your residence)
If your conference or Organization Unit is interested in supporting attendee childcare needs, the NPSS model may be a good reference point.
Christine Coverdale, chair of the ad hoc committee on child care assistance has offered to answer specific questions or provide guidance.
(IPC), the IEEE Photonics Society partnered with the IEEE Young Professionals to devise and rollout new events targeting students and young professionals in the photonics community.
In addition to a Job Fair and Poster Session, they also held a Raspberry Pi Workshop. Young Professionals and all conference attendees "young at heart" were encouraged to tinker with Raspberry Pi, a low-cost, credit card-sized computer, along with other components needed for a free space optical interconnect.
Small groups assembled and tested their own analog transmission systems with the goal of sending music over a laser pointer pen beam. They were encouraged to explore the limits of the optical link: attempt to send it over a large distance, incorporate optics (mirrors / lenses) and add background noise to the detector.
50 people from academia, government and industry participated in the workshop. Those completing all tasks received a Raspberry Pi T-shirt.
The organizers of this workshop also gave a
tabletop Raspberry Pi demo at the IEEE SXSW Party last year. The demo showed participants how to code a message and modulate a signal through a laser pointer pen, in turn displaying the message characters through the pen. This demo could easily be incorporated into a workshop format as well.
MCE can help enhance your conference by adding new elements or reaching new audiences.
Updated Conference Attendee Visa Invitation Letter Guidelines
IEEE Legal and IEEE Meetings, Conferences & Events (MCE) recently collaborated to update the visa process guidelines.
Visit the Visa Invitation Request webpage for more information on the new guidelines or recommended visa letter and request form templates for your conferences.
The applications are expected to be available by 7:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00) on Saturday, 13 August 2016.
Please keep this timing in mind if you plan any new conference submissions or edits, financial form submissions or publication program applications.
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Monday, 15 August 2016 through 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)Friday, 19 August.
