StanCon 2020. A 24h Global Event. (More details, new talk deadline: July 1)

Announcements
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Date Confirmed: Thursday, 13 August 2020

The Stan Conference will be virtual this year! We are aiming for a 24-hour conference that can bring the global Stan community together. There will be 3 scheduled blocks of time, each with a plenary talk and discussion for six contributed talks. Since the conference is virtual, we’re distributing most of the content ahead of the schedule.

We were looking forward to seeing everyone in person but we are excited for the opportunity to develop and deliver a virtual event that will include ways of interacting with fellow conference attendees and presenters. If it works well we will consider a hybrid model for future conferences to ensure everyone, regardless of location and/or budget, can access and attend StanCon.

The Format

Attendees can take part in virtual networking, attend presentations and engage with the 18 presenters. Each block of time is scheduled similarly. Each block will have a plenary talk and 6 separate discussions of a contributed talk. Contributed talks will be pre-recorded and the content distributed online prior to the conference.

The schedule will look (roughly) like this:

  • 4min - Welcome from the StanCon Committee
  • 6min - 6x1 minute recorded pitch
  • 50min - Plenary talk + Discussion
  • 10min - Talk 1: 1 minute recorded pitch + 9 minute live discussion
  • 10min - Talk 2: 1 minute recorded pitch + 9 minute live discussion
  • 10min - Talk 3: 1 minute recorded pitch + 9 minute live discussion
  • 10min - Talk 4: 1 minute recorded pitch + 9 minute live discussion
  • 10min - Talk 5: 1 minute recorded pitch + 9 minute live discussion
  • 10min - Talk 6: 1 minute recorded pitch + 9 minute live discussion
  • 60min - Post-session virtual coffee/drinks

What to expect

For attendees

We are adapting to the challenges of an online conference the best we can. We will have guides available for getting into the conference and participating.

We hope that the attendees can participate in the discussions and can have plenty of interaction with the other attendees.

All are welcome and we will be enforcing a code of conduct for the benefit of the community. This will be a registered event. The content distributed will be available online without registration, but in order to participate live, we will be requiring registration.

We will be putting up guides, the agenda and a link to register closer to the event.

For contributors

Since this is virtual, the format and requirements for the talks will be different. These things are expected before and during the event:

Presenters must send the following by the deadline:

  • Bio [100 words] and summary of your talk [300 words] 1 July.
    The StanCon committee will notify acceptance by 8 July.

  • A pre-recorded 20 minute talk once the talk has been accepted. We will help with video editing and distributing the content. We will send out some technical information about how to format slides, etc. (If you are comfortable in multiple languages, feel free to record multiple videos!) 24 July

  • A pre-recorded 1 minute pitch of the talk. The purpose of this is to let the audience know what the talk is and to jog their memory. 24 July

  • Provide consent for StanCon to share their talk online at the conference and on YouTube 24 July

    If you have already sent your talk proposal and wish to continue participating under the virtual format, we will ask you to fill the google form again under the time zone you would prefer to participate.

If you’re not in one of these time zones, please feel free to select any one of these links:

  1. StanCon 2020 Talk proposal UK (London Time)
  2. StanCon 2020 Talk proposal US (Eastern Time)
  3. StanCon 2020 Talk Proposal US (Pacific Time)

POTENTIAL SCHEDULE

British Summer Time (BST) Eastern Time (ET) Pacific Time (PT) Length (min) Global Schedule
8:30 3:30 0:30 30 Pre-session virtual coffee (TBC)
9:00 4:00 1:00 4 Live Welcome from StanCon UK Committee
9:04 4:04 1:04 6 6x (1 minute recorded pitch)
9:10 4:10 1:10 40 Live Plenary talk
9:50 4:50 1:50 10 Live Discussion
10:00 5:00 2:00 60 6x (1 minute recorded pitch + 9 minute live discussion)
11:00 6:00 3:00 60 Post-session virtual coffee/drinks (TBC)
12:00 7:00 4:00 Break
16:30 11:30 8:30 30 Pre-session virtual coffee (TBC)
17:00 12:00 9:00 10 Live Welcome from StanCon UK + US Committee + StanCon 2021 announcement
17:10 12:10 9:10 4 Code of Conduct working group
17:14 12:14 9:14 6 6x (1 minute recorded pitch)
17:20 12:20 9:20 40 TBD
18:00 13:00 10:00 40 Live Main Plenary talk
18:50 13:50 10:50 10 Live Discussion
19:00 14:00 11:00 60 6x (1 minute recorded pitch + 9 minute live discussion)
20:00 15:00 12:00 60 Post-session virtual coffee/drinks (TBC)
21:00 16:00 13:00 Break
0:30 19:30 16:30 30 Pre-session virtual coffee (TBC)
1:00 20:00 17:00 4 Live Welcome from StanCon Committee
1:04 20:04 17:04 6 6x (1 minute recorded pitch)
1:10 20:10 17:10 40 Live Plenary talk
1:50 20:50 17:50 10 Live Discussion
2:00 21:00 28:00 60 6x (1 minute recorded pitch + 9 minute live discussion)
3:00 22:00 19:00 60 Post-session virtual coffee/drinks (TBC)
4:00 23:00 20:00 Break
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so exciting !

will there be a registration fee ?

thanks so much !

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4

Hi @shira, we’re still working out the details. At this point, we think there will be a nominal registration fee.

We’re still evaluating technical options for having the conference online. (There are the obvious ones, but we’re trying to find something that will allow for interaction with people.) We’ll post details when we’re able to get closer.

For the time being, please submit a talk! There’s a little over a week until the talk deadline.

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@shira, registration is live!

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