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What is a BOF?
A BOF is a "Birds of a Feather"
meeting. These are usually short meetings on fairly specific
topics that allow people with similar interests or questions
to get together. BOFs are not workshops or panel sessions,
but discussion-driven events that give a group
of people a chance to exchange ideas.
How do BOFs "get started"?
By you! An individual (or two) will propose
a BOF on a subject they either know something about or are
interested in discussing with others. You do NOT need
to be an expert on a subject to propose a BOF. The
BOF proposer will primarily moderate the BOF and/or get
a small panel of people to answer questions from the audience.
Here are some reasons you might propose a BOF:
- You are interested in a topic and think others might
be as well. This could be a technical topic (programming
with .NET) or a social topic (What would encourage high
school girls to consider CS? What's life like as a young
woman in industry?)
- You want to brainstorm with others on a common problem
or issue (What kinds of ACM student chapter activities
work? How does one involve students in undergraduate research?)
- You have just "finished" something that others have
to experience as well and you feel you can share some
advice. Examples might include, getting a job (with a
bachelors degree, with a PhD), applying to graduate school/for
fellowships, switching careers, starting a family, applying
for tenure, getting a summer internship, or doing summer
undergraduate research.
- You want to meet potential research collaborators.
Additionally, we want to encourage suggestions from people
who may be interested in a subject (or question) but don't
feel they have any expertise to organize a BOF. If you would
like to suggest a BOF session, but would not be comfortable
leading it, please contact the BOF coordinator, Beth Simon
(bsimon [at] sandiego [dot] edu).
Students—undergraduates and graduate Students
alike—are encouraged to create BOFs, for more
information on the student program, click here.
When can I propose a BOF?
BOF submissions are due May 1, 2004. Details can
be found on the Grace Hopper web site under
submissions, BOFs.
However, additional BOFs may be submitted after that
time and space permitting. As BOFs are casual, participant-driven
events, we encourage BOF submissions even after the March
1 deadline, up to and during the conference itself. More
information will be available later on how to submit BOF
requests during the conference.
Questions?
Contact Beth Simon at
bsimon [at] sandiego [dot] edu. |
