Organising an Academic Conference

1. Organising an Academic Conference Benefits, Challenges & Considerations

2. Aims and Objectives Aim To provide an introduction of the benefits, key challenges and considerations need to be taken in account when organising an academic conference Objectives Background of Conference– Our roles in the Academy of International Business UK & Ireland Chapter (AIB-UKI) 2009 Why volunteer to help organise a conference? Procedures for reviewing conference papers Preparation for the conference What happens on the day? Considerations for a successful conference

3. Background of AIB (UKI) 2009 conference The 36th Academy of International Business UK & Ireland (AIB-UKI) conference chapter was held by the Centre for Internationalisation and Enterprise Research (CIER) from the 2nd-4thApril 2009 Background of Conference The theme of the conference was on Resources, Efficiency and Globalisation The conference was organised and chaired by Professors Marian V Jones and Stephen Young 175 delegates submitted papers and were received from researchers in 26 countries including countries in the Americas, Australia, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Scandinavia and Russia In total 117 competitive papers were submitted and around 50 papers for the doctoral colloquium across the competitive and early stage streams. Guest speakers included Rt Hon John McFall MP, Chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, Mr Robin Gordon, Strategy Manager, IBM Greenock Campus, Greenock, Scotland and Professor Rod McNaughton, Eyton Chair in Entrepreneurship, Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship & Technology, University of Waterloo, Canada The CIER event was sponsored by IBM and ie-scholars.net

4. Our Roles in the Conference

5. Procedures for reviewing conference papers Key considerations during the review process Aims/Research Questions Does the paper explicitly refer to aims and objectives Are these objectives realistic given the scope of the paper Literature Review What is the author’s research ontology? Is this demonstrated in the paper Have the authors cited key authors and classic papers that offer a key contribution Are the articles referenced up-to-date and relevant for the overall theme of the paper Methodology Is the paper conceptual or empirical? Has the choice of research methodology been justified appropriately? Is the sample data cross-sectional, longitudinal, cross-national, industry or context specific? How have the authors operationalised constructs/measures? Findings Have the research findings been documented in a well presented and interesting format Do the contributions advance academic, industry and policy outcomes? Does the conference paper have journal publication potential? Presentation Does the paper have a good quality of English? Is the writing style and presentation sufficient? Does the paper fall within the word limit and the reference style requested in the conference brief?

6. Preparation for the conference In preparing for any conference there are numerous activities doctoral students can become involved in. The following is a list of the tasks that was delegated to us by the conference chairs during the organisation of the conference. Conference Attendance list A conference attendance list had to be drawn up. Microsoft Access was used to input all the details of the delegates as it can be used to construct a database. The database fields included name, profession (Prof, Dr, Mr), Institution, Email, Member Status (Member, PhD Student), and dietary requirements to build a profile of each delgate Each Delegate was given a conference bag and a delegate pack. The following items were included: Conference bags Involved placing the appropriate material (conference schedule, pens, notepads, brochures) into each individual conference bag. This was a time consuming exercise as we had 175 bags to fill Delegate Pack Memory Stick: All of the academic papers had to be converted into PDF format and then uploaded onto 175 memory sticks. One again, a very time consuming task Name Badges: The conference attendance list was used to print labels that could be used for badges Discount vouchers from www.seeglasgow.com: The vouchers gave visitors discounts while visiting the City of Glasgow WIFI Delegates were entitled to a free WIFI password during the conference and this should be negotiated with IT services. During registration each delegate was able to receive a WIFI password

7. What happens on the day Registration A registration desk needs to be created in a location central to the conference All the delegate packs should be put in envelopes with a label documenting the name of each delegate. These should be sorted alphabetically by surname Each delegate is then given a pack in the envelope along with a conference bag with the relevant introductions to the conference It is important to ensure you have a cash facility in the event of late payments and late registrations 2-3 people should be put on the registration desk at the beginning on the conference

8. What happens on the day Information Desk Develop some rotation system during the conference. Only person is required during the conference Discuss with colleagues the presentations and seminars that are most important to your research and ensure there is appropriate cover during these sessions The information desk will be most busy during lunch, so ensure there is appropriate cover for the busy periods

9. Considerations for a successful conference Things to consider Do not underestimate the amount of time you need to allocate to the organisation of an academic conference. Free up at least one month of your time for preparation To improve your networking activity, before the conference, inspect the delegate list and find scholars who are in your academic area. Read their papers beforehand and this will mean approaching them will be an easier task The Doctoral Colloquium is an excellent opportunity to meet future colleagues and help with the development of potential publication collaborations. As you belong to the institution where the conference is being held, people will be interested in your inside knowledge of Glasgow and use this to your advantage when building new relationships.

10. Why volunteer to help organise a conference?  Key Challenges Conferences are time consuming! Please make sure you allocate enough time away from your research to cope with the volume of work required. Allocate at least one month of free time for organisation. Be prepared to diversify into other roles when required. Helping organising a conference is a true multi-tasking job. Ensure you have regular team meetings to keep up to speed with what each other is doing. For example, communicate regularly during the review process to ensure all the papers are being assessed in a fair and objective manner. Make sure you do not become overworked. If you have a part-time job, seriously consider taking some time off, as conference organisation in itself is almost a full-time job. Ensure your research does not suffer. Set personal deadlines a month before the conference so you will not be behind once its all over. Have fun on the day!

11. Why volunteer to help organise a conference?  Key Benefits – Professional & Academic Hugely benefits your academic and commercial CV! Being able to demonstrate that you have actively participated in the organisation of an academic conference will be looked at very highly when applying for jobs within academia It offers a unique opportunity to build a closer relationship with your academic supervisor (s), department or Centre of research. Being involved will mean you will get to know academics who will be attending the conference and this will boost your networking opportunities within your academic community Conference organisation is a highly respected skill in the commercial world and one that will be highly sought after Key Benefits – Personal Development Helping with the conference has lead us to developing our time management, preparation and communication skills The reviewing process was highly beneficial for our own research as we are now able to identify methods to critically evaluate conceptual and empirical papers This has also made us more aware of our colleagues research in other institutions around the world at both competitive and doctoral levels.

12. Questions & Answer THANK YOU ANY QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS