NeurIPS 2021 Call for Socials

We are very happy to call for social events at the coming NeurIPS 2021.

The social events can provide an excellent opportunity for those with a common interest to meet up, discuss, collaborate, debate, or celebrate. People are also encouraged to provide mentorship sessions. Given the unprecedented times that we are going through, we are happy to consider any virtual-creative idea. We solicit proposals from all registered NeurIPS attendees on any scientific or non-scientific topic that are aimed to enrich the community.

There are many ways to organize events at NeurIPS, and you might be wondering about their overlap with Socials. They are intended to be less technically and more socially focused than Workshops. Organizers interested in planning events targeted at an affinity group (e.g., WiML, Black in AI, LatinX in AI, Queer in AI, New in ML, {Dis}Ability in AI, Muslims in ML, Indigenous in AI) should contact us, and we can direct them to the appropriate party. Finally, events which are intended to gather people based on geographical location may be best suited as a Meetup. Please contact us at neurips-2021-social-chairs@googlegroups.com if you're at all unsure about what to submit, and we can help you out.

If you're interested in organizing a social event, but don't have a fully fleshed out idea or a co-organizer, please email us at neurips-2021-social-chairs@googlegroups.com! We'll try to match people up. For inspiration, you can find past social events run at ICML 2020 and NeurIPS 2020.

Requirements

The proposers are kindly requested to provide a short paragraph in which the scope of the social will be described. Each proposal should be backed by at least two organizers who will be responsible for the organization of the event. Organizers and guests should be registered participants of NeurIPS.

What makes a good social event? While our vision is to have a broad range of social events that are as diverse as possible, it should be helpful to also consider the following soft criteria:

• Diversity and inclusion:
  We aim to host a diverse range of events that represent all parts of the NeurIPS community, and also to help visibility of underrepresented minorities. In line with this goal, all socials should be accessible for everyone that wishes to participate.

• Reasonably broad appeal:
  Each event should appeal to about 75-150 attendees (note here that there might be platform capacity restrictions).

• Focus on social aspects:
  Rather than providing a stage for regular research talks, events should attempt to create a less formal environment that encourages discussion between all attendees. Open debates, round-table discussions, hands-on tutorials, coaching sessions and other forms of academic speed dating are encouraged.

• Get creative with the topics:
  There are numerous interests that connect us both within and beyond machine learning and AI, and we’d be thrilled to host social events organized around less technical topics.

 

What we provide

The selected social events will be hosted online as an official part of NeurIPS 2021 (precise timings to be determined). We are likely to offer the ability to host your event via Zoom or Gather. Socials are intended to last no longer than four hours.

Code of conduct

Being part of NeurIPS 2021, social events are subject to the general code of conduct of the meeting.

Important dates

• Deadline: September 8, 2021 (AoE)

• Notification: September 15, 2021

 

How to apply

Please provide a 1-page pdf file including the names and institutions of the organizers, along with a short description of the activities planned at the proposed social event. Proposals will be evaluated by a small committee led by the social chairs.

Applications should be sent to:

neurips-2021-social-chairs@googlegroups.com

 

Contact

If you need any information, please feel free to contact us at:

neurips-2021-social-chairs@googlegroups.com

 

Hope to see many of you there!

The Social co-chairs

Freddie Kalaitzis and Gautam Kamath