Find answers to common questions that may arise during the effort to prepare and submit a tutorial to the SC Conference. If your question is not addressed here, please email to tutorials@info.supercomputing.org

Q: How should I format my tutorial proposal submission?

A: Each tutorial submission must present its course information through the SC submissions website, where a form will collect basic information (the tutorial’s title, length, presenter information, and keywords). A sample form is available at the submissions website. Further details about the proposal, such as goals, targeted audience, and outline, should be written in a PDF and uploaded as an attachment to the submission form. The format for the PDF is documented in the How to Submit section of the submissions website. Submitters are particularly encouraged to include a draft of their full tutorial presentation in the Sample of Visual Material section of the submission form.

Q: Can I make changes to my tutorial materials after I have submitted them?

A: Tutorial presenters are generally expected to use the material submitted, with no changes. Minor extensions may be granted to enable a presenter to include more timely material, or to comply with conditions beyond the presenter’s control (e.g., new decisions adopted by standards bodies). In such cases, the submitted material should be as close to a final version as possible, and clearly indicate where changes are anticipated. Also, the deadline for the submission of the material is only one week before the tutorial, so no major updates are expected.
Changes requested because a presenter had insufficient time to prepare and submit their materials cannot be accommodated.

Q: What are the expectations of tutorial presentations at the conference?

A: SC Tutorials are some of the most popular sessions at the conference, attracting several thousand participants. Tutorial abstracts must clearly present what lessons can be learned, and tutorial presenters are expected to deliver professional presentations and to treat tutorial attendees with respect. Each tutorial will be evaluated in detail by attendees after the session, and these evaluations will play a crucial role in the evaluation of future-year tutorial submissions.

Q: Q: Is the peer-review process double-blind?

A: No. Reviewers have access to the names of tutorial submitters. While Tutorials Committee members are named on the SC19 Planning Committee page, the names of the individuals reviewing each proposal are not made available to the authors.

Q: What are the guidelines for conflicts of interest (COI)?

A: A potential conflict of interest occurs when a person is involved in making a decision that:

  1. Could result in that person, a close associate of that person, or that person’s company or institution receiving significant financial gain, such as a contract or grant.

  2. Could result in that person, or a close associate of that person, receiving significant professional recognition, such as an award or the selection of a paper, work, exhibit, or other type of submitted presentation.

Authors and Tutorials Committee members will be given the opportunity to list any potential COIs during the submissions and review processes, respectively. The Tutorials Committee Chair will make every effort to avoid assignments that have a potential COI.

According to the SC Conference you have a conflict of interest with:

  • Your PhD advisors, post-doctoral advisors, PhD students, and post-doctoral advisees forever;
  • Family relations by blood or marriage, or equivalent (e.g., a partner);
  • People with whom you collaborated in the past five years. Collaborators include: co-authors on an accepted/rejected/pending research paper; co-PIs on an accepted/pending grant; those who fund your research; researchers whom you fund; or researchers with whom you are actively collaborating;
  • Close personal friends or others with whom you believe a conflict of interest exists;
  • People who were employed by, or a student at, your primary institution(s) in the past five years, or people who are active candidates for employment at your primary institution(s).

Note that “service” collaborations, such as writing a DOE, NSF, or DARPA report, or serving on a program committee, or serving on the editorial board of a journal do not inherently create a COI.

Q: What rooms and audio/video infrastructure are provided to each tutorial?

A: Tutorials are assigned either a classroom or theater room equipped with standard AV facilities (projector, microphone and podium, wireless lapel microphone or wireless handheld microphone, and projection screen).

Q: Will tutorials’ material be provided in a USB?

A: No. Tutorials’ materials will be available for download in a password protected repository.