What is a Panel Session?

Panel sessions provide an opportunity for expert panel members to present their views on a specific topic and then to discuss these views among themselves and with the audience. Usually a panel session starts with a brief introduction of the panel topic and the participants, followed by short presentations by the panelists giving their views. They are scheduled in standard conference spaces. The session must allow sufficient opportunity (about 30 minutes) for an interactive question and answer period involving both the panelists and the audience.

A typical panel will consist of four participants, including the moderator. Limiting a panel to four participants allows sufficient time for audience questions. Proposals with more than four panelists must convincingly show that all panelists will be able to speak, and the audience able to respond, within the session time.

Panel proposal review is NOT blind. Criteria used in reviewing the proposals include the likely level of interest of the topic, the presence of panel members with multiple perspectives on the topic, and the likelihood that the panel will leave sufficient time for audience participation.

If the proposal is accepted, all presenters listed in the panel description will be required to register for the conference and to participate in the session.

How Should The Proposal Be Formatted?

The proposal is limited to a maximum of 2 pages and must adhere to ACM’s publication guidelines:

The following modifications and exceptions do apply:

• When providing author information, indicate which of the panelists is the moderator by placing the word “Moderator” in parentheses after her/his name.

• Do not include an abstract. Instead, the first section should be titled Summary and should provide a summary of the panel written by the moderator.

• Subsequent sections should contain the position statements of each panelist. Title each section by identifying the author.

• References where appropriate are encouraged, but not required. If they are included, they should be placed in a separate section titled References and should follow the formatting guidelines.

If accepted, the panel description will be allocated 2 pages in the conference proceedings and must adhere to the formatting guidelines specified above. To facilitate the transition from proposal to camera-ready copy, it is critical that authors adhere closely to the formatting specifications and page limits.

Sample Proposal

• Sample proposal (PDF)

• Sample proposal (Word)

How Do I Submit My Proposal?

Write your submission using the format specified above.

Convert your paper into Adobe PDF format. Refer to our Creating Adobe PDF Documents page page for assistance.

Details regarding submission upload will be made available when the submission system goes online.

The opening of submissions will be announced through the SIGCSE mailing list, social media, and the front page of this website.

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Questions

If you have questions about anything discussed above, please contact the Panels and Special Sessions Chair.

• Jian Zhang
  Texas Woman's University
  sigcse2017-panels@cs.vt.edu