Hot Off the Press

• You will have 5 minutes to present your book.
• Please send us your slides by 5^th November at noon. Your presentation should have around 3 slides.
• Remember you will be introducing the book/output to your colleagues. Focus on the needs the book can address.
• The session will be followed by a break, so we expect conversations will continue over the break.

Rapid-fire Presentations

• Each presentation is 10 minutes long. If you are more than one presenter, you can distribute the time as you consider more efficient.
• Discussion will be done at the end and will take about half the time of the session. Use your presentation to plant the seeds for the discussion.
• Please send us your slides by 5^th November at noon. Your presentation should have around 10 slides max.
• Keep text on the slides to a minimum and focus on your narrative to convey the main points. You will have time to revisit them during the discussion.
• When you submit the slides, please send us up to 2 discussion questions. We will prepare a guiding slide with all the questions. The presentations will set the ground for a discussion with the audience, so we will use your proposed questions as a way to ensure the audience can engage with all the topics.
• We will use a system like Slido for questions. If you have ideas to integrate this or an alternative, do let us know!

Hot Topics Roundtable

• You have around 1 hour for your session. It is expected that the opening statements will take 30 minutes or less. The rest of the session will be dedicated to the discussion.
• Make sure that you provide questions for further discussions to encourage the audience to engage.
• The format of your roundtable is free. Use the time as you think it’s most convenient for the topic and the unconference.
• We are not appointing an additional chair. You are in charge of running the session and we will be there to support you.
• All rooms are equipped with a projector, sound and whiteboards. All rooms should have Internet access. The room information page is linked to the programme, in case you want to get a feel of the space.
• Let us know if there’s any particular requirement for your session.
• Please take note of the main issues discussed and the questions that were not addressed, we will revisit these during the unconference session.

Unconference Sessions

Communication during the unconference

• A Padlet will be used throughout the unconference for general questions, discussions and ideas.
• We will use Slido to vote on the topics of each unconference block
• As conference topics are decided during the event, we will share details about the rooms and topics before every unconference session. This information will be announced verbally, made available at the reception desk, shown on a slide at the beginning of the session, announced on social media and shared by one of our PhD students placed on the ground floor of the Oculus building.
• Topics are not limited and can evolve and change during the discussion. If a topic is not exhausted, it can be extended to another unconference session.

Facilitators

Facilitators are not required to provide expert input on the discussion subject (although they can, of course!), but will guide the conversations and encourage a supportive discussion environment.

Facilitators will

• moderate the discussion and change the topic depending on the interest of the group. There is no set format for every session, so they will decide this with the group.
• instigate an inclusive space and invite others to share their knowledge. For instance, they might prompt colleagues who are hesitant to share their views and encourage ECRs and non-presenters to volunteer their ideas.
• ensure enough time is allowed for people to gather their thoughts and encourage participants to share their views on Padlet if the discussion is cut short.
• keep track of time to help the unconference stay on schedule.
• make notes and sum up the discussion on Padlet, so that all participants can access it.

Local team support

There will be a local organiser delegate in each unconference room. We will set up the computer in the room and support the unconference facilitators.

The organiser delegate will

• ensure there is a welcoming slide on the screen so that participants are aware of the topic. (These will be shared on the Teams group).
• display the Padlet on the screen to allow participants to refer back to it and for the unconference facilitator to add their brief notes at the end of the session
• ensure the unconference facilitators have any materials they might need (pens, paper, printouts, etc.)