Interested in being a part of the SC team?

Presenting our annual SC Conference requires hundreds of volunteers working in many different areas. Serving on an SC planning committee can be a very rewarding way to give back. It’s also a great way to get involved and grow your professional network.

 

What to Expect

If you’re thinking about getting involved in SC, it’s good to have realistic expectations. This advice applies to the role you would like to pursue, the time you have available to commit, and the opportunity to serve in multiple conference years.

If you have not previously worked on a planning committee, for SC or a similar conference, expect to start in an “entry-level” role. From there you may work your way up to a position with greater visibility and responsibility in future years.

 

Your Availability

Be realistic about how much time you truly have to volunteer – and when. There are roles for people who can work only during the conference week, for those who have time only evenings or weekends, and for those who need to schedule around the academic year.

It is vital that you be responsive when needed. Because SC is a high-profile conference, there can be significant consequences if something doesn’t work out as planned. People who are reliable, timely, and easy to work with are most likely to advance to higher-level positions.

 

Getting Involved

So how do you express interest in a particular role? Here are a few suggestions.

• Contact a future chair to express your interest, at least 12–18 months before the work would begin. The members of most SC committees (not just their leadership) are chosen and announced at least a year before the conference. So consider contacting this year’s chair of your committee of interest, who generally knows who their successor will be.
• Serve in similar volunteer roles for smaller, well-regarded conferences. When looking for committee members, an SC chair may look at the program committees of other conferences for potential committee members.
• Build a history of submitting your own work to SC. A program chair may look for potential committee members among the authors of recent years’ accepted submissions. These people are attractive because they have shown themselves to be active in their research areas and familiar with the submitter’s perspective of the reviewing process.
• Networking can be useful, just like in other aspects of professional life. Making a good impression on the people in your corner of the community can only improve your chances when they, or one of their colleagues, are looking for members for their committees.

 

Thank You

We appreciate your interest in serving on the SC planning committee. Conference leaders must balance the need to retain people with lots of “institutional knowledge” for conference continuity against the need to bring in new people to gain experience and provide fresh perspectives.
As the premier international conference for high performance computing, networking, storage, and analysis, our event has grown to draw more than 13,000 attendees. We welcome you to make your interests known and get involved.

We wish you the best as you seek a position on a future SC planning committee, and look forward to working with you.