How to Submit
Upon Acceptance
On-site
FAQ
How to Submit
Overview
SC Tutorials is one of the largest tutorial programs at any computing-related conference. Submitting to the Tutorials program is highly competitive. Please carefully review the submission process and review criteria below.
The Tutorials Committee strongly promote diversity and inclusivity in all aspects. We particularly welcome and encourage tutorial collaborations that include a diversity of presenters and institutional types, particularly those typically underrepresented at the conference.
Tutorials sessions are either full-day or half-day presentations and cover a wide range of hot topics in high performance computing, including:
- Basic and introductory topics for expanding broader engagement
- Applications and application frameworks
- Algorithms, numerical methods, and libraries
- Software engineering for portable performance and scalability
- Parallel programming methods, models, languages, and environments
- Software tools for accelerators (co-processors, GPGPUs, FPGA, etc.)
- Algorithmic tools and runtime support for heterogeneous systems
- Performance evaluation and/or optimization tools
- Debugging and correctness tools
- High performance I/O, storage, archive, and file systems
- Scalable data mining and machine learning
- High performance networking technology
- Scientific and information visualization
- Systems, tools, and techniques for energy efficiency
- Large systems administration and/or resource management
- The business aspects of HPC: data center planning
- Computer and network security
- Fault-tolerance, reliability, maintainability, and adaptability
- High performance computer architecture
- Clusters and distributed systems
- Embedded and/or reconfigurable systems
- Emerging technologies
Hands-on Tutorials
As in previous years, the Tutorials Committee highly encourages “hands-on” tutorials – those that give attendees the chance to try pre-prepared demos or exercises during the tutorial. A well-done hands-on tutorial can provide a much richer learning experience to attendees than a non-interactive, lecture-only tutorial.
Typically, hands-on tutorials are full-day sessions, although half-day hands-on tutorials may be appropriate in some cases. Tutorials focused on software development and analysis tools are good candidates for hands-on demos, for example.
Tutorial Participant Designations
There are three roles in presenting tutorials.
- Lead presenter: The presenter authorized to speak for and make decisions for all of the tutorial’s presenters, as recognized by the Tutorials Chair. A lead presenter is also considered a presenter. The tutorial submitter is assumed to be the lead presenter unless otherwise specified.
- Presenter: A person who is a presenter at the tutorial.
- Assistant: A person assisting with the hands-on component of a tutorial, but not designated as a presenter. Upon acceptance, assistants must be approved by the Tutorials Chair.
Tutorial Participant Quotas
There is a limited number of presenters and assistants based on the length of the tutorial.
- Full-day tutorial: At most six presenters and two assistants.
- Half-day tutorial: At most three presenters and two assistants.
Preparing Your Submission
Duration
Tutorials may be proposed for either a full day (six hours) or a half day (three hours). Half-day tutorials on new and emerging technologies are encouraged.
Tutorials must last for the full three or six hours. If your topic can be covered in less than three hours you can combine multiple related subjects into a single “themed” submission.
Format
Your information will be submitted via a web form and PDF file upload (U.S. letter – 8.5″x11″).
Submitting samples of visual aids is strongly encouraged, either via a file upload or via a URL.
The file you upload should contain the following sections, each beginning on a separate page:
- Abstract in text format (200-word maximum).
- A detailed description of the proposed tutorial (two pages maximum) with the following sections:
- Tutorial goals – specifically how attendees will benefit
- Why the topic is relevant to conference attendees
- Clearly describe the target audience (researchers, students, developers, practitioners, etc.) and what they will learn
- Content level (% beginner, % intermediate, % advanced)
- Audience prerequisites
- Description of tutorial content – discuss in detail the tutorial content, schedule, and organization
- If your presenters are from different institutions, how you will ensure cohesive tutorial content (not just a disparate set of talks)
- If your tutorial has been presented previously, list when and where it was presented, and how you will update it for SC21
- Detailed outline of the tutorial (one page maximum, in outline form). Your proposed “detailed course outline” will be the most critical part of your submission.
- If you propose a Hands-on Tutorial (demo- or exercise-based tutorial), you must include an extra section in your tutorial proposal explaining to the committee how your demo and/or exercises have been thoroughly tested and debugged in a variety of settings, to ensure completely smooth operation at the conference. Note: The conference will provide SCinet wireless network access to all tutorial rooms. Tutorials requesting wired Ethernet must include a clear justification for the request in their proposal.
- Résumé or Curriculum Vitae for each presenter (six presenters maximum, two pages maximum each). Make sure this includes a list of short courses each presenter has taught.
- A statement agreeing to release the notes for the SC21 tutorial digital copy.
- A request for travel support, if any.
Where to Submit
Tutorial proposals are submitted via the SC submissions website.
Review Criteria
Submissions will be reviewed by the Tutorials Committee, which will consider, among other factors:
- Insights offered, in breadth and/or depth
- Quality of the proposal (clarity, completeness, and cohesiveness of the proposal; and quality of the visual aids)
- Relevance to the SC audience and suitability for a tutorial
- Timeliness of the topic
- Potential audience appeal
- Presentation history and teaching/speaking experience of the presenters
- For “hands-on” tutorials, evidence that demos or live exercises have been thoroughly tested
Each submission will receive at least three reviews. After the reviews are completed, the Tutorials Committee will discuss them and select the tutorials to be offered at the conference. A tutorial may be conditionally accepted, pending modifications requested by the Tutorials Committee.
Conflict of Interest
Please review the SC Conference Conflict of Interest guidelines before submitting your tutorial proposal.
Plagiarism
Presenters are expected to develop and present an original tutorial (not use someone else’s slide deck, course notes, etc.). Please see the ACM guidelines on identifying plagiarism.
Upon Acceptance
Finalizing Accepted Tutorials
Stage 1: Pitch Video (Optional)
Once accepted you will be invited to provide a one- to four-minute video pitch for your tutorial, which will be posted on the SC Conference Series YouTube channel well in advance of the conference. Your video should be completed by August 27, 2021. Although a video pitch for your tutorial is not mandatory, providing one will increase your shared honorarium (details below in the Honorarium and Travel Reimbursement section).
Upon acceptance you can expect the following – all materials and additional information will be uploaded to the SC submissions website:
Stage 2: Program Material Due August 6, 2021
Program material refers to content that will be listed in the online SC Schedule. This includes title, abstract, bios, and presenter photos. Please update your title and abstract to reflect any reviewer comments prior to submitting to Stage 2. We do not need your slides at this time.
In addition, you will be asked to confirm infrastructure needs (wired Ethernet) and honorarium and support (we need a rough estimate of how many people will be accepting honorariums and support).
Stage 3: Honorarium and Support Due August 27, 2021
You will be asked to provide detailed information on honorarium and support distributions amongst presenters, consent and release forms, and promotional video URLs (if you have one).
Stage 4: Handouts and Slides Due November 5, 2021
Suggested format is 1920 x 1080 (16:9) for all presentation slides. Your Tutorial presentation materials (handouts and slides) will be made available to all Tutorial registrants for download.
Honorarium and Travel Reimbursement
- Travel reimbursement is limited to airfare only, with a maximum of $600 per presenter (increased to $1,000 for presenters traveling from outside North America).
- At most four presenters may claim airfare for full-day tutorials, and at most two presenters for half-day tutorials.
- Full-day honorarium is $3,200 with promotional video and $2,800 without.
- Half-day honorarium is $1,600 with promotional video and $1,400 without.
- The honorarium may be split between at most four presenters for full-day tutorials and between at most two presenters for half-day tutorials.
- Assistants are not eligible to receive an honorarium or travel reimbursement
Registration
Presenters receive a complimentary one-day Tutorial pass registration for the day of their tutorial. Half-day presenters may attend other half-day tutorials on the same day. Otherwise, presenters must register for the conference and/or any tutorials they wish to attend. Please refer to Registration for fees.
Assistant registrations are only available upon special request and require approval from the Tutorials Chair.
Proceedings
A complete collection of Tutorials presentation materials (handouts and slides) is provided to each Tutorials registrant. Presentation materials are hosted on a password-protected download site for registered Tutorials attendees.
Organizers must also explicitly agree to the release of their tutorial presentations for this purpose as part of the tutorial proposal submission. We will not produce hard copies of tutorial presentations.
You will be required to upload your materials to the SC submissions website before November 5, 2021.
On-site
Schedule and Location
Tutorials will be held on Sunday, November 14 and Monday, November 15, 2021.
Tutorial presenters are expected to attend the Tutorial Breakfast on the day of their presentation. Final instructions are given and honoraria are disbursed at this breakfast. Presenters are expected to alert the Tutorials Chair if they are unable to attend. Note that assistants and attendees are not eligible to attend the Tutorial breakfast.
Tutorial Surveys
Surveys play a crucial role in shaping the tutorial program. Tutorial surveys are entirely electronic. No paper forms are used to gather attendee feedback. You will be asked to provide a specific QR code and evaluation URL on one of your presentation slides. We ask that you remind participants prior to break(s) and at the end of your tutorial to provide feedback.
Infrastructure
Tutorials are assigned either a classroom or a theater room equipped with:
- Approximately ½ classroom-style (rectangular tables with chairs) and ½ theater-style (chairs only) seating
- One or more 16:9 projectors and screens depending upon room size
- Projectors offer HDMI connections only; you must provide adapters or dongles if required
- Podium with microphone and wired Ethernet connection
- One wireless handheld microphone
- Power strips at classroom tables
- Powered speaker system
- Wireless internet in the room
Those tutorials that requested wired Ethernet will also have wired Ethernet at classroom tables in their room.
Current SC Conference policies and procedures do not include the following in your Tutorial room:
- Poster boards
- Laser pointers (you may use your own)
- Materials taped to walls are not allowed
- Round tables
- Power strips under the chairs
- Recording of your tutorial
The conference will provide SCinet wireless network access to all tutorial rooms, and may provide wired Ethernet to classroom-style seating for “hands-on” tutorials upon request. Tutorials requesting wired Ethernet must include a clear justification for the request in their proposal.
There will be a student volunteer present throughout your tutorial to help with AV and general infrastructure needs. Student volunteers will have means to directly contact the Tutorials Chair and AV support staff in case any issues arise.
Food and Coffee Breaks
During Tutorials, two 30-minute coffee breaks, at 10 am and 3 pm, are provided on Sunday and Monday.
Lunch is provided for attendees, presenters, and assistants with Tutorials registration on their badge.
Breakfast is provided for presenters only on the day of their tutorial. Note that assistants and attendees are not eligible to attend the Tutorial breakfast.
Questions about Tutorial Submissions?
Contact Tutorials