FAQs For Presenters
Preliminary Note
The 48th IAEA conference is being hosted under the theme “Digitalising Credentials and Assessments”. The conference programme includes four keynote speeches and three symposia which cover the range of seven themes being addressed at this year’s conference. Participants will have an opportunity to register and engage with some of our sponsors and IAEA board members to participate in interactive Inception Workshops, covering various aspects of assessment design and research methods, before the main conference activities begin.
Throughout the week, participants will be taken on a journey of understanding how digital credentialing and assessments have been defined and undertaken in a variety of contexts, followed by understanding the practical, ethical and social issues posed by digitising assessments, the new opportunities that emerging technologies present, and the research that supports critical decisions for transforming assessments and organisations impacting, and impacted by assessments. As our conference hosts – the Caribbean’s regional assessment body – celebrates their 50th anniversary this year and have undertaken their own digitisation process for assessments and credentialing, the final symposium will zone in on the CXC’s experience and next steps in their transformation journey.
Conference staff reviewed all abstracts submitted and assigned tags that reflect specific content, phases of education, geographical and social contexts, research methodologies and the findings. For the simultaneous sessions, papers were paired based on the tags that were identified with the intent that a pair of papers would complement each other highlighting a shared experience within a different context, provide a potential solution to an issue that was raised, or demonstrate alternative solutions to a single identified problem.
Based on this review process, in some cases, alternative themes were identified, and papers were classified and paired in a simultaneous session to reflect these themes. Each session was scheduled to complement the keynote and symposia sessions that will be presented on each day. We hope that in taking this approach, all participants and presenters will have truly enriching experience.
Frequently Asked Questions by Paper and Poster Presenters
When will the conference program be available?
The preliminary schedule is available via this link. Please note that the preliminary schedule may be updated after its release; while much of the schedule will remain the same, there may be some shifting in presentation times or rooms. A PDF of the full program will be posted online by 1 September. An Addendum – containing moves, cancellations, etc. – will be continuously updated before and during the conference.
When will I know what date and time, I am presenting my paper or poster?
Noting the deadline of 14 August 2023, for all presenters to make their payment for conference registration. Conference staff allocate the date and time of paper presentations and notify each presenter no later than 21 August 2023. If you do not receive confirmation of your allocated time slot by this date, please send an email to knewsome@cxc.org.
Why did my paper or poster end up in a different subject area in the programme?
If you submitted a proposal to one thematic area in the submission database, and your paper is now showing up in a panel in a different area, this does not mean an error has occurred. After reviewing all the abstracts submitted, the conference staff occasionally moves papers into other thematic areas where the content is also relevant. These moves help to balance conference programme based on the total number of submissions across each thematic area and any cancellations or scheduling conflicts with presenters.
How long should my presentation be?
All paper presentations have been given a total allotted time of 30 minutes. This comprises of 20 minutes of presentation time – including playing clips and displaying any other visual aids – and 10 minutes of Q & A. You will be held to this time frame!
All posters will be presented simultaneously. Sufficient time has been allocated for audience members to engage with each presenter with a more relaxed timeframe. However, we recommend that speakers limit their presentation time to 10-15 minutes to keep their audience engaged.
How can I avoid problems with the time limit?
Practice! We strongly encourage you to practice reading your presentation aloud (including time for visuals) and timing yourself. Do not plan on being able to speak for more than your allotted minutes. Practice before the conference so that you will be able to say everything you want to say.
If I’m still in the middle of my presentation and I hit my time limit, what should I do?
The chairs will provide either verbal or visual warnings at 5 minutes left and 2 minutes left. When you hit the 2-minute warning, begin to wrap up your presentation even if you are only part-way through the material you wanted to cover. Your chair will interrupt you and cut you off if you go over your allotted time. Feel free to offer to discuss your topic at further length with anyone interested after the panel. Please be respectful of the time limits.
Should I read from my paper or speak from notes?
This is up to you. Most presenters read from a pre-written paper (a good tip is to print out your paper in large font—like 14 or 16 point—so you can more easily keep your place as you look up to make eye contact with your audience). Some presenters do speak from a PowerPoint presentation or note cards – however, we recommend that you keep the wordiness of your PowerPoint presentation to a minimum to ensure that you keep your audience engaged.
Do I need to submit my PowerPoint Presentation before the conference?
Yes, all PowerPoint Presentations should be submitted by 8 September 2023 to facilitate review and set-up by the conference staff. We are kindly asking that you send us the presentation for our review in the event we have to recommend changes and the changed slides be submitted to us no later than a week after the initial deadline of 8 September 2023.
Do I need to submit my posters before the conference?
All presenters are responsible for printing their own posters that will be mounted for presentation at the conference. Therefore, there is no requirement to submit posters ahead of the conference.
Do I need to submit my paper before the conference?
You are not required to submit a copy of your paper before your presentation. However, you may choose to submit your paper as part of the post-conference peer review process. The deadline for this submission will be 8 September 2023. Additional details on the peer review process will be communicated in early August. Sometimes after a presentation, attendees in the audience will ask a presenter for a copy of her/his paper. You may give out copies if you wish, but you are not required to do so. You may also, at your discretion, take email addresses and later send an electronic file of your paper if anyone requests a copy.
How early should I arrive for my presentation?
On the day of your presentation, you should plan to arrive at least 5 minutes before the panel is scheduled to start, regardless of whether you are the first or second scheduled presenter. You may want to walk with your presentation also.
What should I wear?
There is no formal dress code, although presenters should be presentation-ready. That being said, this is an academic conference. Most attendees dress business casual, although some attendees wear suits and some wear jeans.
What is expected of me during the Q&A session?
Given that all the presenters keep to time constraints, there will usually be 10 minutes at the end of each panel for questions. The chair of your panel will moderate, which means they will facilitate discussion by “calling on” audience members with questions. You may also ask questions of the presenter who is scheduled to present before or after your presentation.
Am I expected to stay for a full session or can I move between rooms?
If you are presenting, you are expected to stay for the full, one-hour, session in which you are scheduled. Audience members are expected to stay for the entire session also. The conference staff has tried to pair presentations that are complementary to each other, to keep the engagement consistent for each session. Additionally, the conference staff has endeavoured to schedule sessions so that presenters from the same institutions are not presenting at the same time so that individuals who are attempting to support individuals from their institutions may do so without having to move part way through any session, for example.
If I haven’t paid registration and cannot come, do I still need to cancel?
Presenters who have not paid their registration fees are not able to present. If you need to cancel your registration after you have been scheduled, please contact Ms Kaydi-Ann Newsome at knewsome@cxc.org.
Can I present my paper online?
Paper and poster presentations can only be presented in-person. If, at any stage, you are facing difficulties travelling to the conference, please notify Kaydi-Ann Newsome at knewsome@cxc.org.
If I am unable to attend, can someone read my paper in my absence?
Unfortunately, no. Because part of our mission is to encourage discussion, develop ideas, and provide networking opportunities, we do not allow papers to be presented in absentia.
