Academic Conference

An academic conference is a conference for researchers (not always academics) to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.

Generally, work is presented in the form of short, concise presentations lasting about 10 to 30 minutes, usually including discussion. The work may be bundled in written form as academic papers and published as the conference proceedings. Often there are one or more keynote speakers (usually scholars of some standing), presenting a lecture that lasts an hour or so, and which is likely to be advertised before the conference. Panel discussions, roundtables on various issues, workshops may be part of the conference, the latter ones particularly if the conference is related to the performing arts.

Prospective presenters are usually asked to submit a short abstract of their presentation, which will be reviewed before the presentation is accepted for the meeting. Some disciplines require presenters to submit a paper of about 12-15 pages, which is peer reviewed by members of the program committee or referees chosen by them.

In some disciplines, such as English and other languages, it is common for presenters to read from a prepared script. In other disciplines such as the sciences, presenters usually base their talk around a visual presentation that displays key figures and research results.

A large meeting will usually be called a conference, while a smaller is termed a workshop. They might be single track or multiple track, where the former has only one session at a time, while a multiple track meeting has several parallel sessions with speakers in separate rooms speaking at the same time.

Depending on the theme of the conference, social or entertainment activities may also be offered; if it’s a large enough conference, academic publishing houses may set up displays offering books at a discount. At larger conferences, business meetings for learned societies or interest groups might also take place.

Academic conferences fall into three categories:

• the themed conference, small conferences organized around a particular topic;

• the general conference, a conference with a wider focus, with sessions on a wide variety of topics. These conferences are often organized by regional, national, or international learned societies, and held annually or on some other regular basis;

• the professional conference, large conferences not limited to academics, but with academically-related issues.

Conferences are usually organized either by a scientific society or by a group of researchers with a common interest. Larger meetings may be handled on behalf of the scientific society by a Professional Conference Organizer or PCO.

The meeting is announced by way of a "Call For Papers" or a Call For Abstracts, which lists the meeting's topics and tells prospective presenters how to submit their abstracts or papers. Increasingly, submissions take place online using a managed service such as Community of Science or Oxford Abstracts.

A professional conference is a meeting of professionals in a given subject or profession, dealing with organizational matters, matters concerning the status of the profession, and scientific or technical developments. It differs from an academic conference in having broader goals, and usually a much broader attendance. They are normally sponsored by the professional society in the field, and usually are organized on a national basis.

Some are international, usually organized by federations or groups of the national societies in a subject, such as the conferences held by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). Some are local, normally by state, province, or other local sections of a national body. They are often held annually, or on some other recurring basis. Some of the largest societies hold more than one a year. Others are held as a one time event, and are usually devoted to a specific topic.

A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arid place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom. Trade conventions typically focus on a particular industry or industry segment, and feature keynote speakers, vendor displays, and other information and activities of interest to the event organizers and attendees. Professional conventions focus on issues of concern to the profession and advancements in the profession. Such conventions are generally organized by societies dedicated to promotion of the topic of interest. Fan conventions usually feature displays, shows, and sales based on pop culture, often with people dressed up as their favorite characters, and guest celebrities. Conventions also exist for various hobbies, such as gaming or model railroads.

Conventions are often planned and coordinated, often in exacting detail, by professional meeting and convention planners, either by staff of the convention's hosting company or by outside specialists. Most large cities will have a convention center dedicated to hosting such events. The term MICE – meetings Incentives Conventions and Exhibitions – is widely used in Asia as a description of the industry. The Convention ("C") is one of the most dynamic elements in the M.I.C.E. segment. The industry is generally regulated under the tourism sector.

In the technical sense, a convention is a meeting of delegates or representatives. Often organizations which are made up of smaller units, chapters, or lodges, such as labor unions, honorary societies, and fraternities and sororities, meet as a whole in convention by sending delegates of the units to deliberate on the organization's common issues. This also applies to a political convention, though in modern times the common issues are limited to selecting a party candidate or party chairman. In this technical sense, a congress, when it consists of representatives, is a convention. The British House of Commons is a convention, as are most other houses of a modern representative legislature.

When two or more conventions are held at the same place and time they are co-located. Co-located conventions are usually in related industries.

Companies who exhibit at any of the co-located events benefit by gaining additional exposure with a larger attendee audience. Attendees who register for one event may benefit by having access to the other co-located event(s) free of charge, allowing them to maximize the value of their attendance.

Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at a university or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is requested to actively participate. This is often accomplished through an ongoing Socratic dialogue with a seminar leader or instructor, or through a more formal presentation of research. Normally, participants must not be beginners in the field under discussion (at US universities, seminar classes are generally reserved for upper-class students, although at UK and Australian universities seminars are often used for all years). The idea behind the seminar system is to familiarize students more extensively with the methodology of their chosen subject and also to allow them to interact with examples of the practical problems that always crop up during research work. It is essentially a place where assigned readings are discussed, questions can be raised and debates conducted. It is relatively informal, at least compared to the lecture system of academic instruction.

In some European universities, a seminar may be a large lecture course, especially when conducted by a renowned thinker (regardless of the size of the audience or the scope of student participation in discussion).