Submission Best Practices

The Internet2 Community Exchange (CommEX) program is designed by the community for the community. All proposals are for in-person sessions with presenters who are able to join us on-site.

We welcome submissions from both first-time and experienced CommEX presenters!

Submissions are reviewed by a program committee of your peers. Please read this page thoroughly and take note of the recommendations and criteria before submitting a proposal.

To optimize the committee's rating of your proposed session, we recommend: 

1. Title: Keep it clear, concise (40 characters max), and compelling.
2. Abstract: Clearly state the purpose of your session, including its relevance, value, and timeliness for the R&E community. Concisely summarize the main points of your presentation and highlight key takeaways or insights your audience will gain.
3. Speakers: List any speakers you plan to invite to co-present, with their organization names and emails. Industry members will need to include at least one co-presenter from a higher education, government, or affiliate Internet2 member organization to ensure an R&E focus and for it to be reviewed. 
4. Track: Select the primary track that best aligns with your topic and purpose. If your session has cross-audience appeal (e.g., Advanced Networking and Information Security), consider selecting a secondary track, as well.

If you are tasked with submitting for your group and would like to change the submitter input after it is in the system (to avoid missing the "Call Closed" for example), please send an email request to meetingregistration@internet2.edu with details and cc the person/email you would like to replace your information (to confirm that they are aware of and approve).

Once you submit a proposal, you will receive a system-generated email receipt for your submission. If you do not receive this email within a few hours, it is likely that your submission did not go through. Please contact meetingregistration@internet2.edu to confirm.

Reviews begin after the call for proposals closes and takes 3-7 weeks. The following criteria are recommended guidance for the CommEX Program Committee during the review and selection process.

• Relevance of Topic to Current Trends and Issues

  • Does the proposal reflect a current topic, trend, challenge, and/or innovation in research and higher education technology? Is the topic relevant, valuable, and timely for CIOs and other R&E thought leaders, decision-makers, and technologists? Is the proposal forward-thinking or thought-provoking?

• Strength of the Submission

  • Is it R&E-focused? Does it offer attendees an opportunity to engage meaningfully with the topic? Do the session objectives and attendee-focused outcomes meet attendees' diverse needs and interests? If the proposal was submitted by an Internet2 Industry member, does it include at least one presenter from a higher education, government, or affiliate Internet2 member organization?

• Inclusion and Broadening Participation

  • Does the proposal represent diverse voices, perspectives, and types of institutions in the session content and presenters/panelists? Does it reflect or recognize the unique challenges faced by smaller, systemically underserved, and/or under-resourced institutions in the R&E community?

• Alignment of the Proposed Session Topic with the Selected Track and Selected Format

  • Does the proposal fit well in the selected track? If not, would you recommend it for another track in the conference program? Is the session format conducive to the topic and objectives? Will the format facilitate attendee engagement and meaningful exchanges of ideas, knowledge, and/or skills?

You can expect to hear about your submission by mid to late November 2024. Committee members may choose to merge sessions, in which case you will be asked to work with another submitter to create a broader view of your shared topic. They may also provide feedback on how to ensure your session best meets the needs of CommEX attendees.

If accepted, you will be asked to CONFIRM your intent to present in person. Once you confirm, follow-up communication will include the proposed scheduling for your talk and presentation support (i.e., AV needs, special requests). Your talk also will be posted to the online agenda for the event.

Speaker Registration

Presenters are expected to register for the event and attend in person. As a reminder, remote presentations are not supported for sessions at this event. Speakers are encouraged to register for the discounted early bird rate. If you do not hear about your submission in time to secure the early bird rate, please contact meetingregistration@internet2.edu and indicate that you are a speaker (for session/track name) and would like to receive the SPEAKER RATE which offers the same discount.

Good luck!