By Pam Brewer, Craig Baehr, Thomas Barker, and Sally Henschel
On 6 October 2011, the STC Academic Special Interest Group (SIG) hosted a hybrid, one-day Partnership Preconference before the 2011 Annual Conference for the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC). We were invited by Kirk St.Amant, program chair for the 2011 CPTSC conference, to “consider coordinating a preconference event that would further promote collaboration between educators and practitioners.” The purpose of this inaugural event was to facilitate a more active exchange of information between industry and the academy. The preconference theme, “Partnerships for Professionalism,” paralleled that of the CPTSC conference. As a result, members of the two organizations were able to meet and exchange ideas of interest to both groups. We had an exciting, packed day, which a number of attendees described as “much more” than they had expected. In this brief article, members of the preconference committee share what happened and what we believe was learned.
A Cross-Boundary Conference in a Hybrid Format
Initially, we did not envision the Partnership Preconference as a hybrid, with both virtual and face-to-face presentations. However, we realized that if we wanted to bring together practitioners, educators, and students, allowing for virtual presentations was critical. More conference opportunities exist than funding and time allow, and each of these three groups has its own premier conferences—an all too common situation creating unfortunate demands on increasingly limited resources. Thus, a cross-boundary conference necessitated new perspectives and new media.
Critical Conversations/Collaborations
The cross-boundary goals of the Partnership Preconference and the 2011 CPTSC conference align significantly with the goals of the STC Academic SIG. We are a group of educators and students within an industry-based organization. We organized this inaugural preconference in approximately two months' time and focused on bringing together diverse groups to discuss topics we believed were of most importance to the field of technical communication.
We grouped preconference topics under five greater themes:
- Certification and Assessment
- Virtual Mentoring and Internships
- Partnership Program and Cross-Organizational Collaborations
- Social Networking and Technical Communication
- Making Collaboration a Priority
We created a panel for each theme and sought to have at least one practitioner, one educator, and one student on each panel; however, this was not possible for all panels.
In order to address specific themes, have representatives from a number of diverse groups, and work on a tight schedule, we decided against a CFP. Instead, we invited presenters who represented diverse perspectives within each of the themes. In addition to panel presentations, the preconference featured two keynote speakers—one representing the academy (Dr. Hillary Hart, University of Texas at Austin) and one representing industry (Dan Voss, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control). Students from James Madison University (JMU), host organization of the preconference, both presented on panels and moderated. They also held meetings with speakers.
Planning and Logistics
Due to the generosity of sponsors and of JMU, the hybrid Partnership Preconference—including breakfast, lunch, and coffee—was free to attendees.
We invited registration both through the STC Academic SIG website and through a link on the CPTSC registration page. Approximately 50 people attended in person or virtually.
Because several of our speakers could not physically attend the preconference, we used Skype and a back-up Polycom conferencing telephone to support our virtual speakers. These systems also were configured to enable speakers to hear onsite panelists and interact with the audience during the presentations. JMU provided us access to Skype Free, which precluded video and screen sharing for multiple speakers. Speakers presenting virtually were placed in Skype groups and called five minutes prior to the start of their panel session.
Lessons Learned
The STC Academic SIG seeks to serve as a bridge between industry and the academy: our preconference was one such bridge. We learned much during what was a packed day. Participants, for example:
- were equally interested in and prepared to collaborate on student initiatives; and
- recognized a need for continued discussions between the groups, including future panel discussions on practitioners' educational and research needs.
The preconference committee noted:
- the importance of different professional organizations' partnering to create shared conference spaces and times;
- that a hybrid preconference is an effective bridge between industry, academia, and students; and
- the benefit of holding the event on a college campus where room and technology fees are often much cheaper—or even free—in comparison to the more conventional conference sites like hotels or conference centers.
For future Partnership Preconferences, we need to examine the optimal ratio of virtual to face-to-face presenters. We wish to offer a geographically co-located conference experience that is enriched by speakers who join us virtually; however, we do not wish to offer an experience that is primarily online. In addition, we will need to budget for conferencing software that allows group video and screen sharing; provide training, if needed, for virtual presenters; and, importantly, provide both onsite and virtual attendees longer breaks!
Finally, we are excited by the opportunities that such a hybrid format offers in making events truly international. We will be able to allow presenters from other nations to participate on a scale that is rather unprecedented and could be of great advantage to the field of technical communication.
Thanks to everyone who supported this first offering of the Partnership Preconference. This event helped us move toward one of the primary goals of our SIG, that is, to promote practitioner/educator awareness and collaboration. It also helped us move toward a SIG goal of supporting students and their work. We invite you to review the content of some of the presentations, which are linked on the STC Academic SIG website at www.stc-academic.org. We continue to add them.
In closing, we invite every STC member to join the Academic SIG. This SIG is a wonderful network for any STC member who wishes to support communication between those who practice and those teach in the field of technical communication.
