Call for Participation
Public Interest Technology Students Symposium
Boston University and Howard University are seeking paper proposals from undergraduate and graduate students part of American educational institutions and from any disciplines for consideration for presentation at the 2023 Public Interest Technology University Network Convening. The 2023 PIT-UN Convening will be hosted at Boston University Computing and Data Science School, on October 12 and 13th, 2023.
Reviewers will select up to 10 papers from undergrad students and up to 10 papers from graduate students from all submissions. All selected works will be peer-reviewed, and those accepted will be published in the Symposia online proceedings or presented during poster sessions, depending on the submission. Works can be focused on expanding theory or case studies of real-world applications.
Tracks:
Proposals are accepted from across academic disciplines, but must focus on the following tracks:
- Fairness, Ethics, and Bias in Technology
- Public interest and societal applications of technology, such as health, education, climate, civic tech, and others
- Workforce development for Public Interest Technology*
- Technology, Communication, and Culture
- Privacy, Data, Surveillance, and Society
- Technology and Policy
* Public interest technology (PIT) is a growing field made up of experts from all disciplines who work to ensure technology is created and used responsibly. Public Interest Technology advances research that considers technology and related applications, laws, policies, and regulations as a path to fostering a better and more equal society.
Notice of Interest:
We will have a symposium for Fall 2023, which will cover seven tracks. The aim of the symposium is to highlight public interest technology student work. Submissions are open for all disciplines. If you plan to submit a paper, share your intention here.
Timeline:
- May 1st to May 29th – Expression of interest here.
- **NEW Extended deadline** September 1st – Complete papers submission. Papers are to be submitted via this form.
- September 2nd to September 10th – Submissions review by Review Committee.
- September 15th – Communication of accepted papers.
- September 18th to October 10th – Final round of reviews by authors and production of posters. (Note – The conference will adopt eBoards for posters.)
- October 12th and 13th – Presentation during the 2023 PIT-UN Convening.
Criteria:
All submissions must be by currently enrolled graduate or undergraduate students.
Papers must contain an abstract, the bio of the authors, and be no longer than 10 pages, in Times New Roman, space 1.5, and MUST adopt the IEEE or APA referencing system, and you MUST follow the paper template provided by IEEE.
Papers will be evaluated based on the following:
- Relevance to the tracks
- Social significance
- Originality
- Clarity
Selection, awards, and travel:
The organizing committee will select 5 papers from graduate students and 5 papers from undergraduate students. Their authors will be invited to present their work during the 2023 PIT-UN Convening in Boston. Chosen graduates will be required to develop slide decks to present their papers, and undergraduate students will be required to develop posters to be exposed and presented during the convening.
From the accepted papers, the organizers will select the following:
- The top 5 best papers from undergrad
- The top 5 best papers from graduate students
Awards:
- The best undergraduate paper and poster will get $1,500.00 (One thousand five hundred dollars), and the four others will get $500.00 (Five hundred dollars) each.
- The best graduate paper and poster will get $2,500.00 (Two thousand five hundred dollars), and the four others will get $1,000.00 (One thousand dollars) each.
Reasonable travel costs will be covered by the organizers, including plane or train tickets and 2 nights at a hotel designated by the Convening.
For questions or additional information, please contact HUTM-pit-papers@howard.edu.