Symposium Topics
We invite submissions for three presentation opportunities: paper presentations, poster presentations, and video presentations, around the topics listed below.
Submissions that include research results, such as hypothesis-driven experiments, surveys and interviews, quantitative assessments, novel models, and literature citations will be given preference for paper presentation during plenary. The Poster and Video tracks invite experience reports, best practices, project reports, implementation reports, and works-in-progress.
| Topics | Example Submissions (not exclusive) |
| defining success | qualitative and quantitative studies of making, literature review of academic makerspaces |
| curricular integration | staff vs faculty director, pedagogy driven approaches, teaching in the space vs using the space for building |
| industrial arts and design | art, architecture, jewelry, fashion |
| interdisciplinary making outcomes | students from multiple departments, student organizations, cross-campus collaborations |
| equality, diversity and inclusion | having access be inclusive, student projects of assistive devices, nonvisible disabilities, student voices |
| innovation and entrepreneurship | facilitating startup companies, industry partnership |
| library and community makerspaces | social makerspaces, media focused, not engineering only, cross-departmental collaborations |
| emerging trends in makerspaces | what’s next? (bio-makerspaces, hardware/software tools), architecture layout / flow |
| students’ entry experiences | required/optional courses, videos and quizzes, training and safety |
| outreach and community engagements | access for non-university members, inter-university exchange programs |
| co- and extra-curricular practices | changes in usage resulting from new practices, partnership with campus programs |
| sustainability and environmental impact of makerspaces | quantifying carbon impact, recycling |
| fostering employability skills through industry collaborations | fostering employability skills through industry collaborations |
| other | we welcome submissions of anything else related to the event |
Important Dates
Authors of a Paper, Poster, Student Poster, or Video will follow the deadlines listed below. In order for submissions to be in the Symposium Program and recorded in the Symposium Proceedings, at least one presenting author will need to register by the date listed. Note, Student Posters will follow the deadlines for Posters.
| Papers | Posters / Videos | |
| Registration opens | 11 March 2024 | |
| Paper first draft submitted by authors | 20 May 2024 | |
| Paper first round notifications sent | 7 Jun 2024 | |
| Poster first draft abstract submitted by authors; Video draft/overview submitted by authors | 17 June 2024 | |
| Poster and video authors notified | 5 July 2024 | |
| Early registration deadline | 1 July 2024 | |
| Accepted paper final version submitted by authors | 8 July 2024 | |
| Program issued with author presentation information (date, time, check-in) | 30 July 2024 | |
| Hotel room block reservation deadline | 9 August 2024, 5pm EDT | |
| Author registration deadline (for submission to be in proceedings) | 9 August 2024, 5pm EDT | |
| Accepted final versions of - paper slideshows (PPTX) - posters (approx. 40"x30" PDF) - videos (MP4, AVI, WMV, or MOV) submitted by authors | 26 August 2024 | |
| Registration deadline | 2 September 2024 | |
| ISAM 2024 | 11-13 September 2024 | |
Papers
Paper authors should submit an initial draft paper ranging from 4-6 pages in length (using the provided template) by 6th May. These initial drafts should clearly state the contribution, methods, cite relevant literature, and any include results and analysis obtained thus far. Where work is ongoing, authors should clearly describe what steps they plan to complete.
The ISAM Program Committee will review initial submissions and notify authors with one of three decisions: accept; revise and resubmit, or reject. Papers that were not accepted during the review process may be invited to transition to the poster track. Authors invited to revise and resubmit papers must submit a revision that addresses the comments of the reviewers in their final draft paper, which is submitted by 8th July. The slide deck is submitted by 26th August, which will be used for plenary presentation on 12th or 13th September (the event will have ready a laptop at the podium that is pre-loaded with all slide deck presentations). Both written paper and slide deck will be included in the symposium proceedings.
Posters
Poster authors should submit an extended abstract ranging from 1-2 pages in length (using the template) by 17th June. These initial drafts could include experience reports, best practices, project reports, implementation reports, and works-in-progress.
The ISAM Program Committee will review initial submissions and provide authors with feedback. For accepted poster authors, their digital poster is submitted by 26th August. Authors must bring their own physical poster for the poster session. (Poster boards and velcro dots will be provided.) The abstract and digital poster will be included in the symposium proceedings.
Poster size: A0 (841 x 1189 mm) or quad poster (40″x30″) – either landscape or portrait
Student Posters
Student poster authors should submit an abstract ranging from 1-2 pages in length (using the template) by 17th June. The ISAM Program Committee will review initial submissions and provide authors with feedback. For accepted poster authors, their final digital poster is submitted by 26th August. Authors must bring their own physical poster for the Poster Reception on 12th September (the event will have ready an easel, foam board, and clips for all poster presentations). The abstract and digital poster will be included in the symposium proceedings.
Students are explicitly invited to showcase their projects, which were built in a makerspace. If a student has created something – in class or as a hobby – they are encouraged to share it and their experience. This call is soliciting cool stuff made by enthusiastic and passionate student makers. Accepted poster presenters will be given space to display hardware. Show your passion for making – submit a poster today!
Note, students authoring a poster are given priority for student travel support.
Videos
Video creators should submit a video draft or written outline for a 30-second to 4-minute video by 17th June. The ISAM Program Committee will review initial submissions and provide authors with feedback. For accepted video authors, their final video is submitted by 26th August. Videos will be featured throughout the symposium on 12th and 13th September (the event will play videos at appropriate times).
Video authors are advised to prepare a video to be accessible to people with disabilities:
- For videos that include dialogue, to support a format for people that are deaf or hard-of-hearing either 1) include closed captions, in-band closed captions, open captions, or subtitles or 2) check that auto-captioning on YouTube, Zoom, etc. will play appropriately (may need to leave space at the bottom of the screen for overlapping text).
- For videos that include visuals, to support people that are blind or have low vision either 1) include audio in the video that describes the ongoing visuals or 2) have a separate audio file that narrates the entire video.