Call for Workshops

Information for organizers of International Workshops and Schools

Any scientist or group of scientists can apply for organizing a Workshop or/and a School in the Tao Sciences Centre provided that the topic of the workshop or school is based in the sciences. Workshops and/or Schools extending towards the humanities and social sciences are also welcome, as long as the goal is collaboration with the (natural) sciences. The facilities available to a workshop or a school are described elsewhere on the website of the Tao Science Centre.

Those interested in organizing a workshop or a school should submit a short proposal and are encouraged to contact “science evaluation and planning” or one of the members of the advisory boards (Giuseppe Nicosia giuseppe.nicosia.1@gmail.com) at an early stage to discuss their ideas. We aim at having a decision on the proposals in 4-6 weeks. In some exceptional cases, it may be decided to apply an accelerated evaluation procedure, e.g. for rapid response relating to a workshop starting within a few months after submission of the proposal.

Sponsoring of workshops or schools by the Tao Science Centre depends on the scientific quality and the expected impact of the workshop or school (event in this document) as well as its duration, the number of invitees, and the need for funding.

The scientific organization of the event is left to the scientific organizers who submitted the proposal, while the staff of the Tao Science Centre takes care of all the logistics of the event organization. Every event is assigned one of the workshop (or school) coordinators who takes on as much as possible of the organization, while keeping in close contact with the organizers. The event coordinators officially sends out invitations to the workshop on behalf of the organizers to invite those interested to register (electronically via the website), makes the hotel reservations, keeps the participants informed etc. In exceptional cases, the Tao Science Centre will accommodate (partially) closed meetings, consortium workweeks, repeated events or schools; special rules apply.

Practical organization

After approval of the proposal the scientific organizer(s) consult(s) with the executive manager and the workshop (or school) coordinator, in a so-called intake meeting, to draw up the outlines of the workshop: the program with planning of the lectures and discussions, the number of invitees, time and duration of the meeting, etc. The organizer writes a short description and aim of the event to be published on the Tao Science Centre website. Thereafter the event coordinator(s), the Director(s), starts informing the invitees.

Time schedule

  • It is advisable to reserve a timeslot for the workshop early.
  • A timeslot may typically be held for 3 weeks after which the organizers should submit a (draft) proposal to keep their option.
  • The final workshop proposal should preferably be ready for an evaluation round 9 months before the start of the workshop.
  • 4 to 6 weeks after the receiving of the proposal a quick decision should be reached.
  • Between 3 and 6 months before the workshop the “intake meeting” at the Tao Science Centre kicks of the practical organisation (“intake meeting” via Skype or conference call are also possible).
  • One month before the workshop the final program should be ready on the website.
  • Six months before the school the final program should be ready on the website.
  • The organisers are requested to submit a short scientific report after the workshop.

Facilities available

The Tao Sciences Centre offers 1 main conference room and 3 meeting rooms and an open beautiful terrace. The plenary room can to accommodate more than 60 people. All the rooms are equipped with Wi-Fi connection.

The Secretarial and conference facilities: Direct-dial telephone, Fax-PC, WI-FI/ ADSL lines, Production room, Photocopier, Conference speaker system, Portable microphones, Light dimming, Overhead projector, Flip chart, Slide projector, Movie projector, Laser pointer, Podium, Stage-Catwalk, Post congress.