ACM FAccT Conference

ACM FAT* 2020 Doctoral Consortium Call for Applications (Closed)

Important Dates
Deadline:
November 1st
Notifications:
November 15th

The third annual ACM FAT* Conference 2020 invites PhD students in all disciplines including computer science, statistics, law, social sciences, the humanities, and education, to apply for the ACM FAT* Doctoral Consortium (DC). The ACM FAT* DC offers PhD students doing research on fairness, accountability and transparency in relation to socio-technical systems with a unique opportunity to engage in substantive interaction with experienced researchers regarding their proposed dissertation research and career objectives.

The Doctoral Consortium has the following objectives:

  • to provide a setting for feedback on the research of participating PhD students;
  • to provide PhD students with an opportunity to establish a supportive community, including other PhD students working in related areas or at a similar stage of their dissertation research;
  • to stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration on shared research interests; and
  • to support a new generation of researchers by offering advice about publishing and career paths.

The Doctoral Consortium will be held on Monday 27 January 2020, 9am-12 noon. The DC will include presentations by all participating PhD students, with plenary discussions, individual meetings with experienced researchers, discussions over breaks, peer-feedback, and panel discussions. We will also arrange lunch meetings for the participants on the other conference days.

PhD students will be selected who have already settled on their thesis direction and who have made some progress in this direction, but still have significant research to complete. Applications will be reviewed according to the following criteria: clarity and completeness of application package, stage of research, evidence of research progress (please give references or links to published papers and/or technical reports) and assessment of contribution to and likely benefit from participating in the DC.

Application Instructions

Applications have four parts: a one-page thesis summary, a two-page CV, a one-page personal statement, and a statement from your PhD supervisor, all in a single PDF:

  1. The one-page thesis summary describes your progress to date and future plans.
  2. The two-page CV provides contact information and describes your background and relevant experience (research, education, employment). If relevant, include a list of your publications and/or other output resulting from your research. You may include potential publications that have been submitted but are still under review. We recognise that not all applicants will have published at this stage (depending on main disciplinary allegiance) but knowing titles and journals will help the DC chairs situate your research interests.
  3. The one-page personal statement explains what you hope to gain from participating in the DC and what you think you can contribute. Please include specific research issues for discussion at the DC and address such questions as: If you could talk with one expert outside your area, which area would that be? What questions would you ask them? What are you looking for in terms of interaction with other PhD students?
  4. A short statement from your PhD supervisor indicating that s/he supports your participation in the Doctoral Consortium.

Applications to the DC should be a single PDF file that contains all four components described above. You are free to use whatever formatting you prefer, as long as the summary and statement are in 11pt font with reasonable margins.

Doctoral Consortium Co-Chairs

Please contact dc-chairs@fatconference.org for any questions.