Membership News: London Calling
It’s that time of year again. Conference organizers have notified individuals selected to present at the conference and have asked them to register prior to the 10 May deadline. With that, the official countdown to conference begins. Reviewers had their hands full with literally hundreds of submissions to sift through. Once again, ICA received an enormous number of submissions, surpassing even Boston, the most-attended conference to date. While there was no shortage of papers worthy of presentation at the conference, reviewers kept the total number of papers selected to around 2200, a direct response to past conference surveys where a desire to preserve the high caliber of research typical of ICA conferences was a concern. Other concerns include having so many attendees that colleagues can’t find each other or so many presentations—often at conflicting times—that deciding which to attend is difficult. As a result, acceptance rates dropped considerably to 36% this year, making the possibility of selection very competitive.
The acceptance rate was about the only thing that could be described as low regarding this conference. In only 2 weeks since conference registration opened, over 700 people have already registered. Other conferences, including Boston, usually have only 200 registrations by the end of January. Lodging will be tight come conference forcing reservation restrictions for the first time. This year only ICA members registered for the conference will be able to access the conference hotel reservation site. Members are encouraged to register for the conference and make hotel reservations as early as possible. There are three other hotels venues offering a variety of rooming options. For details, visit the hotel information page on our website at http://www.icahdq.org/conf/2013/hotels.asp.
Even though the acceptance rate was relatively low, conference organizers tried to include as much programming as possible. Due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the larger meeting rooms became unavailable, making scheduling tougher for incoming President Francois Heinderyckx and Conference Secretariat Michael Haley. Thinking a bit “out of the box,” Heinderyckx extended the length of the conference from its usual mid-day ending time to Friday evening, making the final day of conference a full rather than a half day of presentations. The conference registration site is open. We invite you to join us in London. Visit https://www.icahdq.org/shopping/default.asp to register online.
The conference mobile app is available again this year as an option for the program. Last year almost half of the people registered selected either the mobile app or the flash drive program. While the flash drive is no longer available, those choosing the app can view the sessions listing, schedule favorites, navigate the conference halls, and engage in social media with others at the conference. Be on the lookout for further details on the downloadable app on the ICA conference website!
This year we continue to seek ways in which to save energy. We will once again measure ICA’s carbon footprint as related to distance traveled by asking participants what method they used to get to and from London. The distance and method traveled will provide a relatively accurate picture of energy consumed while traveling. Survey analysts will calculate mileage using the distance from airports in the city of origin to London Heathrow. We will continue to provide recycled or sustainable conference supplies such as bags, name badge holders and lanyards.
In conclusion, there are 27 preconference sessions and 4 postconference events to choose from this year. Access detailed information on each at http://www.icahdq.org/conf/2013/preconferences.asp. There are also several excursions again this year. Get more information on those at http://www.icahdq.org/conf/2013/excursions.asp. Be sure to review other articles in this and future issues of the ICA Newsletter between now and conference times to read about events during the conference, features and helpful information on London and handy travel tips on things like commuting in and around the city!