Student Volunteer Program

We are looking for a set of student volunteers (SVs) to help us run the 2018 IEEE Haptics Symposium.

Important: If you are a student applying to be a student volunteer, please do not register for the conference until you have heard whether you were selected for an SV spot, as selection provides free conference registration. However, if you wish to attend the technical tour, you should reserve your spot now! To do so, go to the registration website, begin registering for the conference, and select 'One Day Conference Registration' on the Item Selection page. You can then add the quantity of technical tour tickets you wish to purchase, without selecting any of the conference days. 

Important Dates

• Applications Due: January 28, 2018
• Notifications: February 17, 2018

General Information

The student volunteer program is a great opportunity for young researchers to familiarize themselves with state-of-the-art haptics research. It also allows enthusiastic students to establish and expand their network with the most relevant academicians, professionals, and other students in the field. SVs are an integral part of the success of our conference. We are in the process of recruiting a team of reliable and enthusiastic students who will help us host and manage a successful, productive, and enjoyable conference. A wide range of responsibilities will be assigned to SVs, such as:

• Support at the registration desk
• Badge checks for technical sessions, demos, reception, and banquet
• Help setting up and maintaining demos, posters, and other arrangements
• Audio and video support
• Helping members of the organizing committee with other tasks

In general, no special skills are required except for a small number of positions where we are looking for individuals with good photography, social media, or A/V skills. Each volunteer is required to commit to about 12 hours spread across 2 to 4 days of the conference (March 25-28).

Benefits

For their time and immeasurable efforts, student volunteers will receive a full student registration. This registration includes free access to the entire conference, including cross-cutting challenges, technical sessions, demo and poster sessions, the welcome reception, and the banquet.  This registration does not include the technical tour, which must be registered for separately. Free participation in the conference will give SVs the chance to learn about haptics and talk to individuals from a broad range of academic and industrial backgrounds.

Student volunteers are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses throughout the conference. Lunch will be provided to volunteers on days that they work.

Requirements

Student volunteers should have a positive "can do" attitude and good communication skills in English. Applicants must be an undergraduate or graduate student during the 2017-2018 academic year. A valid, dated student identification card or a letter from your university must be presented when registering at the conference.

Volunteers are required to show up 5-10 minutes before their allotted service times and be available to help out for unforeseen surprises, which are difficult to predict. We expect every volunteer to commit to a total of about 12 volunteer hours of work during the conference.

There will be an SV orientation on the evening of March 24th, so all SVs must plan to arrive at the conference by that afternoon at the latest. If you require a special exception to your arrival/departure times, please mention these in your application; only a small number of exceptions can be made.

Responsibilities and time allotments during the conference will be sent to the SVs a few weeks before the start of the conference.

Application Process

Please complete the online application form to be considered as a Student Volunteer. You will need to provide your name, personal contact information, degree program, the name and contact information for your research advisor (if you are actively doing research), a brief statement of your reasons for wanting to be an SV at our conference, your English proficiency, your relevant skills and experiences, and the titles of any Haptics Symposium 2018 contributions in which you are involved, such as papers or demonstrations.  It also asks logistical questions about your dietary requirements, scheduling restrictions, and t-shirt size. 

After submission, you will see an acknowledgment page. We expect to receive more applications than we need, so early application is encouraged. However, we will make a waiting list, so do not be discouraged if you apply close to or after the deadline. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via sv@hapticssymposium.org.