Much of SESUG 2022 preparation time currently is devoted to shaping the educational content of the conference. As the conference Academic Chair, I know that we need very strong academic content to entice people back to an in-person event. While we do have extra-fee events such as A Day of Python and R and Saturday and Sunday Tutorials, this post is about progress to date for the ‘included with registration’ content.
- Contributed papers. These are of course the backbone of the conference and what will be included in the conference proceedings. Paper submissions seem to be on track – they are scheduled to close later this month. So far submissions include a wide array of topics, from combining SAS with Python to polymorphism in SAS to gentle introductions. We do still expect a large percentage of submissions to be received in the last couple of weeks before the submission deadline.
- SAS Academic Content. We do not yet have the final titles for SAS presentations at the conference, but we do know who the speakers will be, thanks to the great support we are receiving from Chris Hemedinger and Kate Ulveling at SAS. Mark Jordan and Charu Shankar will provide one or more regular academic presentations, Charu and Danny Modlin will present Super Demos, and Danny will also present a special statistical presentation on Bayesian mixed models. SAS will also have a special presentation during their sponsored lunch on Monday.
- Keynotes. We will have three keynotes during the conference:
- Sunday evening: L. Craig Roberts
As part of the Sunday evening opening session, Mobile native L. Craig Roberts will talk about the area and its history. I am very much looking forward to this – while meeting with him in Mobile as a potential keynote speaker, Lesa Caves and myself were thoroughly entertained by his stories and knowledge. He even led us down the street to show us some beautiful art created with Mardi Gras beads.
- Monday morning plenary: Mary Osborne
On Monday morning, we are very happy to host Mary Osborne who is actively involved in SAS ‘Data for Good’ and the GatherIQ app. Her current projects and interests involve animal welfare, arts and culture, children, economic empowerment, human rights, and disaster and humanitarian relief. She is also the Senior Project Manager of Natural Language Processing at SAS and is a sought after speaker. While I don’t know yet the topic for the SESUG presentation, I know it will be entertaining and informative.
- Tuesday morning plenary: Andy Kuligowski
SESUG 2022 represents our 30th annual SESUG conference. For the Tuesday morning, keynote, long-time SESUGer Andy Kuligowski will entertain us with a SESUG retrospective. We are in the process of collecting old photos, data, and other items to assist with this look at SESUG through the ages. Looking through the archives I found that one of the presentations at the first SESUG (SESUG ’93) was: “Some Thoughts on Making DSGI User-Friendly”. Not sure that has happened yet even though we don’t dress like the early photos.
- Presentations by SESUG grant recipients. For the first time, we are asking all grant recipients—student, faculty, and professional development—to present at the conference. These can be short presentations or discussions and highlight what they are doing or plan to do with SAS. Being a speaker helps get buy-in from the employers and academic institutions as well as providing the grantees a presentation for their resume. We currently have fewer applicants than funds available, so please encourage those eligible to apply.
- Pre-conference included academic activities. On Saturday, SESUG will host two ‘Getting Started with SAS’ sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. These are targeting those conference attendees new to SESUG and new to SAS. Charu Shankar will be the instructor. On Sunday, we are hosting a SAS coding event, currently planned as a mini-hackathon where teams will try to solve a SAS problem.
- Interactive content. SESUG is planning a number of activities and sessions where attendees can learn through interaction and networking. Discussion round tables will be held throughout the conference. There will also be a number of learning games – not all of them SAS. Table topics are planned for Tuesday lunch.
- Exhibit hall learning content. SAS will of course be on hand to provide technical support, but this year they are also providing ‘try-out stations’ where attendees can try SAS software such as JMP, Analytics Pro and VIYA. At some point during the conference, our selected charity, Mobile Baykeeper, will also be in the exhibit hall to provide some hands-on learning.
Have you registered for SESUG yet? Registration is open. . .
You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in.