FAQ on Talk Proposals/Talks

(1) How do I submit a talk proposal ?

Easy. Just go to Call for Proposals page and follow the instructions!

(2) How about tutorial proposals ?

Tutorial proposals for Pycon India 2010 do not have the same formal mechanism as talk proposals, since we are a new conference and the decision on formalizing tutorial tracks is still sometime away.

However, we plan to accommodate up to three tutorial tracks in the conference, if sufficient interest is seen. If you have a tutorial suggestion, please write to us directly at contact@in.pycon.org with a brief proposal. The proposal should include the topic of the tutorial, the expected size of attendees, the length of the tutorial track (half-day, 1 day or 2 days), a brief bio of the tutors and why you think such a tutorial would be a good fit for Pycon India 2010, along with your primary email address.

Unlike the PyCon in the US, we don't have a system of paid tutorials.

(3) Do I need to register on the site to submit a proposal ?

No, you don't need to. Anyone can submit a proposal. Just enter a valid email address in the "Contact Email" field in the proposal submission form.

(4) I would like to submit a talk, but not sure if the topic fits. What should I do ?

Dont' worry! You should always go ahead and submit your proposal anyway. You might have a great proposal idea and you will never know unless you put it on paper and submit it to us. Please go through the list of topics under the CFP page and find the closest match to your topic. If you don't find one, don't worry - as long as it is related to Python, we can help you to slot it. Just submit it under the category "Others" and add sufficient tags to describe it.

(5) I am a newbie, should I think about submitting a talk ?

Yes, you should - certainly. The Pycon India conference is a great opportunity for young students and professionals to display their knowledge and passion of the Python language in an open and social forum. You might have just started with the Python language, but could have discovered something new or interesting to share with others. So don't waste a great opportunity to be part of a chance to showcase your knowledge to others - go ahead and submit a proposal! Don't let anything hold you back, such as being a newbie to the language.

(6) I submitted a proposal, but haven't heard back from reviewers yet and the deadline for acceptance has passed

We will try our best to inform every proposal author regarding the status of their proposal after the evaluations are over. If your proposal is accepted or wait-listed, you must have already heard from us. However we haven't informed the authors of rejected proposals directly, so this could a reason why you haven't heard back from us. If you have any questions regarding your talk proposal, send email to the talks co-ordinator at abpillai at gmail dot com.

(7) My talk still shows status as "Under Review". How is this possible if reviews are completed ?

These are talks which are reserved (or wait-listed). These talks were ranked slightly lesser than the top 60 talks which were accepted. If any of the confirmed talkers withdraw their talks due to some reason, one of the reserved talks will be promoted and accepted in its place and the author informed about it through email. If and when that happens, the talk status will be set to "Accepted".

Questions 8-10 only apply for confirmed talkers

(8) My proposal has been accepted. Do I need to still register for the conference ?

Yes. Even if you are a confirmed speaker for the conference, you have to still register as a delegate for the conference. Registrations are not waivered for speakers. Please see this blog post for more information.

(9) I planned to give my talk for 30 minutes but now there could be enough material for 45 minutes. What should I do ?

Please inform the talks co-ordinator as soon as possible through email regarding this. When you do so, please mention your talk title or URL. We will see the best we can do to accommodate your request. Kindly don't wait for the last minute to do this, but make sure you send your request before Sep 18 2010, i.e a week before the conference. This is because once we put up the talk schedules, it might be difficult to extend the time for a talk.

Also, if this involves editing the talk title or outline, please make sure you edit your talk to reflect this.

(10) I planned to give my talk for 45 minutes but now I think there could be only enough material for 30 minutes. What should I do ?

If you plan to shorten your talk for some reason, you can go ahead and do that after sending an email to the talks co-ordinator and getting a confirmation. Please make sure you are doing this for the correct reasons and not just because you didn't have enough time to prepare your talk slides, for example. If this means adjusting the title, outline etc, please make sure you edit your talk to reflect this.

(11) I have a question that is discussed neither here nor in the CFP page!

Write to us at contact@in.python.org with your question and we will get back to you.