In 2024, ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim will once again sponsor the Ph.D. Colloquium for Ph.D. students who are within two years of graduation (planning to graduate by December 2026). Students close to graduation will be given an opportunity to showcase their work during a short presentation session and a poster during the Colloquium (apart from the regular tracks). Presenting your Ph.D. work to your peers and the larger simulation community will give you the opportunity to receive valuable feedback and ideas, as well as introduce you to a network that can be very helpful for your career once you graduate.
Sponsored by: University of Arkansas
Ph.D. Colloquium Committee 2024
Chair
Cristina Ruiz Martin, Carleton University
Members
Siyang Gao, City University of Hong Kong
Eunhye Song, Georgia Institute of Technology
Alison Harper, University of Exeter
Important Dates
| August 30 |
Submit a 2-page extended abstract using the WSC 2024 submission system. The abstract should be formatted using the poster template in the WSC 2024 author’s kit. |
| September 16 | Notification of acceptance to authors, including details about required revisions. |
| September 27 | Submit final version of the extended abstract. |
| November 30 | Upload slides for the Ph.D. Colloquium presentation in PDF format. The presentations should be 7-minute pitches followed by a 1 minute Q&A. You do not need to submit the poster, just bring poster to the conference. |
| December 15 | PhD Colloquium. Don’t forget your poster! |
Keynote Speaker
“Simulations Unleashed: Empowering Decisions in the Age of AI”
Simulations are game-changers for decision makers, and even more so in scenarios where the impact of decisions is critical and quick decisions need to be made in rapidly changing environments. AI technologies have transformed the way we think about data, predictions, and decisions, yet it is with and within simulations that they both become truly transformative. This keynote will explore the key role that simulations play in harnessing the power of AI, allowing us to model complex systems, predict outcomes, and test scenarios with high accuracy. We will look at how simulations can be used to model complex systems and how AI technologies can be used to model and predict decisions within these systems. We’ll discuss study design, stakeholder engagement and potential traps, as well as some recipes for success.
Claudia Szabo
Associate Professor, School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide
Claudia Szabo is an Associate Professor in the School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Adelaide. She leads the Complex Systems Research Group, whose focus is on decision-making in complex adaptive systems, in particular systems that operate in contested and dynamic environments. She earned her PhD from the National University of Singapore and her BCompSci from the Politehnica University of Bucharest. She is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Simulation and a past Program Chair of the Winter Simulation Conference. Her research includes modeling and analysis of complex adaptive systems, emergent behavior, and composable simulation models and their operation in environments where decisions have very high impacts.
Ph.D. Colloquium Participation Options
There are two options to participate in the Ph.D. Colloquium with different benefits:
- Poster and Presentation: Submit a 2-page extended abstract and presentation slides. Bring your poster to the conference.
Benefit 1: If accepted, both ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim provide a complimentary one-year membership.
Benefit 2: ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim will reimburse the conference registration fee. - Poster, Presentation, and Full Paper: Submit a 2-page extended abstract and presentation slides. Bring your poster to the conference. In addition, you have submitted a full paper to a regular track (a contributed paper, not an invited paper), and it has been accepted.
Benefit 1: Both ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim provide a complimentary one-year membership.
Benefit 2: ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim will reimburse the conference registration fee.
Benefit 3: You will be eligible to compete for a best paper award, provided that your full paper is accepted in a regular track.
ACM-SIGSIM and INFORMS-Sim will each award a Best Ph.D. Student Paper prize among those students making a presentation at both the Ph.D. Colloquium and in a regular track at the conference.
Those students who have a contributed paper in a regular track will be eligible for the Best Paper awards. Note that invited papers cannot be considered for the Best Paper awards. Students interested in competing for a Best Paper award should include their contributed paper ID when completing the Ph.D. Colloquium submission. An email should also be sent to the chair of the Ph.D. Colloquium that includes the contributed paper ID and indicates intent to participate in the Best Paper competition.
Ph.D. Colloquium participants have to be present at all events (colloquium and poster sessions, WSC opening session, ACM-SIGSIM, and INFORMS-Sim meetings) in order to be eligible for all benefits.
Note: Students who showcase their work as a poster in the regular WSC poster session are not eligible to participate in the Colloquium (and vice versa). Hence, one should select to participate in either the regular poster session or the Colloquium (not both).
Submission Requirements
Students interested in participating in the colloquium should submit a 2-page extended abstract by the deadline using the WSC submission system. Extended abstracts are used for designing the tracks and are included in the proceedings distributed to conference attendees, but they are not included in the archival version of the proceedings in IEEE and ACM repositories. The extended abstract is required for all Colloquium participation options. The abstract should have a single author (the student) and must be formatted using the poster template in the WSC Author’s Kit.
In addition, the advisor needs to send an email to the chair of the Ph.D. Colloquium Committee by October 10, 2024 that states:
- That the Ph.D. student is within two years of graduation
- That the Ph.D. student is the main author of the submission
- That the Ph.D. student will attend WSC 2024 and participate in the Ph.D. Colloquium
- The society they belong to: INFORMS or ACM
Students are only allowed to participate in a WSC Ph.D. Colloquium one time.
Additional Information about the Colloquium
Presentations: If you submit a student paper for the conference, you can use your presentation for the Ph.D. colloquium as well as for the track presentation. You may need to edit the slides, as we may have more time constraints. This year, presentations will be just short pitches followed by a brief Q&A. You do not have to present something special in the Ph.D. colloquium that cannot be used in the regular sessions.
Student Papers: Student papers are part of the regular conference and fall under the submission and review guidelines as documented on this WSC website. A full paper is not required to participate in the Ph.D. Colloquium. However, if you have an accepted paper at WSC 2024 and participate in the Ph.D. Colloquium, then you are also eligible to compete for a Best Paper award.