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Organization of LCCC focus periods and workshops

The objective of the LCCC focus periods is to create an environment where leading researchers have the opportunity to work under optimal circumstances in collaboration with other internationally leading scientists. Our aim is to bring together researchers from several scientific communities to create exciting cross-fertilization and new ideas. During a 5-week focus period, usually around April or October, there is room for 10 visiting scholars in addition to the regular LCCC faculty, postdocs and PhD students. A typical visit is 2-5 weeks. In the middle of each focus period, there is a 3-day workshop with approximately 25 invited speakers.

The organization of an LCCC focus period or workshop has the following steps. Sometimes workshops are organized without a full focus period. The procedure is then the same, but with no visiting scholars.

1) The organizer writes a proposal to the LCCC Board.

Proposals should include (a) Description of the research topic, (b) Suggested names of scientific program committee and (c) Motivation of the topic and the relevance for LCCC.

Once the proposal has been accepted and the dates have been settled, including reservation of meeting rooms, it is time to proceed with the next step:

2) The organizer invites members of the scientific program committee

The aim of the scientific program committee is to secure highest conceivable international excellence for the cross-disciplinary focus periods of LCCC. Without the committee, it would be difficult to list the world leading researchers in an area where we have no local activity and even harder to persuade those researchers to spend an extended period of time in Lund. The optimal scientific program committee has a spread of competence and contacts, scientifically and geographically, and consists of people with a high degree of visibility giving credibility to the invitations. We need the committee members to be active in the process of suggesting names of invitees. Ideally they should also be committed for an extended stay in the LCCC environment themselves.

3) The LCCC office sends invitations to workshop speakers

The list of invitees is prepared by the organizer together with the scientific committee based on scientific excellence, with an aim for balance in geography, age and gender. All invitees are expected to stay for at least the three workshop days and to write a contribution for a book (tentatively published by Springer). Invitations include airfare (economy, with different limits for Europe, US and Asia) and accommodation. Invitees who cannot personally extend their stay beyond the workshop are encouraged to nominate a young researcher who would compete for an invitation as visiting scholar during the focus period.

4) Public annoncement

The LCCC office announces the focus period on the LCCC web page and the IEEE/CSS E-letter. The organizer should look for ways to reach other relevant scientific communities by other means. The announcement invites young researchers to express their interest to attend the LCCC focus period as visiting scholars.

5) The LCCC office sends invitations to visiting scholars

Based on nominations and announcement response the organizer makes a selection of visiting scholars to be invited.To maximize the time for interaction and to use the accommodation units efficiently, all visiting scholars are asked to stay for at least half the focus period plus the workshop (usually 3 weeks).

6) The LCCC office opens the workshop for registration by additional participants

The workshops have room for 60 participants. Hence, there is usually room for about 25 participants in addition to the invited speakers and visiting scholars. These slots are offered to LCCC researchers in the first place. Other participants are accepted against a registration fee.

7) The organizer makes a schedule for the visiting scholars

All visiting scholars are asked to give seminars outside the workshop. A couple of opening seminars are normally given the first or second day of the 5-week period. The organizer is responsible to assigns hosts for the visitors and make a schedule of meetings with local researchers. The schedule is announced to visitors and local researchers well before the start fo the focus period.