EMPOWER 23: EMPOWER 2023 IITMRP Chennai, India, October 5-7, 2023 |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=empower23 |
Abstract registration deadline | July 24, 2023 |
Submission deadline | July 24, 2023 |
The sixth EMPOWER conference is to be organized at the IIT Madras Research Park , Chennai from October 5 to 7, 2023. The first two editions of EMPOWER were organized in 2018 and 2019 at IIT-Delhi, Sonepat campus; the third EMPOWER 2020 and fourth EMPOWER 2021 were online conferences, organized by IIIT-Bangalore and the fifth EMPOWER 2022 conference was organized at IIT Madras Research Park.
EMPOWER is organized with the objective of bringing together all stakeholders in the assistive technology sector, which includes researchers, user organizations, industries as well as policy makers. The Program Committee consists of members from the premier academic institutions, NGOs and technology incubators. The participants are engaged with the issues involved in creation, production and dissemination of assistive technology solutions. Using a mix of keynote talks, invited papers, posters, user forums, panel discussion and a product exhibition, EMPOWER provides opportunities for discussions around current solutions, and also to seed ideas for research.
The conference will consist of the following tracks covering keynote talks, presentation of research and invited papers, posters, user and discussion forums, panel discussions and product demonstrations:
Keynotes: Talks by distinguished scholars in the area of AT
Plenary/Panel Discussions: Interactive discussions with an expert panel on the dais
Research Paper submissions:
We are soliciting different kinds of papers from different groups as under:
- Researchers in AT who have done innovative work.
- Doctoral students track - Students can present on topics pertaining to AT
- Practitioners or startups - User studies, trials etc with significant learnings about the end user community, or usage of AT, that can be presented as findings.
There will be awards for the best research presentations in various categories.
Product Expo: Stalls for startups and other institutes to display AT products and solutions for awareness of the public.
Experience Zone: for different stakeholders to see, touch, try and experience some of the ATs.
Workshop/Tutorial: Long instructional sessions by experts on relevant topics, e.g. creating low-cost AT devices, wheelchair modifications, inclusive educational/corporate spaces, designing accessible courses etc.
Important dates
Submissions open for Scientific papers- April 20th 2023
Submissions deadline for Scientific papers- 24th July 2023
Notification of acceptance- 14th August 2023
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH PAPER
Submissions for Scientific Paper and Poster Presentations are invited in the following two Categories:
Category: 1 – Scientific Research Papers- Researchers in AT who have done innovative work
Category 2 - Doctoral student Papers- students can present their methods/protocols or preliminary results on topics pertaining to AT
Category: 3– Practitioner's Report
We are also introducing a special category of oral and poster presentations for ‘Practitioner reports’. Practitioners/ NGOs/ Associations/ startups can present their valuable insights and experiences, particularly related to AT user studies, trials, and significant learnings about the end user community and their usage of AT.
1. Guidelines for Scientific Research Papers:
Scientific reports that highlight product development, beta-testing, validation, clinical trials, field trials, qualitative or mixed methods study on assistive technology user experiences, uptake that is driven by data and scientific analysis can be submitted under this category
The abstracts submitted in this category must contain the following
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Indicate the type of submission: Research paper
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Title of the study
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Objectives: State the main objective of the study
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Materials and methods: Briefly describe the design of the study and how it was conducted
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Results: Present the main results with appropriate statistics
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Conclusion: Limit the conclusions to those that are directly supported by the results.
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Maximum of 1000 words
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Papers accepted for oral presentation: peer reviewed, non-archived paper submission with talks of about 15 minutes duration.
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Papers accepted for poster presentation: peer reviewed, non-archived poster presentation with talks of 5 minutes duration and poster display along with 10-minute short paper presentation.
Conference accepts extended abstracts based on both original work as well as previously published work. Extended abstracts should be limited to a maximum of 1000 words and two printed pages including figures, references etc.
In case of original work, an extended abstract would be reviewed and based on the review outcome, it could be accepted under oral or poster presentation category. Extended abstracts that the reviewer deems suitable for a Paper/manuscript development workshop will be selected. This will be intimated to the authors for their confirmation/ willingness to participate in the workshop. The paper/manuscript development workshop will be conducted by senior researchers in the area of assistive technologies for the authors of accepted extended abstracts. More details will be provided along with the notification of acceptance to such authors.
In case an extended abstract is based on an already published work, then the same should be explicitly mentioned in the submitted extended abstract. Based on the review, such extended abstracts may be included for presentation in the conference.
2. Guidelines for Doctoral Students Papers:
Doctoral student’s scientific research proposals, method papers, protocols that are related to product development, beta-testing, validation, clinical trials, field trials, qualitative or mixed methods study on assistive technology can be submitted under this category
The abstracts submitted in this category must contain the following:
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Indicate the type of submission: Doctoral Student Paper
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Title of the study
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Objectives: State the main objective of the study
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Hypothesis
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Materials and methods: Describe the design of the study, method, protocol, procedure, sample size estimation, sampling, materials/tools
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Anticipated outcomes/ impact
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Maximum of 1000 words
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Papers accepted for oral presentation: peer reviewed, non-archived paper submission with talks of about 15 minutes duration
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Papers accepted for poster presentation: peer reviewed, non-archived poster presentation with talks of 5 minutes duration and poster display along with 10-minute short paper presentation.
In case of doctoral student papers, the abstract would be reviewed and based on the review outcome, it could be accepted under oral or poster presentation category.
3. Guidelines for Practitioner Reports:
This is a new category of oral and poster presentations. ‘Practitioner reports’ can showcase Practitioners/ NGOs/ Associations/ startups insights, experiences, significant learning related to AT user studies, trials, the end user community and their usage.
The abstracts submitted in this category must contain the following:
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Indicate the type of submission: Practitioner Report
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Title of the report
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Objectives: State the main objective of the study
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Description of AT and its context of application/ program description/ implementation plan/ process description
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Program/project/implementation outcomes: Present the main outcomes/ learnings
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Conclusion/ Take home message
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Maximum of 1000 words
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Papers accepted for oral presentation: peer reviewed, non-archived presentations with talks of about 15 minutes duration
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Papers accepted for poster presentation: peer reviewed, non-archived poster presentation with talks of 5 minutes duration and poster display
EMPOWER 2023 is open to all areas that can assist in the integration of people with special needs in the society. The areas include but are not limited to education, mobility and transport, health, communication and entertainment.
We will recognize outstanding research presentations in various categories by presenting awards to the recipients.
Please note that ALL submissions would be handled only through the EasyChair portal.
Please find the Submission Link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=empower23