I would like to participate in a workshop. Can I register somewhere?

Workshop participation is by invitation only. Individual workshop organizers are responsible for drafting lists of potential invitees, not BIRS directly; however, if you are interested in participating in a particular workshop you can email a BIRS administrator, who will forward your statement of interest to one of the organizers involved. If you are a student we recommend sending a letter of recommendation from your supervisor along with your initial email.

Could BIRS send me my invitations and information packages by regular post?

BIRS is unfortunately unable to do this, for a number of reasons, particularly due to the sheer volume of information that we require from all participants, compatibility with our online database, and the occasional need for very prompt replies.

If a participant is really unable to be reached by email on a regular basis, he/she should contact his/her workshop contact organizer to make alternate arrangements.

How do I change my registration details?

You can email the BIRS Program Coordinator BIRS Program Coordinator and they will be happy to assist you.

I have been invited to attend a workshop, but I won’t know if I will be able to commit to it until after the RSVP deadline. What should I do?

It is important for BIRS administrators to know who is attending any given workshop well in advance of the workshop itself. This allows us not only to think about room allocation and meal plans, but also to potentially invite more people to join the workshop, if definite places remain. As such, we would ask that you respond to all of our emails as promptly as possible; however, we understand that it can be difficult for some people to commit to certain workshops so early on, especially if traveling from abroad. We would ask that if you are unable to give us a definite answer before the deadline, you write to us to tell us so, stating your reason for delay and when you are likely to know by. This will greatly facilitate our planning! We will forward your email to the appropriate organizers. .

I was contacted by BIRS a while ago, but haven’t received any invitations or updates since then. Why is that?

If you think you haven’t received information from BIRS that you ought to have, we recommend first checking your spam folder. The anti-spam protection on your institution’s server may be a bit overly exuberant.

Feel free to contact us for any missing information should that have failed and we will do our best to reconnect with you.

Can I see the detailed schedule and abstracts for my workshop in advance?

BIRS staff post detailed schedules and abstracts for workshops to the website as soon as they are made available to us. These can be found by going to http://www.birs.ca/events/20xx. Select the year of the event you will be attending, and the type (5-day workshop or FRG etc) in the scroll-down menus at the top of the page. By clicking on the code next to the title (ex: 10w5555) you will be brought to the workshop-specific homepage. There you will find any schedules or abstracts that have been posted.

If you wish to see a program before it is finalized and published online, contact your workshop organizers and they may be able to give you details.

As a presenter, will I be able to publish workshop lecture slides to the web?

Yes. The following instructions explain how to publish files related to your workshop on the workshop web page: http://www.birs.ca/organizers/publishing-slides.

Can we organize poster sessions alongside the other workshop activities?

Poster sessions usually are held in our foyer in TCPL building. The mobile poster boards which are double sided 6x6 feet, are available for rent from the Banff Centre and must be pre-arranged in advance. Please contact BIRS Station Manager and she will be happy to arrange it for you.

I need to write a workshop report. Are there any guidelines or templates available?

You can find old workshop reports online at: this web location. You can bear in mind while writing that your audience is scientists.