Building your team

To recruit members for the Committee of your conference, consider everyone who might be able to contribute to the organisation and is eager to make the event a success. For example:

Does your conference involve different departments. Try to get someone from each department, so that they can give specific input. It would be helpful when considering your target audience and for abstract selection (see Chapter 9).
Is your conference targeted at just one subject field? Try to involve people who are usually involved with the logistics of this, which can make venue booking arrangements easier and gives you insights into wider expectations.
If your event is a student-led conference, the Committee will consist, as the word says, of students. But being in contact with a broad range of people within each faculty/department can speed up the organisation.

It is important to be inclusive and build a team where everyone can contribute!

Some tips on how to build your team

1. Do a public call.

Send an email to gather people for the Committee. Make it attractive and give people an opportunity they don’t want to miss. See Chapter 5 for how to setup a conference email account.

Example email:

“Hi everyone,

The Insert conference name will be taking place Insert a potential season/month!

Insert brief description of the event.

Example: CLESCon is a one-day student-led conference that showcases postgraduate research from across the college. The aim is to bring together Psychology, Biology, Geography and Sport & Health Sciences, and to give students an opportunity to present their amazing research. The day is always filled with a huge range of talks and posters from our Master’s and PhD students, as well as keynote talks from faculty across the departments. There’s also fun competitions and great prizes!

** Would you like to help organise Insert conference name? **

We are hoping to start planning the event soon, so are looking to recruit a brand-new committee of Insert whom you need in your team (example: student volunteers from across all four departments). It’s a great point to add to your CV – we meet roughly once a fortnight, and there are lots of different jobs to be done. These range from catering, flyers and advertising, social media, finances, liaising with sponsors and AV setup, to coordinating the student and staff talks and poster entries. We are also looking for a new Chair this year, to take over from the existing Committee who are now in their final year!

If you’d like to be involved, or have any questions at all, please get in touch with us at Insert email.

All the best,

Organising Committee”

2. Establish regular meetings.

Regular meetings are important to discuss ideas and the work that needs to be done, to check if everyone is on track and to create a team bond. It is also important for getting a perspective of people that could be added to team, as from different departments, PhD stages, etc. They can be in-person and/or online via eg Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Skype.

3. Personally ask individuals.

If a specific person has expertise which would contribute to your team, ask this person directly, preferably face-to-face. Write engagingly and use language that is inclusive. Refer to why they shouldn’t miss this opportunity to join the team and contribute to the success of the event.

4. Chair of the Committee.

It is important to assign someone as Committee chair to achieve your goals smoothly. This person keeps an overview of the work, leads meetings and set deadlines. This role can also be shared ie co-chair.

5. Divide the tasks within the team.

Make a list of all tasks that need to be taken care of for the organisation of the conference. Examples include: finances, venue, catering, advertising, registration, abstract selection, program, and email contact.