Catalytic Interface Programming

(Note: Precise dates to follow and are subject to change)

Prelude

Interested researchers are asked to form teams around a core expertise, and develop ideas for interdisciplinary research that interface with one or multiple CAAD topic areas, leading to the submission of an initial Statement of Interests by 30 September 2024. Statements are peer-reviewed by the Scientific Committee and promising statements and teams are then selected, with decisions announced by 21 October 2024.

Initialisation of Catalysation

The committee shares the Statements among selected teams. Teams are asked identify list of possible team collaborators with relevant interests and/or expertise by 4 November 2024. Their indicated preference will be shared, enabling the teams to initiate discussions among themselves throughout November and December 2024 to identify joint collaborative research ideas.

Pre-Conference Catalysers

Two Catalyser online meeting events will be organised by the committee to finalise ideas and form team groups on 13 January 2025 and 3 March 2025. The catalyser will foster productive team pairs/groupings around emergent CAAD priorities synthesising the interests of teams. Teams are highly encouraged to formalise partnerships with at least one other team, indicating their initial choice by 27 January 2025.

Towards Catalytic Interfaces

Team pairs/groups will prepare and submit Proposals that set the stage for their collaboration during the three-day conference to prototype their ideas. These proposals will undergo at least one-round of peer review by the scientific committee, and will be automatically considered for the Expert Invitation Award, which enable teams with outstanding proposals to sponsor the travel of team members or their invitees. Both feedback and decisions will be announced on 14 April 2025. Upon receiving the feedback and decisions, teams will refine their proposal, submitting their final proposals by 26 May 2025 to be included in the conference’s companion publication. Organisers arrange travel for invited experts during this period.

Conference: Catalytic Interfaces

Inspired by the concept of a Hackathon, groups of Catalysers will be encouraged to prototype and develop artefacts during the three-day conference. These artefacts may range from design concepts to texts, physical artefacts, or software products. Each artefact will embody the group’s position on the interfacing of topics discussed leading up to the conference. Dedicated time and space for Catalysers to collaborate will be provided throughout all three days, including stand-up meetings known as ‘Check In’ and ‘Check Out’ sessions that bookend each day’s paper sessions. These meetings are scheduled within the main programming and held in a common area to allow all conference participants to listen in and potentially join the discussions. Additionally, dedicated ‘Basecamps’ or classrooms will be reserved across the campus, providing spaces for more in-depth investigations.

On the final day of the conference, the groups of Catalysers will present their artefacts and refined positions in an event open to the public. This facilitates broader exchange and dissemination of ideas. The outcomes of the conference will be two-fold: a manifesto compiling the condensed positions of all Catalysers, and the opportunity for interested Catalysers to submit the outcomes of their three-day collaboration. These will be included in a companion publication by CAAD Futures and hosted on a dedicated open-access platform to complement the conference proceedings.