# Hosting the iLRN Annual Conference

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## Hosting the iLRN Annual Conference

### Overview & Vision

Hosting the iLRN Annual Conference is a distinguished opportunity to anchor your institution and geographic region as a global leader in immersive learning. Through partnership with iLRN, host sites become springboards for scholarly exchange, design innovation, and elevated institutional visibility. As the backdrop for cutting-edge XR, simulation, and immersive education research, your venue becomes a hub for international collaboration across disciplines and sectors.

### Strategic Benefits for Hosts

- **Global Visibility & Reputation**: Hosting the conference dramatically raises the international profile of your institution within the immersive learning and educational technology communities.
- **Community Building & Networks**: You gain direct access to a global network of researchers, practitioners, and funders in XR and immersive education.
- **Local Capacity & Catalysis**: The conference galvanizes local faculty, students, and partners, stimulating new research and grant proposals.
- **Institutional Leverage**: Hosting can serve as a foundation for long-term partnerships, external sponsorship, and new programmatic initiatives (e.g., labs, centers, curriculum).

### Timing & Format Expectations

- The iLRN conference typically occurs in the **first week of June**, spanning **five days** (Sunday through Thursday). Conference dates have varied by as much as 3 or 4 weeks depending on host availability of the physical accommodations.
- The series alternates between **North America and Europe**, although proposals from other global regions are welcome—provided they can deliver on necessary infrastructure and appeal to the community.
- Past editions have blended in-person and virtual modes (hybrid), adapting to global circumstances and broadening accessibility.

### What We Expect in a Host Proposal

To ensure a successful, high-quality conference, prospective hosts should include the following in their proposal:

#### 1. General & Institutional Information

- Preferred years for hosting (ranked).
- City, venue, and host institution(s).
- Academic lead(s) and track record in organizing events of scale.

#### 2. Venue & Facilities

- Venue details: meeting rooms, lecture halls, workshop spaces, exhibition areas.
- Technical infrastructure: projectors, sound, networking, Wi-Fi, AV needs.
- Relationship between the venue and the locality (e.g., distance to airport, transportation).

#### 3. Accommodations & Logistics

- Lodging options (hotels, dorms, low-cost) with proximity to the venue and negotiated rates.
- Strategies to manage visa, travel, and international participation.
- Import/export considerations (for immersive tech or exhibition materials).

#### 4. Outreach, Attendance & Support

- Plans for attracting regional, national, and international attendees.
- Identification of local and institutional support (funding, in-kind contributions).
- Proposed sponsors, partnerships, and promotional strategies.

#### 5. Financial Planning & Budget

- A realistic budget: venue, staffing, catering, social events, merchandise, insurance, marketing.
- Revenue projections: registration, sponsorship, exhibitor fees, workshop income.
- Scenario planning with best-case, likely-case, and worst-case figures.

#### 6. Local Team & Governance

- Names, roles, and short bios of local organizing team (chairs, logistics leads).
- Proposal for how local and iLRN leadership will coordinate (e.g., an 18-month planning horizon).

#### 7. Supporting Materials

- Suggested keynote speakers (regional/regional) with profiles.
- Potential sponsor leads.
- Any additional supporting documents, letters of commitment, or visual plans.

### Process & Timeline

- iLRN solicits proposals **at least two years in advance** of the intended hosting year.
- Once a host is selected, a formal **Partnership Agreement** is executed, defining roles, resources, and shared investment (in-kind, financial, institutional).
- The local host enters into a **co-planning relationship** with iLRN leadership (Steering Committee, General Chairs, Program Chairs) to jointly design the conference.

### Commitments & Expectations for Hosts

- Demonstrated institutional investment—whether via campus support, staff, facilities, or external sponsorships.
- Balanced ownership and partnership: the host must be willing to cede programmatic design to iLRN leadership while providing local resources.
- Responsiveness to global equity and accessibility: hosts must help lower barriers to participation for underrepresented regions.
- Adherence to the standards of scientific rigor, inclusion, and innovation that define the iLRN community.

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For more information and access to host proposal interest and application forms visit [Immersive Learning Research Network Annual Conference page](https://www.immersivelrn.org/initiatives/ilrn-annual-conference-hosting/ "Call for Proposals for Hosting the Annual iLRN Conference - Immersive Learning Research Network")