iLRN2027 Conference Handbook (private)

official iLRN2027 Handbook and Role Descriptions and Codex working pages

General Chairs

The General Chair/s are responsible for overseeing and coordinating the whole conference. The General Chair manages a team of people working together to organize the conference. General chairs should to be selected to cover different time zones.

General Chairs are the international leaders of the iLRN Conference.

This page provides a quick-glance overview of responsibilities, key deadlines, and ready-to-use tools for General Chairs. It is designed to minimize effort, streamline decision-making, and keep all activity anchored in one place.

🎯 At-a-Glance Responsibilities (Checklist)

📅 Timeline & Countdown

🗣 Speaker Management

💰 Budget & Fees

📢 Communications Protocol

🚨 Escalation Pathways

If a chair misses a deadline:

  1. Friendly reminder → via General Chairs.

  2. Escalate → to Steering Committee if unresolved.

  3. Reassign tasks → if chair unavailable.

🪴 Notes

This is a living page. Volunteers may add:

From the Handbook:

The General Chairs have the following responsibilities:

The role is reviewed annually. 

Program Chairs

Stewards of the scholarly and practitioner programs.

Building a robust culture of Program Chairs, with unique privileges, internal awards, and positive engagement is key to organizing each conference - and the longterm health of our network! 

This page orients Program Chairs to responsibilities, timelines, and ready-to-use tools for assembling the academic and iLEAD practitioner streams—across both the face-to-face and online components.

🎯 Scope & Streams

Program Chairs (Academic Stream):
Full/Short Papers • Work-in-Progress (Posters) • Doctoral Consortium • Extended Abstracts • Special Track Proposals • Academic Workshops

Program Chairs (iLEAD Practitioner Stream):
Oral Presentations • Practitioner Posters • Practitioner Workshops • Panels • Special Sessions • Product Demonstrations

Term & Composition: 2-year appointment (Year 1 apprentice → Year 2 lead). Ideally co-chairs from two different continents to ensure global balance.

✅ Responsibilities at a Glance (Checklist)

🗓️ Timeline & Countdown (Two-Round Model)

Central Timeline (link placeholder): Program Timeline & Countdown

Round 1 (Academic + iLEAD):

  1. Set up submission system → 2) Invite Program Committee → 3) Author reminder → 4) Finalize reviewer list & review form → 5) Announce deadline extension (if any) → 6) Check anonymity & plagiarism → 7) Allocate reviewers → 8) Remind missing reviews → 9) Allocate additional reviewers → 10) Decisions → 11) Notifications

Round 2 (if used):
Repeat steps: reminder → extend (if any) → checks → allocations → chase reviews → decisions → notifications

Post-Decision:

🛠️ Working Toolkit (MVP)

Tip: Keep all templates short, with bolded fields to personalize. Make “copy-and-send” the default.

🤝 Coordination Map

🧭 Decision & Escalation Paths

📈 Quality & Equity Guardrails

🧩 MVP vs. Nice-to-Have

MVP (seed these before inviting broad co-creation):

Nice-to-Have (volunteer-friendly additions):

💬 Tone, Expectations, and Time-Saving Norms



The iLRN 2026 Organizing Committee Handbook role description: 

The Program Chair/s are responsible for developing and assembling the scholarly and practitioner portions of the main conference program, respectively.

The Program Chairs are split in two main categories:

From the iLRN2026 Organizing Committee Handbook,
The Program Chairs have the following responsibilities:

The Program Chairs role is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced PC.

Program Chairs ideally should originate from institutions in two different continents.

Tasks (in chronological order):

  1. Set up submission system

  2. Invite program committee (reviewers)

  3. Remind authors of upcoming deadline

  4. Finalise reviewers list and review form 

  5. Announce submission deadline extension

  6. Check for papers anonymity and plagiarism

  7. Allocate reviewers

  8. Send reminders for missing reviews

  9. Allocate additional reviewers if needed

  10. Make acceptance decisions

  11. Send notifications to authors

  12. Remind authors of upcoming deadline (2nd round)

  13. Announce submission deadline extension (2nd round)

  14. Check for papers anonymity and plagiarism (2nd round)

  15. Allocate reviewers (2nd round)

  16. Send reminders for missing reviews (2nd round)

  17. Allocate additional reviewers if needed (2nd round)

  18. Make acceptance decisions (2nd round)

  19. Send notifications to authors (2nd round)

  20. Draft program for online and face-to-face conferences

  21. Nominate papers and reviewers for award committee

Special Track Chair

Local Chair

The Local Co-Chairs are not only venue providers—they are cultural ambassadors. This section is where they (and their team) collect and share the stories, flavors, and experiences that make Athens special. It should be fun, visual, and community-oriented, and it doubles as a feed for the Strategic Comms team.

🎨 What to Include

  1. Cultural Highlights

    • Key features of Athens: history, architecture, music, cuisine.

    • Strategic Comms: Use Greek Mythology, History, Culture, and People in developing & telling the iLRN2026 narrative / story. 

    • Local “hidden gems” that visitors might love.

    • Adventures to be had in Athens *and Greece, generally

  2. Food & Drink

    • Traditional Greek dishes to highlight (e.g., souvlaki, moussaka, baklava).

    • Vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free friendly options to recommend.

  3. Athens Vibes

    • Photos, short videos, or even playful “day in the life” clips.

    • Fun facts about the city (quirky, surprising, or historical).

  4. Excursions & Tours

    • Pre-conference or post-conference tours.

    • Excursions that connect to iLRN’s theme (e.g., Plato’s Cave sites, local museums, cultural centers).

  5. Local Voices

    • Short interviews with Athens-based educators, students, or cultural guides.

    • Quotes from volunteers or local hosts (“What I love about Athens…”).

  6. Practical Local Guide

    • Getting here: Airports, trains, ferries.

    • Getting around: Metro, taxis, walking.

    • Tips: weather, clothing, medical info, safety.

📸 Codex Function

🌟 Nice-to-Have

🤝 Coordination

👉 We want Athens to feel like more than just a venue—it becomes a character in the story of iLRN2026.


iLRN2026 Conference Organizing Committee Handbook description for Local Chair role: 

The Local Co-Chair/s prepare the physical space for the conference work with local vendors, management companies, the conference, and other committees in the planning of the conference space, including room set-up, attendees insurance, hiring of entertainment, tours, and other local logistics.


The Local Co-Chairs have the following responsibilities:

The role is reviewed annually based on the location of the conference organisation.

DC Chair

Champion of early-career researchers in immersive learning.
The DC Chair(s) curate, organize, and facilitate the Doctoral Colloquium at iLRN2026, creating a supportive environment where doctoral students can share their work, receive feedback, and build connections.

🎯 Responsibilities at a Glance (Checklist)

🗓️ Timeline & Key Milestones

🛠️ Working Toolkit (MVP)

🤝 Coordination Map

🧩 MVP vs. Nice-to-Have

MVP (before recruiting students):

Nice-to-Have (volunteer-supported):

🪴 Notes

 

iLRN2026 Conference Organizing Committee D.C. Chair role description: 

The Doctoral Colloquium Chair/s are responsible for advertising and organising the Doctoral Colloquium session. More specifically the Doctoral Colloquium Chairs have the following responsibilities:

The Doctoral Colloquium Chairs are appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced PC.

Virtual Campus & Technical Chair

Hosts of the global iLRN experience.

The Virtual Campus & Technical Chairs are responsible not only for providing reliable technical infrastructure but also for hosting the international, online instantiation of iLRN2026. They design the virtual campus to embody the year’s theme in ways unique to online and hybrid spaces, while foreshadowing the Athens gathering. Their work ensures the online conference is both a stand-alone event in full glory and a gateway to the local host culture.

🎯 Responsibilities at a Glance (Checklist)

🗓️ Timeline & Key Milestones

🛠️ Working Toolkit (MVP)

🤝 Coordination Map

🧩 MVP vs. Nice-to-Have

MVP:

Nice-to-Have:

🪴 Notes


The iLRN2026 Conference Organizing Committee "Virtual Campus & Technical Chair" Role description: 

The iLRN Virtual Campus & Technical Chair/s are responsible for providing the virtual spaces to facilitate the organisation and smooth operation of the technical infrastructure for the online and local portions of the conference. This includes all infrastructure from registration to onboarding to training online volunteers such as session chairs, greeters, virtual social events, and special sessions such as Guided Virtual Adventures - as well as ensuring the setup, resources and support needed for successful online presentations and online attendee participation & feedback channels. 

Technical Chairs at the Local level (location of current conference) are responsible for organizing infrastructure and organization of presentations, streaming, the technical setup for live and/or asynchronous updates to virtual audiences and organizing / coordinating the technical support during the conference. 

The iLRN Virtual Campus & Technical Chairs have the following responsibilities:

The iLRN Virtual Campus & Technical Chairs are appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced PC.

Publication Chair

Custodian of conference outputs.
The Publication Chairs ensure that all scholarly and practitioner contributions are produced, formatted, checked, and published in line with the standards of iLRN, IEEE, or Springer. They coordinate the production of the program, abstracts, proceedings, and reports—safeguarding both the quality and the visibility of iLRN2026’s intellectual contributions.

🎯 Responsibilities at a Glance (Checklist)

🗓️ Timeline & Key Milestones

🛠️ Working Toolkit (MVP)

🤝 Coordination Map

🧩 MVP vs. Nice-to-Have

MVP:

Nice-to-Have:

🪴 Notes

The iLRN2026 Conference Organizing Committee member Publications Chair role description: 

The Publication Chair/s are responsible for the coordination of production of conference content (e.g., papers from special tutorial sessions or colloquia, summaries of conference papers, programs, etc.) and serves as the point of contact for all IEEEXplore or SPRINGER submission-related inquiries before and after the conference. 

More specifically the Publication Chairs have the following responsibilities:

The Publication Chairs are appointed to serve for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced PC.

Admin & Operations Chair

Backbone of conference organization.

The Administration & Operations Chair (AOC) manages the administrative, coordination, and logistical services of iLRN2026. This role ensures the Organizing Committee functions effectively, records are maintained, and services are delivered smoothly for both the team and participants.

🎯 Responsibilities at a Glance (Checklist)

🗓️ Timeline & Key Milestones

🛠️ Working Toolkit (MVP)

🤝 Coordination Map

🧩 MVP vs. Nice-to-Have

MVP:

Nice-to-Have:

🪴 Notes

 

iLRN2026 Organizing Committee Handbook Role Description: 

Administration & Operations Chair/s, organise and facilitate administrative details, coordination and logistical services associated with the iLRN conference organisation. This role is typically associated with iLRN members concerned with the central administration of the iLRN organization, itself. 

More specifically the Administration & Operations Chair have the following responsibilities:

The iLRN Administration & Operations Chair is appointed to serve for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced AOC.

Registration Chair

The Registration Chair/s are responsible for ensuring that all authors of the accepted proposals are registered and have paid their conference registration fee. Communicate with conference attendees about registration.

More specifically the Registration Chair have the following responsibilities:

The Registration Chair is appointed is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced RC.

Community UX Engagement Chair

The Community UX Engagement Chair/s main role is to oversee development of a meaningful community experience for all conference attendees by creating and coordinating online and face-to-face opportunities for human connection, inspiration, and participation leading up to and throughout the event. The Community UX Engagement Chair finds and suggests ways to introduce new members to the community, improvements to the participant experience leading up to and throughout the conference in myriad ways. Those in this role are both reactive and proactive: always on the lookout for conflicts reported by would-be or current participants and innovating ways to improve relationships within the iLRN community in various ways. This role also is key for publicity and marketing. Community UX Engagement Chairs are responsible for leading in developing connective & active engagement opportunities through media releases,  communicating key human-centered messages about the conference prior and during the conference. Hence, this role requires continuous communication with the General Chair, Program Chairs, Local Chair, Administration & Operations Chair is necessary.

More specifically the Community Engagement Chair/s have the following responsibilities:

The Community UX Engagement Chair/s is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced PC.

 

GVA Chair

The Guided & Virtual Adventure Chair/s are responsible for organising Guided Virtual Adventures which are small-group guided tours to various social and collaborative VR/AR/MR (XR) or other immersive environments and platforms. Responsibilities include:

The Guided & Virtual Adventures Chair is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced PC.

 

Videos, Posters, & Exhibitions Chair

The Videos, Posters, & Exhibitions Chair/s are responsible for supporting contributors to prepare video presentations to appear in the conference program, posters to be presented in the iLRN Virtual Campus and/or the physical venue. Responsibilities include:

The Videos, Posters, & Exhibitions Chair/s is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced chair.

 

Opportunity & Inclusion Chair

The Opportunity & Inclusion Chair role is to advocate for diverse dissemination of the CFP and provide input with focus on diversity and inclusion at the conference, from access to people with disabilities, ethnic, gender, racial representation and other perspectives of inclusion at the conference. Opportunity and Inclusion Chairs support the growth of the Program Committee by encouraging diversity and inclusion.

Once papers and proposals are submitted Opportunity & Inclusion Chairs:

a) Take the list of accepted papers and proposals (to be provided by our Program Chairs) and line them up, surveying the landscape to assess breadth, scope, and diversity across the developing program. Please note the balance of stakeholders and note how it's perceived as a whole, in terms of diversity.

Then they

b) create a document representing this and let the General Chairs and the Program Chairs on both the Academic stream and the Practitioner stream know your assessment. 

Accompanying this assessment, they include ideas for nominations of who in our community we might reach out to and invite to present in our program.

This informs us at this critical juncture - when the initial paper & proposal deadline has passed but BEFORE registration opens, of how we should actively reach out to members across our community and invite them to present and play a role in our program, putting together invited panels, workshops, special sessions, etc. and ensuring a diverse and inclusive conference program for our widely diverse audience. 

The Opportunity & Inclusion Chair/s is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced PC.

 

Virtual Social Activities Chair

The Virtual Social Activities Chair is responsible for organising and facilitating the Virtual Social Activities using the iLRN Virtual Campus or similar VR platforms. Responsibilities include: decide on a theme; assemble teams; set up the space in the virtual campus; recruit and train volunteers; run the social event.

The Virtual Social Activities Chair is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced PC.

 

Game Jam Chair, iLRNFuser Director

The Game Jam Chair, iLRNFuser Director/s are responsible for organising, advertising and facilitating online Game Jam series to be part of the iLRN conference. The series provides opportunities for student teams to engage in a hackathon-style game-development marathons.

More specifically the Game Jam Chairs , iLRNFuser Director have the following responsibilities:

The Game Jam Chair/s, iLRNFuser Director is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced chair.

 

Session Chair

The Session Chair Director/s are responsible for organising, appointing, preparing, and facilitating session chairs for all online and in-person conference sessions (apart from invited panels, keynote speaker and featured speaker sessions).  Session Chair Directors nominate Session Chairs for particular program sessions from the iLRN Board, iLRN Initiative Leadership, qualified volunteers, and the Organizing Committee, itself to find someone well-suited to read the papers and review materials associated with a given session and host / referee the session. 

More specifically the Session Chair Directors have the following responsibilities:

The Session Chair Director is appointed to serve a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced chair.

 

Awards Chair

The Awards Chair/s are responsible to coordinate activities and facilitate the review process for presenting awards for excellence to submitted proposals (papers and non-traditional presentations) at the conference, for the recognition of reviewers and conference members for their contribution at the conference. Awards Chairs lead in developing and coordinating the annual Awards Dinner, ceremony, and celebration. 

More specifically the Awards Chairs have the following responsibilities:

The Awards Chair is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced chair.

 

Evaluation Chair

Evaluation Chairs advocate a mechanism for collecting conference feedback (responses that are valuable, honest and insightful) to involve invitees and to evaluate objectively the success of the conference. 

More specifically the Evaluation Chairs have the following responsibilities:

The Evaluation Chair is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced chair.

 

Finance Chair/Treasurer

The Finance Chair/Treasurer takes charge of creating a conference bank account, arranging conference insurance and deposits, creating a conference budget, managing expenses and creating financial reports. 

 

Director of Sponsorship

The Director of Sponsorships and Partnerships role involves responsibility for developing and maintaining sponsorship programme in order to meet or exceed the overall conference objectives. Responsibilities include research for potential sponsors; make contact with decision makers; negotiate for the long-term; create conference sponsorship package valuation; perfect the conference sponsorship strategy.

The Director of Sponsorships and Partnerships is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced chair.

 

International Chair

The Chair's responsibility is to provide content to the International co-Chairs for dissemination and to maintain track of the process. After the CfP is distributed and deadlines are past, people in this role are responsible for publicising the conference to attract attendees. 

More specifically the International Chair has the following responsibilities:

The International Chair is appointed for serving for a 2-year term. The first year in an apprentice role to a more experienced chair.

 

Social Media Chair

From the official iLRN2026 Organizing Committee Handbook:

Volunteer Chair

The iLRN Conference depends on the contributions of various volunteers. Some are students, others are professionals lending their expertise and skill to the success of the events. 

iLRN Volunteer Coordinator: Charlene Hardin, independent UX design specialist