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The International Collaboration to Extend and Advance Grid Education
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ICEAGE organises and conducts an annual programme of advanced grid education events, including the continuation of the OGF (formerly GGF) International Summer Schools on Grid Computing as well as regional and specialist events such as the Biomed GRID School.

ISSGC

Every year ICEAGE organises the International Summer School on Grid Computing (ISSGC) . ICEAGE has placed this International Summer School Series on a firm footing by providing a complex and detailed framework for the planning, organisation and execution of three ISSGC summer schools.

The Organisational structure of ISSGC includes:

  1. 1. The Programme Committee (PC), responsible for:
    • The overall content and quality of ISSGC.
    • Setting the educational goals.
    • Characterising the target cohort of potential participating students.
    • The choice and integration of the content and curriculum.
    • The choice of day leaders, speakers, presenters and tutors.
    • The schedule of ISSGC: start & end date, sequence of sessions, total workload.
    • Arranging advertising.
    • The choice and form of practicals supporting the school goals.
    • Establishing and monitoring a timeline for preparing and running the school.
    • Appointing and overseeing the sub-committees.
    • Selecting the venue and agreeing the venue arrangements.
    • Evaluating the achievements of the students and awarding certificates and prizes.
    • Agreeing the costs, fees and budgets for the school.
    • Evaluating ISSGC and developing a report on it.
  1. 2. The Local Organising Committee (LOC), responsible for:
    • Finding a local team to support the school.
    • Communicating progress and act on requests at each PC meeting
    • Taking responsibility for the financial balance of the SS.
    • Taking responsibility for the support of the t-Infrastructure at the school and locally, including providing emulation of the eventual t-Infrastructure for the testing programme.
    • Taking responsibility for finding teaching space and accommodation for ISSGC, preferably by proposing and evaluating alternatives in conjunction with the PC, ensuring carefully negotiated and monitored contracts.
    • Negotiating with the PC over the form, size and schedule for the SS attempting to accommodate PC requests or providing clear feedback on what is infeasible.
    • Providing a series of developing budgets to the PC and work with them to agree the fees, to agree staff accommodation costs and to deliver the school on budget.
    • Obtaining local financial support for ISSGC.
    • Arranging staff to set up and support t-Infrastructure for the Summer School.
    • Arranging staff and processes to support students prior to the school including: advice, formal invitation letters (for visa applications), formal invoices, carefully recorded and monitored payment processes and local travel arrangements.
    • Arranging to support all staff helping with the SS, providing clarity on costs and facilities.
    • Arranging to support students at the school: advice, help, counselling and travel.
    • Arranging a local social programme.
    • Preparing a final detailed and accurate expenditure and income report with auditable detail to the PC.
    • Preparing for the PC a final report covering venue, t-Infrastructure, logistics and conduct of the school.
  1. 3. The Practical Organising Committee (POC), responsible for:
    • Receiving and commenting on the practical goals suggested by the PC.
    • Suggesting improved practical plans to the PC.
    • Agreeing a set of practicals and the means by which they are presented with the PC.
    • Developing the practicals in accord with that agreement, notifying the PC of any changes or scheduling worries.
    • Agreeing with the LOC the provision of t-Infrastructure and the plans for using it.
    • Developing the practicals to the agreed schedule.
    • Documenting the practicals in the agreed form.
    • Arranging the presentation and tutoring for the practicals.
    • Providing a report assessing the practical programme to the PC soon after the Summer School.
  1. 4. The Admissions Committee (AC), responsible for:
    • Ensuring that fair and informative application processes are in place, including questions that will encourage self-de-selection for students not in the intended cohort, e.g. those not experienced in programming should be asked questions that may lead them to think about whether they are capable of benefiting from ISSGC.
    • Ensuring that the procedure for selecting students is well prepared, fair, anonymous, rigorous and selects those who will most benefit from the planned school, taking into account their academic and technical background, qualifications, communication ability and enthusiasm for passing on what they learn. Their potential contribution to the school may also be considered.
    • Conducting the admissions process so that (i) approximately the planned number of students is selected taking into account expected rate of "no shows", (ii) the students are processed quickly and to a published schedule, and that (iii) best students are selected so that the school has a student cohort well able to engage in an excellent and demanding school.
    • Reporting on the admissions process to the full PC.
  1. 5. The ICEAGE Project Office (IPO), responsible for:
    • Providing a website and repository to support the school.
    • Providing support for PC and other subcommittees, especially AC that are co-located with IPO members.
    • Providing administration and student support prior to, during and after the school.
    • Providing administration and staff support prior to, during and after the school.
    • Providing administration and analysis of the collected student and staff course quality assessments.
    • Providing administration of and support for the post-school reporting processes.
  1. 6. The Support Committee (SC), responsible for:
    • Coordinating between the IPO and LOC.
    • Taking on some of the work needed to fulfil the responsibilities of the LOC and IPO.

In conjunction with other efforts in the ICEAGE project as well as the support of an International cohort of leaders, ISSGC has become the worldwide leading educational event on Grid Computing.

ICEAGE is working on a plan to make ISSGC self-supportive with the creation of a permanent Steering Committee, responsible to identify each year a Chair for the PC and to create the needed connections with the industry as sponsors of this annual event.

The forthcoming Summer School (ISSGC'08) will take place from 6 to 18 July 2008 in Hungary.

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