B652: Machine Learning
Spring 2011
Miniconference Guidelines

B652 will conclude with a "minconference", in which students will present their projects in short conference-format talks and answer questions. This will give the opportunity to share and discuss insights and to gain experience in presenting research in a conference setting.

Because those who present later will have had more time to work on their projects, it's understood that early presentations may be more "work in progress" than those coming later. All students will have the option to do live demos of systems during the course's final exam slot, giving those who present early (and everyone else) the chance to show off their finished products with more time than would be available in the minconference itself.

To make the presentations as informative as possible to the class, you'll want to consider points such as:

• What is the research problem? (Even though it's important to state the "big picture" problem, motivating the work with a concrete example can be very helpful.)
• What is the model or approach?
• What are your claims? What is noteworthy about your approach, compared to other alternatives?
• What lessons have you learned so far?
• What do you hope to learn by the end of the semester?
• Has the project identified additional interesting problems to pursue in the future?

I'm looking forward to your presentations!