Workshops are hugely valuable to HOPE attendees, and can be on virtually any topic that can be covered in HOPE’s seminar-style learning setting. Most workshops are hands-on and interactive, giving participants with different backgrounds and skill levels the opportunity to advance their skills and knowledge.

Past HOPE conferences have hosted several dozen workshops that were enjoyed by many. Previous HOPE workshops include such diverse topics as: data science, soldering, electronics, coding, home automation, how to submit FOIA (Freedom of Information) requests, hacking Wi-Fi routers, music synthesis, AI, Brain-Computer Interface, and much more. Send your proposal (one proposal per email!) to: workshops@hope.net.

Tips for Submitting a Workshop Proposal

Please email your workshop proposal (one proposal per email) to:
       workshops@hope.net
Send your proposals as plain text in the body of your email, not as an attachment. If you absolutely need to attach a graphic to demonstrate your workshop in addition to your proposal, please use a nonproprietary format like JPG or PNG.

Be sure to include ALL of the following in your proposal:

• Title and Abstract
• A Short Description
• How many presenters?
• A Brief Bio — for each presenter — with email address for each
• Fediverse ID (or other “social media”) for each presenter, if you have one
• Length of Workshop
• Cost for Materials (if any)
• Scheduling Constraints
• Maximum Number of Attendees
• Associated Talk Proposal (if any)
• AC Power Requirements
• Prerequisites (if any) for Attendees

Please let us know the answers to these questions:

• What kind of space do you prefer? Large (50 people) open area (with tables and tools), small classroom (20 individual desks), or large classroom (30 individual desks)
• Do attendees need to bring anything (or download beforehand)?
• Do you need anything special?
• Is a projector required?
• Do you require amplified sound?
• Will you be needing any tools (some of which we may be able to provide)?

NOTE: HOPE will not have a registration system for workshops. Workshop attendance is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Additional explanations:

• Workshop Title: Please make your title short and descriptive, as well as catchy, since many people choose what presentations to attend by their title.
• In your workshop proposal, please include the topics/skills that you will share/teach. Try to include info on why you think this workshop will be of interest to HOPE attendees. Please also include who the workshop is intended for. HOPE attendees are quite diverse, and people with different knowledge and skill levels attend the workshops, so please have a good sense of your intended audience. For example: Is this workshop for total beginners? Are there any prerequisite skills, knowledge, or experience required? If you’re submitting a related talk, will attending that talk be a prerequisite?

For the Workshop length: Workshops can vary in length from one hour to several hours. Just about any length is fine. We also need to know how much setup time and cleanup time you will need — normally we leave 30 minutes between workshops for both clean-up for the previous workshop & setup for the next workshop. If you need more than 30 minutes for either setup or clean-up, please let us know. Also, if your workshop requires attendees to purchase materials, please make sure to include time for these transactions.

• Regarding how many people can attend the workshop: We ask that you be realistic so that your workshop can be a successful experience for you and your workshop attendees. If attendees will be needing lots of individual attention, please ensure you’ll be able to devote enough time and attention to everyone. It’s okay to limit attendees to a dozen or so if that’s what you feel you are able to handle. Workshops in a large workshop room are good for up to 50 people. Bigger areas may also be possible.
• Is this workshop submission connected with a talk (or other) proposal? If yes, please specify which talk (or other) submission it’s affiliated with. When workshops are connected with a talk, we try to schedule the workshop after the talk on the same day so the subject matter is fresh in people’s minds.
• Please specify any scheduling restraints you have. For example, if you know that you can only be at HOPE for one or two days, specify which days so we can schedule appropriately. If the workshop is associated with an accepted talk, whenever possible the workshop will be scheduled the same day, after its related talk – so please keep that in mind for your own scheduling purposes.
• Which setting works best for your workshop? Will it do better in a big room, a small room, or out in an area where there’s lots of ambient activity buzzing about with its attendant noise?

• What equipment, tools, and power will the workshop require? Let us know if you will need a video projector, projection screen, AC power strips for attendees, soldering tools, etc. We will do our best to provide what you need. We may not be able to provide nonstandard equipment that you want or need, so if at all possible please be prepared to bring your own, or to borrow or rent it.

• Is there anything that the attendees will need to bring? As a workshop presenter, you can ask that participants have previous knowledge or interest. You can also ask that attendees bring specific items to the workshop, for instance, a laptop with a certain operating system. Such requirements need to be made clear as early as possible. Please be aware that almost all workshop attendees will only find out about your workshop after they arrive at the workshop venue.

How will attendees obtain materials needed for your workshop? You should not expect attendees to bring anything special to your workshop since many will only have looked at the schedule after arriving at HOPE. If materials are needed, please be prepared to bring all required materials for your attendees. It is fine to ask attendees to pay for the materials if this is made clear in your workshop description and the materials are sold at cost.

• Will participants be expected to pay any cost for materials? If your workshop requires attendees to purchase materials that you provide, you’ll need to figure out in advance how much it will cost each participant. HOPE is not an opportunity to profiteer from workshops, but we don’t want you to lose money to share your knowledge. We operate HOPE on a shoestring and try to break even, so please be reasonable and do the same. Participants will also be reasonable and many may be willing to help out with donations if you simply ask. Please also note that you should allow HOPE attendees to audit your workshop without the need to purchase materials. Of course, priority for seating can be given to attendees who have materials for the hands-on aspects of the workshop.

• How will attendees pay for materials? If there are materials that need to be purchased, you will need to provide some means for attendees to pay for the materials. Cash, PayPal, Venmo, credit card payment systems such as Stripe, etc. are all methods workshop presenters have used in the past.