Introduction
Each year, a team of student directors chooses how to gather and structure information presented at the MIT Energy Conference. We describe here the process we used in developing content for the 2010 conference, which is similar to that employed for the 2009 conference. As the team of directors changes yearly, the process may change for future conferences.
Panel Topic Selection
The broad topic areas to be addressed at the 2010 MIT Energy Conference were selected by the conference directors, and developed by teams of student organizers. In September of 2009, the conference directors solicited ideas for conference topics, by email, from members of the MIT energy community and all previous conference participants. We received over 60 responses, with topic suggestions ranging from energy investment to the role of diamond nanotubes. No single proposal was subsequently selected for presentation at the 2010 conference. Rather, the directors took ideas from over half of the proposals and used them to guide formation of a panel suite that would have wide appeal across the conference constituents. Tentative panel titles were chosen; they are being refined and further developed (through the addition of supporting information and panel abstracts) by teams of student organizers and will be finalized in the months before the conference.
Panelists
All conference panelists are invited, and we are not accepting applications for speakers. Each panel is guided by a team of 4-5 students that develops the panel topic, writes a panel abstract, and identifies relevant speakers. The students then send invitations to panelists, working hard to balance each panel with a range of perspectives (e.g. government, business, and academic). Keynote speakers are similarly selected and invited. While the 2010 conference content team does not accept applications for speakers, we appreciate and will consider suggestions; please note that we receive a high volume of suggestions and so may not be able to respond directly to each one.
Future Conferences
To ensure that your ideas are considered for future conferences, we invite you to sign up below to receive updates on the MIT Energy Conference and be notified when next year’s directors begin soliciting ideas.
