Student Travel Support for the Software Engineering and Mobility Workshop

Washington University, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

The Workshop on Software Engineering and Mobility will be held on May 13-14, 2001, in Toronto, Canada, in conjunction with the 23 rd International Conference on Software Engineering. The two-day meeting is designed to bring together leading software engineering researchers whose work is concerned with mobility in all its forms, i.e., both logical movement of code fragments and physical movement of hosts. This proposal seeks to stimulate the participation of graduate students in the workshop proceedings by providing travel grants in the amount of $500 to $1,000. The goal is to enable between 8 and 16 graduate students involved in doctoral research on topics related to the themes of the workshop to participate in its workings. Special attention will be paid to ensure diverse geographic, racial, and gender representation among the invited students. Specialized workshops, such as this, have a tendency to attract established researches and a very small contingent of students whose dissertations are near completion. Since discussions taking place in the workshop often reshape the research agenda of the field, students who are in the earlier stages of research could benefit the most from being involved in the workshop. Yet, they are least likely to attend. The funding we are requesting from NSF to support travel grants to the workshop will significantly affect the level of student participation. Even though the size of the travel grants is relatively small, the prestige of receiving one will make both advisors and students give serious consideration to applying for the grants. Finally, if successful, we hope to create a culture in which conference travel by students happens earlier than customary for the long-term benefit of the entire research community, e.g., improved retention in the doctoral program.