This document describes the guidelines to prepare and present audio-visual materials at DATE 2024. Please read all instructions carefully and follow them strictly to maintain the highest possible standards. Even experienced speakers should read the following paragraphs, as they cover several problems that have arisen over the years.

DATE provides a centralised presentation management system for speakers of D, A, T and E Track sessions, Late Breaking Results paper presentations, Multi-Partner Project presentations, Focus Sessions, Special Day and Special Initiative ASD presentations as well as presentations in line with the Young People Programme. It will not be possible to use own devices for presentations in the session rooms.
The centralised presentation management will not be provided for workshops (incl. Special Initiative ASD workshop) and embedded tutorials. Workshop and embedded tutorial speakers will receive presentation information from the workshop/embedded tutorial organisers.

General Instructions for …

… Oral Presentations

Presentation Submission

To allow the A/V staff to handle all technical aspects in an efficient way, we kindly ask all speakers to prepare their presentations according to the General Instructions for Preparing A/V Material. It is essential that the correct format is used. Thank you in advance.

When arriving at the conference venue, please come by the speakers ready room to submit your presentation (e.g. via memory stick). There, you will also be able to check your presentation and its proper implementation on the session room presentation devices. A/V staff will be there to support you.

The speakers ready room will be open at the following times:

Monday, 25 March 2024	07h30 to 18h00
Tuesday, 26 March 2024	08h00 to 18h00
Wednesday, 27 March 2024	08h00 to 17h00

Presenters are kindly requested to hand in their presentation in the speakers ready room in due time before the corresponding session starts. We recommend to see the A/V staff and submit/check the presentation the day or half a day before the presentation. It should not be later than two hours before the corresponding session.

In the speakers ready room, you will be able to

• upload your presentation to the presentation management server via memory stick, hard drive or smartphone
• review your presentation on Windows-based devices
• last minute alterations in your presentation
• receive support from A/V staff

To successfully upload your presentation to the presentation management server, make sure that all files that are linked in your presentation (Power Point, movie/video/audio/image files) are in one folder/location on your submission device. We recommend to save videos, movies, audio and image files separately on your storage medium, so they can be re-inserted in the presentation in case of any problems. Make sure to also have a back up copy of your presentation incl. linked files on a different medium.
If you have multiple presentations at the conference, please create one folder per presentation and clearly name them to avoid any misunderstandings or problems.

The A/V staff transfers your presentation from the speakers ready room to the corresponding session room. You will easily find your presentation on the presentation laptop provided at the lectern in the session room. Using your own laptop for presentation is not possible.

Each session room is equipped with

• video projector
• lectern with microphone
• laptop with Windows 10 (English) operating system
• presenter with laser pointer and slideshow remote control

During the presentation, you may control/move the slides on your own (with remote control - please indicate this accordingly when submitting your presentation). Kindly be at the session room approx. 20 minutes before the session starts to meet the session chairs and familiarise yourself with the technical equipment and presentation atmosphere. Please keep the time limit of your presentation in mind. The session chair will interrupt your presentation if it exceeds the given time limit.

… Preparing A/V Material

When preparing your AV material, keep the time limit for your presentation in mind (see specific presentation type sections below). To make your visual presentation a success, it needs to be well planned to clearly point out the important results of your research. The audience will appreciate your presentation/pitch only if your material is visible and legible. They will remember your talk far better and read your paper if you can manage to communicate at least two important facts within your presentation time slot. Please consider that the audience will need at least a minute to understand each technical slide.

The first slide should contain the title of your paper and the author names, your affiliations and your company, university, or funding logo (if applicable). This will be the only page where logos are permitted.

Keep your material simple and uncluttered. Programme listings and very long equations should be avoided. Tables should be represented graphically, wherever possible. Do not use the valuable space on your slides for large company logos and other elements that do not help in motivation or understanding your work. Duplicates of slides should only be produced in case the same information is needed twice.

Presentation Format

Please use Microsoft Power Point 97-2019 (*pptx), OpenOffice/Libre Office 1.7-7.0, PREZI or Adobe PDF to guarantee your presentation will open successfully on the presentation laptops on-site. If you use MS PowerPoint, we recommend that you save your PowerPoint presentation using pptx-format and not .pps/.ppsx.

All presentations will be presented in 16:9 format (landscape).

Please limit the file size to less than 25MB (except video content) to minimise problems with storage and access speed that can result in a distorted or incomplete presentation.

To speed up your start, we provide a PowerPoint template presentation. You are encouraged to use this template to prepare your presentation. Press here to download the PowerPoint file.

MAC users are kindly requested to convert their files to PowerPoint format or PDF before leaving for the conference. Be aware that PowerPoint MAC-to-PC conversions can lead to unexpected results, especially with fonts, certain formats of embedded graphics, and special characters (ASCII characters 128 to 255). To avoid questions of PowerPoint compatibility, please embed all used fonts, convert them to vectors or use only compatible fonts (e.g. Arial, Courier New, Lucida Sans, Times New Roman, Verdana).

Audio, Images and Videos

Because of the many different video formats, support cannot be provided for embedded videos in your presentation. Please check/test your presentation at the laptops in the speakers ready room with sufficient time before your session starts. Generally, .wmv and .mpeg-4 format should work without difficulties.

Movies or videos that require additional reading or projection equipment (e.g. VHS cassettes, video DVDs) will not be accepted.

Audio is supported.

Fonts

Only fonts which are included in the basic installation of MS-Windows 10 will be available. Use of other fonts not included in Windows can cause a wrong layout/style of your presentation (suggested fonts: Arial, Tahoma). If you use different fonts, these must be embedded into your presentation.

Please use high contrast lettering and fonts with a minimum size of 16pt and high contrast layouts like light text on dark colours.
Please make sure that also index expressions are clearly visible and use an appropriate font size.

Colours

Colours should be used carefully and colour combinations resulting in a low contrast (e.g. dark blue on black) should be avoided. Be aware that the contrast of your computer monitor may differ from other monitors/projectors in session rooms.

Try to only use colours that convert for black and white printing. The distinction between blue and black for text and thin lines is especially weak. Red filled-in objects (circles, rectangles, etc.) with white text are well-suited for highlighting important text.

Further Instructions for…

… Session (Co-)Chairs

Quick Checklist

• If needed, get a PowerPoint template here.
• At least two hours before your session, contact the A/V staff to check if all session presentations have been uploaded. If you have introductory slides, please also submit them in the speakers ready room.
• Please check if all speakers of your session are present, at least 10 minutes before your session starts.
• Guidelines on how to chair a session in line with the new DATE 2024 format will soon be available here.
• After your session, please assist the support staff in filling in the session evaluation form (if necessary).

Session (Co-)Chairs

The main task of the session chair is to run the session. Please make sure to run your session within the given time frame. Kindly make sure that all your speakers are present before your session starts. If one of the speakers is missing, leave the presentation slot empty to stay on the schedule. Within your session, please introduce each speaker and keep track of the time limits (indicate to the speaker when it is time to come to an end). Please encourage participants to actively join the interactive technical presentation part of the session. If necessary, inspire discussions yourself.

Session co-chairs are kindly requested to support the session chair (e.g., look for missing speakers, pay attention to session timing etc.) and substitute him/her in case of unexpected absence. Cooperate with the support staff in the session room in case of A/V problems and handle unexpected noise. After the session, please assist the support staff in filling in the session evaluation form (if necessary).

For further information, please have a look at the guidelines below for your corresponding session type.

… Organisers of Focus Sessions (Focus Sessions incl. Executive Track)

Quick Checklist

• Carefully read the information provided in the "General Instructions for Oral Presentations" and "General Instructions for Preparing A/V Material"
• If needed, get a PowerPoint template here.
• Please make sure that you speakers hand in their presentations in the speakers ready room on-site in due time before the session starts (at least two hours). Ideally, check the presentation submission in the speakers ready room yourself (at least two hours before the session start).
• Inform your speakers about the general organisation and implementation of your session, e.g. what are speakers required to do in advance.

If you are also the (co-)chair of your session, please have a look at the Instructions for Session (Co-)Chairs.

… Speakers in Focus Sessions (Focus Sessions incl. Executive Track), Special Day and Special Initiative ASD Sessions as well as the Young People Programme

Quick Checklist

• Carefully read the information provided in the "General Instructions for Oral Presentations" and "General Instructions for Preparing A/V Material"
• If needed, get a PowerPoint template here and prepare your slides according to the above-mentioned guidelines.
• Please hand in your presentation in the speakers ready room on-site in due time before your session starts (at least two hours).
• Before the session starts, confirm your presence to the session (co-)chair.

…Speakers in Technical Sessions of D, A, T and E Track, Late Breaking Results papers and Multi-Partner Project papers

Quick Checklist

• Carefully read the information provided in the "General Instructions for Oral Presentations" and "General Instructions for Preparing A/V Material"
• If needed, get a PowerPoint template here and prepare your slides according to the above-mentioned guidelines.
• Upload your pre-recorded presentation video and speaker bio to the upload platform as described below.
• If you are required to give a presentation/pitch during the on-site sessions, hand in your presentation at the media check in due time before your session starts (at least two hours).
• Prepare a poster and any further material, demonstrators, short-videos, back-up slides, or anything further which helps promoting and/or triggering interest in your work to be prepared for the interactive presentations. Each interactive presentation station will be equipped with a poster board, a standing-table and power supply - use it creatively.
• Before the session starts, confirm your presence to the session (co-)chair.
• Please be advised that, in addition to the upload of the camera-ready version of the paper, the pre-recorded presentation video must be uploaded and the paper must be presented on-site at the conference in Valencia, Spain. Otherwise, the paper cannot be published in the conference proceedings.

Pre-Recorded Presentation Video Submission

All speakers of the D,A T and E track, Late Breaking Results Papers and Multi-Partner Project papers are kindly asked to upload a pre-recorded presentation video which will be available for on-demand watch on the DATE website (restricted access for registered participants) two weeks before the on-site conference in Antwerp, BE. During that time, participants may already occupy themselves with your work to be prepared for the discussions and Q&A possibilities at the on-site conference.

The pre-recorded presentation video to be uploaded should meet the following technical requirements:

File type:	MP4
Data transmission:	max. 3 Mbit/s
Resolution:	between 1280x720 and 1920x1080 px
Aspect ratio:	16:9 (landscape format)
Length:	max. 15 minutes for Late Breaking Results & Extended Abstract Papers: at least 5 to 10 minutes, max. 15 minutes

Please limit the file size to a maximum of 300 Mbytes to minimize problems with storage and access speed that can result in a distorted or incomplete presentation. While maximum file size is set to 300 Mbytes, please use sufficient compression to reduce the size as much as possible without sacrificing the quality of your presentation.

To speed up your start, we provide a PowerPoint template presentation. You are encouraged to use this template to prepare your presentation. Press here to download the PowerPoint file.

To upload the pre-recorded presentation video, please access your paper submission account (SoftConf) and navigate to the video upload page. There you can upload your pre-recorded presentation which will later be linked to the detailed programme on this website.

Upload Deadline: Wednesday, 07 February 2024 AoE (AoE).

Interactive Technical Sessions On-Site

For the on-site conference, all authors of the D,A T and E track, Late Breaking Results papers and Multi-Partner Project papers are kindly asked to prepare a poster (A0 portrait format) summarising their work and any further material, demonstrators, short-videos, back-up slides, or anything further which helps promoting and/or triggering interest in your work. Please be creative!
Rather than travelling with your poster, you may also print it in Valencia.

Additionally,

• Authors of accepted regular papers, industrial experience brief papers, late breaking results papers and Multi-Partner Projects papers are kindly asked to prepare a 5-minute pitch of their work.
• Authors of papers that were nominated for the Best Paper Award (BPA) are kindly asked to prepare a 20-minute presentation (15' talk + 5' Q&A) of their work.
• Authors of extended abstracts are requested to prepare a 60-seconds pitch of their work.

In order to stimulate the discussions during the interactive presentation at the stations, you may want to finish your presentation/pitch with a question for the audience.

During the interactive technical sessions on-site, time will be allocated for the initial (pitch) presentations and, subsequently, the interactive presentations at the interactive presentation stations to lively engage in discussions with conference delegates. Each interactive presentation station will be equipped with a poster board, a standing-table and power supply - use it creatively.

As DATE 2024 provides a centralised presentation management for oral presentations, initial presentations and pitches must be handed in in the speakers ready room on-site in due time before the start of the session (at least two hours before the start of the session). Please see General Instructions for Oral Presentations for further details. To speed up your start, we provide a PowerPoint template presentation. You are encouraged to use this template to prepare your presentation. Press here to download the PowerPoint file.

… Organisers/Speakers of/in Embedded Tutorials

• The centralised presentation management system will NOT be used for embedded tutorials and presentations will be handled individually by each embedded tutorial organiser. Please contact your organiser to get information on the implementation of your presentation.
• Please make sure that you are registered for the conference (at least with a day ticket for the day of your embedded tutorial). All registration information are available here.
• In order to ensure the successful presentation of your tutorial contents, please adhere to the information provided in the "General Instructions for Oral Presentations" and "General Instructions for Preparing A/V Material"

… Organisers/Speakers of/in Workshops (incl. Special Initiative ASD workshop)

• The centralised presentation management system will NOT be used for workshops and presentations will be handled individually by each workshop organiser. Please contact your organiser to get information on the implementation of your presentation.
• Please make sure that you are registered for the conference (at least with a day ticket for the day of your workshop). All registration information are available here.
• In order to ensure the successful presentation of your workshop contents, please adhere to the information provided in the "General Instructions for Oral Presentations" and "General Instructions for Preparing A/V Material"

… Presenters in the PhD Forum

• The centralised presentation management system will NOT be used for the PhD Forum and presentations will be handled individually. Please contact the PhD Forum chairs to get information on the implementation of your presentation.
• Please make sure that you are registered for the conference (at least with a day ticket for the day of the PhD Forum). All registration information are available here.
• Further information for PhD Forum contributions and required presentation material is available here.
• In order to ensure the successful presentation of your contents, please adhere to the information provided in the "General Instructions for Oral Presentations" and "General Instructions for Preparing A/V Material"