Here we describe the setup and organisation for both the reading group and the seminar sessions.

We have a mailing list where we informa you about upcomming events. We also provide information on the #journalclub slack channel. If you have a presentation, want to take part in the reading groups, have a comment or feedback, contact us on slack or mail: liir-journal-org (at) kuleuven (dot) be

Reading Group

In the reading meetings, we come together to discuss a paper. There are no restrictions on these papers, as long as they are not very trivial. We regularly schedule this meeting every two weeks where we discuss one paper a time.

Papers are chosen by the means of a poll. Everyone can propose and vote for a paper for the next meeting when the poll opens. The discussion-leader then choose a paper one week in advance, hopefully considering the votes. These polls are hosted on the LIIR slack channel.

Everybody that comes to these meetings is expected to have read the paper and should have a general idea of the content or the topic. However, to guide the discussion, we have a Discussion-Leader who prepares better more in depth.

  • Discussion-Leader: Same as the in-depth-reader(s). Additional tasks:
    • Starts the meeting with a very short summary.
    • Guides the discussion during the meeting.
    • The main person who is responsible for bringing forward discussion points.
    • Engages others to participate in the discussion.
    • Optional: displays paper on-screen with markings, prepares some slides to guide the reading and discussion (no lecture or long presentation).

The Leader is randomly chosen for every meeting. We generate a queue well in advance, making sure everybody will be discussion-leader.

We aim to have at least one of the organisers present at every meeting, to also help by checking time and stuff.

If you are planning to join regularly and want to be added to the discussion-leader queue, please contact us. If we note that you participate on a regular basis, we might add you to the pool (or contact you directly about it).

Seminar Sessions

During the seminar sessions, we have the opportunity to give a presentation to other members of the group. This allows us to practice for upcoming conferences, or get feedback regarding some ideas we have. We propose three types of presentations:

  • Conference: To practice for some upcoming conference. May take every form (slides, poster, jupyter notebook, etc.)
  • Pitch: To pitch an idea to get feedback and a discussion on this idea.
  • Demo: To share some amazing implementation that you think can benefit the others.

We occasionally invite guest speakers to present some of there work. If you have friends or colleagues that could give an interesting presentation, please let us know.

We always try to keep this very informal and discussions are encouraged.

Seminar format:

We have two formats, depending on the type of presentation.

  • Regular Format:
    • We have one hour for a session, where we have two presentations.
    • A presentation can take 20 minutes, with 10 minutes for a discussion and/or questions.
  • Guest Speaker Format:
    • Out of respect for the Guest Speaker, we provide them with an entire session. The aim is still to stay within one hour.
    • We Request the presenter to try and limit to around 30 minutes, though, we won’t be strict.
    • The remaining time is for questions.

There will always be a host during these meetings to open the meeting, introduce potential guest speakers, and watch the time. Note: by asking questions during the presentations, it is easier to get immediate feedback. Let the host know if this is okay. You can prepare in advance by creating some breakpoints in the presentation for questions.

PhD - Doctoral Diary Requirements

For your ‘doctoral diary’ you need to give two seminars about personal work. These Seminar Sessions count as well.