Time schedule for organizing a workshop
At least six months before the workshop:
-Invite a speaker
-Request funding with the workshop committee (forms are available at bsi website)
-If you are inviting a speaker from outside of Europe: book flight tickets (including a cancelation
insurance) as soon as you receive confirmations from both the speaker and the workshop
committee. Booking tickets early saves a lot of money.
-Book rooms for the workshop (you can do this by e-mailing secr@bsi.ru.nl). Make sure the rooms
you book have a beamer and PC and check if the size of the room is OK regarding the amount of
people you expect!
-If you would like to have lunch at the Brasserie, you should already book it now (to save money, you
can book for less people, it’s always too much).
Two months in advance:
-Make final arrangements with the speaker about the content of the workshop: what is he/she going
to talk about, which papers should students read, etc. Ask RM/ PhD-students to give talks at the
workshop. Finalize the workshop program and check with the speaker if he or she is okay with the
program (send him/her the filled BSI form)
-Send invitations to the RM/PhD-students and BSI-members (secr@bsi.ru.nl can forward the e-mail
for you)
One month in advance:
-Book the hotel
-Send a second workshop invitation if there are still spots available. Invite people from outside of the
BSI if there are still a lot of spots available.
-Send the program and the literature to all attendants
-Arrange lunch (if you do not want to have lunch at “De Brasserie”) and order coffee/ tea
Two weeks in advance:
-make arrangements with the speaker with regard to airport-pick ups/e-mail him or her information
about how to get to Nijmegen.
-send reminders to the attendants and ask them to let you know if they cannot make it to the
workshop
-if students are giving presentations: check how they are progressing
A couple of days in advance:
-print the attendance lists and evaluation forms
-buy presents for the speaker
-if you are using coupons for lunch: print the coupons
The day itself:
-be on time so you can check the equipment, get the speaker something to drink, etc.
-Make sure you ask people to fill out the evaluation forms!
Relax & enjoy the workshop!
Tips
-If you order a standard lunch, this will cost € 9,75 per person for two soft rolls with ham/cheese, a
raisin-roll, tea, coffee and milk. Alternatively, you can contact Alfons Kusters of “Het Gerecht” and
make lunch coupons for the workshop attendants. That way, everyone can buy what he or she wants
and you do not have to spend as much on lunch (€4-coupons already buy people a sandwich and a
drink). They can be directly billed to the BSI.
-The BSI made arrangements with three hotels, namely Mercure, Amrath Belvoir and Courage. This
means they can directly bill the costs to the BSI so you will not have to pay. The standard rate they
charge can sometimes be higher than rates you can find online (e.g. on Expedia or Nachtjeweg).
Search for the cheapest arte online and, if it is lower than the rate the hotel offers you, ask them to
match the rate you found. Budget-wise, keep in mind that if you let people stay at the Mercure, you
can let them travel to the university by buss, or at least the taxi will not cost you as much as when
you put them in hotels that are further away.
-It can be rather strenuous to organize and at the same time socialize with the speaker for several
days in a row (though it is off course great fun to do so!). Try to make arrangements in advance with
colleagues or your supervisor to help you so you can share that responsibility. Ask the speaker if he
or she wants to have dinner after the workshop and if yes, make sure that there some people
attending this dinner!
-You can print out some information for the speaker, such as hotel’s address, a little map of
Nijmegen, your phone number and the phone number of one of your colleagues, just in case he or
she likes to wander around the city a little when you are not there and reach you when he or she has
questions.
-You can ask the speaker to send you the slides of the presentation so you can send them to all the
attendants after the workshop!
written bij Marcella. Tessa and Sanne