What sessions should I attend?

I'm a newbie to MT. How can I get up to speed fast?

Wednesday 26-Aug – Tutorials at the UQO Campus
Morning Introduction to MT – Mike Dillinger	Get an overview of how MT fits into business settings.
Afternoon Business Cases for MT – Don DePalma	Learn how the strengths and limitations of MT affect constructing a business case for it.
Evening Networking reception at the Château Laurier	Bring your business cards, grab a drink, and introduce yourself to some strangers!
Thursday 27-Aug – Main Conference at the Château Laurier
Morning 9:00 – Opening Session	The conference chair will introduce and thank the summit organizing team. Get a good look at those people, and look for them at breaks. They can answer questions and introduce you to people. They all want to make sure you meet the people and find the information you're looking for at the conference!
9:30 – Keynote 1: Symantec deploys the Systran hybrid	Symantec is an experienced MT user, talking about their experience adopting a new generation of MT product.
10:15 – Keynote 2: Translated.net integrates MT and crowd-sourcing into it's standard translation workflow	Translated.net is a bit of a maverick among LSPs. We want to see if they're brilliant or crazy! (LSP = Language Service Provider – you may know them as Translation Agencies.)
11:30 – Pierre Isabelle and Roland Kuhn, our research co-chairs explain the major trends and events in MT Research	MT Research can seem esoteric, but there are just a few important features and trends you need to know about.
Lunch – Approach one or more of the organizers and ask them to introduce you to people with similar interests!
Afternoon 2:00-6:00 – Mix it up between the government and commercial tracks.	The government and commercial tracks both focus on full systems that integrate MT with other components to solve real problems. The presenters in both tracks are "bellewether" technology adopters. Don't be shy about asking them questions in the sessions and on breaks. They're full of ideas and opinions!
6:00-7:00 – IAMT General Membership Meeting	The IAMT general membership meeting is for members of the International Association for Machine Translation and its regional associations. You became a member by registering for the conference. The meeting won't be exciting, but it's another chance to meet the officers and organizers who can help you meet your goals at the conference.
Friday 28-Aug – Main Conference at the Château Laurier
Morning 9:00-12:00 Government and Commercial Tracks	You'll want to move to the track most related to your job responsibilities – government or commercial – on Friday morning.
11:00-12:30 Panel Discussion: How are the new technology combinations helping users?	Listen between the lines to understand what some of the current problems are and how people are addressing them.
Grab a quick lunch; there's a lot to do!
Afternoon Head for the *Technology Showcase*, which lasts all afternoon. (12:00-5:00)	The technology showcase is only open for this one afternoon, so see as much as you can! The systems and demos you will see in the technology showcase represent the real state of the practice in MT. To maintain your sanity, be sure to ask questions and don?t let the developers overwhelm you. Technology developers sometimes assume you are familiar with jargon. Other times, they dive into the details of their products that they are proud of. Stop them when it's not helping you. When you need a break, sit in on a presentation or two in the Commercial users track. Friday afternoon is a special session on tools for translators and technology in translator training.
Evening 7:00 Conference banquet and IAMT Award of Honor	This is another good excuse to network with people you found interesting! The award speech will include some history, and shed light on careers in MT.
Saturday 29-Aug – Main Conference at the Château Laurier
Morning 9:00-10:30	Saturday, the main conference has just two tracks Research and Government users (A separate workshop running in parallel will focus on translator productivity). This is the day to venture into the research track the research presentations on Saturday are among the most exciting and the most accessible. And the government presentations are about some new and exciting uses of MT!
11:00 Dan Scott director of the ODNI Foreign Language Program Office, "Government use of MT"	Government initiatives on MT research and deployment have sometimes driven the entire MT market. We'll see what they can share this year.
Lunch
11:45 Doug Jones of MIT Lincoln Labs	Doug's work brings a really fresh perspective on MT evaluation. It will be helpful if you come with a little knowledge of the ILR (Interagency Language Roundtable) levels of language proficiency (Ask someone at the break before the session!)
Afternoon 2:00-6:30 Research and Government Sessions	Continue exploring the government and research sessions that interest you. Sit next to someone you like, and write your questions to them. When you just can?t take any more, enjoy the lobby and common rooms of the Château Laurier. Network with your new acquaintances, and target the people who can be advisors and resources for ongoing contact after the conference.
End of the day – Join us for the closing session, bring your business cards, and make sure you keep in touch with your new contacts!

summitxii@amtaweb.org

Last updated: Tue Jul 21 23:05:52 PDT 2009