2019 AISES National Conference Call for Session Proposals

Closed to New Submissions

The 2019 AISES National Conference is a unique, three-day event focusing on educational, professional, and workforce development for Native Americans, Alaska Natives, First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and other Indigenous peoples of North America. Attendees include Native pre-college and college students, educators, and professionals as well as representatives from Tribal Nations, Tribal enterprises, and Native owned businesses. The conference also includes the LARGEST college and career fair in the U.S. for Native students and professionals! Exhibitors at the College and Career fair represent a diverse range of corporations, educational institutions, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, Tribes, and Native owned businesses.

Over 2,300 people attended the 2018 AISES National Conference in Oklahoma City and we anticipate surpassing that number in 2019.

The 2019 AISES National Conference will be held October 10, 11, and 12 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with pre-conference activities, including hackAISES (hackathon) and Boeing STEM Day for Native pre-college students, on October 9. For information about the 2019 AISES National Conference, please visit the conference website at: http://conference.aises.org/

Call for Session Proposals

AISES has opened the call for session proposals and encourages a diverse array of session presenters and STEM topics! If you have not yet presented at an AISES conference, we encourage you to submit a session proposal!

All sessions must fall into one of the following tracks:

• Pre-College: target audience includes high school juniors and seniors
• College: target audience includes undergraduate and graduate students
• Professional: target audience includes professionals and AISES partners
• STEM & Business: target audience includes students, professionals, and tribal business and entrepreneurs
• Agricultural Sciences: target audience includes students and professionals
• Health Sciences and Medical: target audience includes students and professionals
• Educator: target audience includes K-12 educators
• Research: target audience includes all conference attendees. Submit a research presentation at http://conference.aises.org/agenda/research 

Track Descriptions

Pre-College: Sessions in the pre-college track are meant to raise awareness and inspire high school students to pursue college majors and eventually careers in STEM. Sessions should aim to expose students to various STEM opportunities, programs, and careers, and support students in discovering, pursuing, and sustaining their interest in STEM as they prepare for their college careers and beyond.

College: Sessions in the college track are meant to increase access to resources and success in STEM degree programs for Native college students. Topics could range from mentorship to preparing for graduate school and beyond.

Professional: Sessions in the professional track are meant to support Native professionals as they advance their careers in STEM. Topics could range from professional development, career opportunities, networking and opportunities to mentor and support Native students in STEM.

STEM & Business: Sessions in the stem & business track are meant to explore the intersection of STEM and business and support students, professionals, and Tribal Nations interested in developing STEM focused businesses, supporting entrepreneurship, or building STEM infrastructure within Tribal Nations.

Agricultural Sciences: This track is designed to assist students and professionals with multi-faceted interests in education, advocacy services, research, or agricultural business. Sessions could have a focus in animal science, business management, fisheries management, climate change on agricultural practices, food, soil and forestry services, organic and aquaculture farming, and sustainable or traditional agricultural farming and practices. Topics could also include environmental, economic and social factors that influence agriculture and that explores themes, problems and solutions, trends or careers that connect STEM to agriculture and agriculture related fields for Native American farmers, ranchers, and students.

Health Sciences and Medical: Sessions in this track will support research developments, opportunities, and educational pathways in health sciences and health professional careers. Best practices on American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) health and careers are requested that guides and supports students to pursue health research, health professional careers and promotes collaborative research with AIAN communities.

Educator: The purpose of the educator track is to provide content specifically for K-12 educators and support staff working primarily with Native students. Topics could range from securing teaching positions in Indian Country, culturally relevant curriculum, and supporting extra-curricular STEM activities for Native students.

Research: The purpose of this track is to promote and highlight STEM research conducted and presented by Native students and professionals. To submit a research presentation visit: http://conference.aises.org/agenda/research

Boeing STEM Day
AISES is also soliciting proposals for activities presented during Boeing STEM Day on Wednesday, October 9. STEM activities should be hands-on and engaging for AISES pre-college: middle school and high school students and educators; and college students.

Examples of activities include:

• Robotics demonstrations
• Jeopardy style science bowl
• Simple science experiments
• Engineering and design projects          

Sessions AISES is Specifically Seeking this Year:

While we encourage you to propose any session that fits well within one of our eight tracks and/or for Boeing STEM Day, this year we are also specifically seeking session proposals that address the topics listed below. We encourage sessions that are interactive, upbeat, and inspiring. Sessions that draw the largest attendance and best evaluations are those that include activities and audience participation. We have also found that attendees like “themed” sessions that drawn on contemporary pop culture (movies, music, etc.) to contextualize the content.

Propose Sessions that demonstrate:

Pre-College

• STEM Career Exploration (highlighting STEM career opportunities or possibilities)
• Yes! Computer Science is for You! (Encouraging students to pursue college degrees/careers in CS)
• Yes! Engineering is for You! (Encouraging students to pursue college degrees/careers in engineering)
• Applying to College (Tips / How-To when applying to college)
• Prepare for the College and Career Fair (How to prepare for the AISES college and career fair)
• Science of Music (Sound wave energy, musical instrument design, acoustic resonance, electronic amplification, etc.)

College

• How to Ace Your Job Interview (Job interview preparation)
• Should You go to Graduate School? (Information about graduate school/applying to graduate school)
• Faculty Careers in STEM (Information about opportunities/navigating pathways to faculty careers)
• Preparing for the College & Career Fair (How to prepare for the College & Career Fair/meeting potential employers/exploring graduate school opportunities)
• Evaluating Job Offers (How does one evaluate and/or negotiate a job offer)
• Transitioning from Campus to the Workforce (Help transitioning from student to professional such as interview tips, presenting your best self, etc.)
• Leadership Development (Personal and professional leadership development)

Professional

• Executive Mentoring (How to obtain or provide mentorship)
• Managing Stress/Avoiding Burnout (Tips to help professionals handle stress and burn-out in their careers)
• Career Planning (Help professionals chart or plan their career path)
• Financial and Investment Management (How to manage finances or investments)
• Creating and Supporting Effective Teams
• Leadership Development (creating and advancing opportunity for others)
• Marketing Ourselves for Success (developing a successful image of ourselves)

STEM and Business

• Patent and Trademark (process, application, time considerations)
• Entrepreneurship (Access to Capital and/or Developing a Business Model)
• Utilizing / Supporting STEM in Tribal Communities
• Innovative Tribal or Native Owned Businesses

Agricultural Sciences

• Connecting Native American communities through traditional food, farming, and education
• Farming integrating math and science in curriculum and youth engagement
• Mathematical, scientific, technological or engineering applications
• Exploring traditions with food and agriculture-focused economy on American Indians
• Topics blending STEM education into farming
• STEM and it's use in agricultural technology
• Provision of entrepreneurial education and concepts for classrooms connecting agricultural science to real life
• Models that enhance support for agriculture, ranching, natural resource management, forestry, and success stories from Native communities

Health Sciences and Medical

• Successful programs designed for underserved AIAN populations
• Exploring educational pathways and careers in health sciences and medicine
• How to apply to medical school
• Expertise, experience, and explanation about research or changes in health policy and practices that reduce health disparities within AIAN communities
• Serving the community through education and outreach-based health science programs
• Funding resources, fellowships, and other sustainable measures that supports pathways to research training and careers
• Sustaining AIAN life through social, cultural, and spiritual balance

Educator

• Native Education Policy (K-12 and/or Higher Education)
• Effective Models for Supporting STEM in K-12
• Cultural relevant STEM education resources

Session Logistics (Two options)

Sessions will take place October 10, 11 and 12 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday).

Presentation style:
Session Length: 50 minutes
Informational with some interactions

Workshop style:
Session Length: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Activity focused with minimal lecture time

Each session room will be equipped with a projector, screen, presentation clicker, and Windows computer with internet access and connected to in-room sound system.  Each room will also have a podium with microphone and head table and chairs.  Bring all presentation materials on a flash drive or other USB storage device.  Presentation laptops are not equipped with CD/DVD drives.

Boeing STEM Day Logistics

Boeing STEM Day interactive sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, October 9.

Interactive style:
Activity Length: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Your activity will run for the entire Boeing STEM Day (12:00-4:00 pm), with breaks built in to the four-hour time block.  Your activity should be able to be repeated at least two times in a 4-hour time slot so that students are able to rotate amongst the various activities.

The STEM day room will have a microphone to make announcements.  Computers, electricity and AV set-up are not available for these activities.

Required Information for Session Proposals

• Presenter’s contact information
• Presenter’s biography (BIO) of 200 words or less
• Session abstract (description) of 200 words or less

Timeline and General Information

• Deadline for submission of proposals: May 20, 2019
• Notification of acceptance begins: June 3, 2019

Presenters are invited to submit multiple proposals. For those that have presented at an AISES conference before, please propose a new session. Preference will be given to interactive, engaging, and innovative sessions.

Conference Logistics for Presenters
Conference presenters are responsible for their own travel, lodging, and related conference expenses. Each accepted session will receive up to two full conference registrations discounted by 50%, regardless of how many presenters are participating in the session. Discounted registration codes will be provided after sessions are selected and presenters are notified. All refunds are subject to the Cancellation and Refund Policy.

ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM

Closed to new submissions.

For More Information

If you have any questions or concerns, please email conference@aises.org.