Policy on Planning Major Academic Events

Introduction

Academic Conferences, meetings and workshops (hereafter collectively referred to as Academic Events) are important elements of university life. They are valuable to the university staff and students, partners and various stakeholders. Hosting Academic Events at XJTLU professionally is an important way in which the University can build its reputation, reach and influence as a world- class university for learning, teaching and research.

International Academic Events that are hosted, organised, or jointly organised in the name of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), whether online, on campus or elsewhere within Jiangsu Province, should seek prior approval from Jiangsu Government and Jiangsu Department of Education.

This document aims to provide guidance to Academic Event organisers on how to plan and organise the event, to follow the relevant policies and procedures, and to manage and allocate their event responsibilities in an appropriate way.

Definition

For the purpose of this policy, Academic Events may include: Academic Conference, Workshop, Salon, Seminar, Summit, Symposium, Talk, Academic Exchange, Academic Meeting, Forum, Colloquium and other events that match the definition.

An academic event in which:

a) Total participant number is equal to or more than 30
b) Equal to or more than 1/3 of the participants are external to XJTLU

is defined as a Major Academic Event.

An academic event in which overseas participants entering China from 2 or more countries and regions (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) is defined as an International Academic Event.

Timeline

An application for approval of Major Academic Events should be submitted to the Academic Affairs and Systems Team of Registry according to the following timelines, based on the type of Academic Event that is proposed.

1. Application of an International Academic Event should be submitted to the Academic Affairs and Systems Team of Registry at least 6 months in advance with a fully and well allocated budget plan.

2. Application of a Major Academic Event should be submitted to the Academic Affairs and Systems Team of Registry at least 4 months in advance with a fully and well allocated budget plan.

3. For any other Academic Events with external guests or participants, the organisers should be responsible for the relevant university access procedure of their visitors.

4. Emergent application of any Academic Event that is within 2 months’ notice should seek email approval from the Vice President Academic Affairs in the first instance before the application is submitted to Academic Affairs and Systems Team of Registry; otherwise the application might not be approved and the Academic Event is not allowed to be hosted in XJTLU.

Application Procedure

Section A) of Appendix 1 Application for approval of Major Academic Events should be submitted for planning Major Academic Events.

Section A) and Section B) of Appendix 1 Application for approval of Major Academic Events submitted for planning International Academic Events.

Applications MUST:

1. Include a full understanding of the aims or objectives of holding the Major Academic Event; Any proposal for hosting a Major Academic Event must take account of the timing for such an event in the Academic Calendar to ensure there is sufficient space, administrative support and other resources available to run such an event to international standards;

2. Include detailed projections on expenditure and revenues (a ‘Business Plan’), which sets out all forecasted costs, all expected revenue and a contingency plan when revenue is not materialized as expected. Major Academic Events should normally be cost-neutral and ideally should make a profit. Academic Events initiated by one or more Departments, Centres, Schools or Institutes should be planned and budgeted by the respective areas and should be supported by a full business case and funding plan.

3. Have approval from Dean of School/Head of Office or equivalent.

4. Submit the application form to the Academic Affairs and Systems Team of Registry in accordance with designated time.

University responsibility for approval of an application to host a Major Academic Event rests with the Vice-President Academic Affairs, in consultation with the appropriate Deans or SMT members. Academic Affairs and Systems Team of Registry will return the approved application form to the organiser once the whole application procedure is completed.

List of Appendices

• Appendix 1 – Application For Approval for Major Academic Events

(Last Review Date: Sep 2024)