Schedule and Format

Format

COLT 2021 will be a hybrid conference with both virtual and in-person components.

Authors will contribute a recorded talk, participate in a virtual poster session, and contribute a recorded lightning talk with live Q&A.

Plenary, invited, and lightning talks will be live-streamed synchronously, along with Q&A from virtual and in-person participants. Authors may conduct their Q&A locally or remotely.

The conference will include opportunities for: experts to engage including poster sessions, recorded talks, Q&A, and informal discussions; showcasing the breadth of research in the community with proceedings and plenary talks; and community connection and socializing in both virtual and physical spaces.

Schedule

Wednesday, August 4 - Thursday, August 5

Detailed schedule available here.

Overview (U.S. Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00):

Sunday, August 15

Monday, August 16 - Thursday, August 19

Daily schedule (U.S. Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00); further details will be announced soon.

  • 7:45am - 8:45am (virtual): Virtual poster session. Local attendees will join via personal laptop/device from hotel room or on-campus spaces.
  • 9:15am - 1:00pm (hybrid): Main hybrid program, beginning with a best paper talk (one each day, including 2 best student papers) and likely to conclude with a plenary each day. An initial, but detailed program for each day following the best paper talk is available here. Local attendees will attend talks in the auditoriums and use the outdoor tent for coffee and snack breaks.
  • 1:00pm (hybrid): Local lunch; includes hybrid activities on some days. Local attendees may have lunch on their own some days; other days, lunch will be provided in the tent along with TV screens and hybrid in-person-virtual activities.
  • 3:00pm (in-person): Local activities -- on 2 of the 4 days, panel discussions on "The importance of theory in ML" and "Statistics and ML"; recreational activities on the other 2 days such as hikes and bike rides.

COVID-19 Precautions

We are putting the following precautions in place for the health and enjoyment of local participants as well as staff and volunteers:

  • All local attendees will affirm that they are fully vaccinated prior to attending. We ask non-vaccinated members of the community to join the virtual experience.
  • Local attendance will be capped at 200 people, perhaps fewer. In particular, the auditoriums will be at no more than half their seating capacity.
  • All meals and breaks will be outdoors.
  • We are working to provide live viewing screens outdoors. Any participant is welcome to watch any talk from the outdoor area if they prefer.
  • Poster sessions will be virtual-only. Local attendees will participate from their hotels/accommodations in the morning before coming to the venue for talks and outdoor socializing. We are working to have technology or assistance available for anyone who might need it for the virtual poster sessions.
  • Afternoon social activities such as discussions or roundtables will take place partially or entirely outdoors in the tent.

You can also find information about local COVID-19 status.

See the Local Information page for information about travel and accommodations (e.g., block hotel rates), as well as some local tips.