Student Guide to Organising Conferences - Filozofski fakultet Osijek

Student Guide to Organising Conferences at FFOS

From an Idea to Its Implementation

1) I have an idea. When can I begin?

It is best to begin planning a conference in the year preceding the year in which it will be held. Conferences may be academic, professional, artistic or a combination of these. The initial idea for organising a conference should be:

discussed as a proposal with fellow students, preferably within as broad a group as possible to ensure that sufficient human resources are available to prepare the conference
followed by the establishment of the conference organising committee and, where applicable, programme committee
reported to the head of the department or chair
reported to the Faculty Management, primarily Acting Vice-Dean Tomislav Jakopec, and included in the Conference Organisation Plan for the following calendar year, together with the name of the head of the organising committee who will be responsible for administering the conference and will receive access to the ePoslovanje system, through which the conference organisation request is submitted

2) How should participants be invited?

Prepare a call for participation.
If the call for participation includes a registration fee, arrange a meeting with the Head of Accounting, Mario Varga, to determine the exact fee and the method of payment.
Send the call for participation to Acting Vice-Dean Novak (snovak@ffos.hr) and Acting Vice-Dean Jakopec (tjakopec@ffos.hr) for review and publication on the Faculty’s official website and social media.
Before publication, send the Croatian-language version of the call to Maja Glušac for proofreading (mglusac@ffos.hr).
Send the call for participation to all available contacts who may be interested in the conference. When it is sent to other institutions, it must be sent by the Dean’s Office.

3) I know the approximate number of participants. How do I begin organising the conference itself?

Consider seeking sponsorship and other sources of conference funding.
Complete the financial plan and define the outline programme more precisely, including the number of sessions and the number and duration of breaks.[1]
Consult the Procurement Office regarding the possibility of procuring particular items and services, such as graphic design, poster printing and conference packages. The Faculty is subject to VAT and public procurement regulations for certain services, so the necessary preliminary steps must be checked and completed before ordering any services or products.
The following costs cannot be planned from Faculty funds: hospitality expenses, including food and beverages, and gifts or prizes.

When food and beverages are planned, whether on or outside Faculty premises, the costs must be covered from third-party funds, such as registration fees, donations or similar sources.

One mandatory meeting must be held with the Head of Accounting and the Acting Vice-Dean for Teaching and Students one month before the conference, regardless of the sources and proportions from which the conference is funded.
One mandatory meeting must be held with the Acting Vice-Dean for Development and Business Operations regarding promotional materials, the allocation of rooms and other technical requirements at least one month before the conference.
Enter room reservations in the room and event schedules by contacting raspored@ffos.hr, with the competent Acting Vice-Dean included in cc.

4) We have prepared the first detailed version of the conference programme and can begin making specific arrangements:

Ask the secretaries of the organisational units for assistance with preparations, such as obtaining quotations, while continuing to coordinate individual activities by monitoring deadlines and the implementation of plans.
Submit all necessary conference funding requests in agreement with the Acting Vice-Dean for Teaching and Students (ePoslovanje > Request for Teaching and Student Requirements > Activity: Extracurricular Activity). The student who heads the conference organising committee has access to the request.
Prepare any required supporting documentation, such as travel orders for guest lecturers, posters and similar materials.
Arrange the technical details and an equipment test with the Head of Technical and Cleaning Staff at least one week before the conference.
Prepare the event announcement, send it to Maja Glušac for proofreading (mglusac@ffos.hr) and then send it to glasnogovornica@ffos.hr, with the Acting Vice-Dean who approved the announcement included in cc.
If representatives of other institutions are invited to the conference opening, the invitation must be sent by the Dean’s Office.
The student organisers may document the conference themselves through photographs and notes. Alternatively, they should ask Acting Vice-Dean Jakopec or Acting Vice-Dean Novak to engage a student journalist and student photographer for this purpose.

5) After the conference:

Submit a written report on the conference, together with photographs, to rvrbesic@ffos.hr and tjakopec@ffos.hr.

Student organisers are responsible for carrying out all activities and obligations undertaken as part of organising the announced conference in a timely, orderly and honest manner. A student who performs their duties late, improperly or dishonestly, or whose conduct seriously damages the reputation of the University or the Faculty in any way, is subject to disciplinary responsibility in accordance with the Regulations on Disciplinary Responsibility of Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek.

The student who heads the conference organising committee is required to submit all necessary requests through the ePoslovanje system in a timely manner.

[1] Faculty employees, doctoral students and other students do not pay a registration fee for a conference organised by the Faculty when the registration fee is payable to the Faculty.

The financial structure of the conference must be planned so that the expected income and expenditure are balanced. For example, the total registration fees paid and the agreed financial support from the Faculty or other partner institutions should correspond to the total amount of all planned conference expenses.