GCC2019 Frequently Asked questions

What will be the format for GCC in 2019?

The format of GCC this year will be a bit different than the previous years.

It will starts with 1 day of training, continues with 3 days of conference featuring unified and parallel tracks, poster/demo, birds-of-a-feather gatherings but also training, and ends with 2 days of CollaborationFest.

Day	Event	Details
Mon, 1 July	Training	3 2h training sessions for those new to Galaxy, either using it, or deploying it
Tue, 2 July	Conference	2 parallel tracks and 1 unified track, birds-of-a-feather, poster/demo and 2 1.5 h training sessions with more specialized topics
Wed, 3 July	Conference	2 parallel tracks and 1 unified track, birds-of-a-feather, poster/demo and 2 1.5 h training sessions with more specialized topics
Thu, 4 July	Conference	2 parallel tracks and 1 unified track, birds-of-a-feather, poster/demo and 2 1.5 h training sessions with more specialized topics
Fri, 5 July	CollaborationFest	Collaborative work event
Sat, 6 July	CollaborationFest	Collaborative work event

How are the training choosen?

The training topics that are offered during GGCC2019 are determined by the community via a nomination and voting process.

Nominated topics can cover a wide range. For example:

Introduction to Using Galaxy
Scientific topic oriented trainings
Community specific trainings
Development and administration around Galaxy
Train the trainers

This list only shows some examples. If you think the communities would be interested in a topic, then please nominate it! And if you are looking for ideas, see the topic nominated in: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and the Galaxy Events page.

The training nomination is open from December, 1st to December, 31. Topics will be compiled by the GCC2017 Organizing Committee, and voted on by the Galaxy Community from January, 15th to January, 31st.

Topics will then be selected and scheduled based on topic interest, and the organisers' ability to confirm instructors for each session. Some very popular sessions may be scheduled more than once. The final schedule will be posted before registration opens.

Will BOSC be joining GCC in 2019?

No. In the month after GCCBOSC 2018, both sets of organizers, independently and simultaneously, decided

Not to hold a joint GCC and BOSC conference in 2019.
To look into holding a joint meeting every few years, starting as soon as 2020.

BOSCers, don't get too nostalgic: you are encouraged to attend GCC2019 (and we hope you do!), and you will see many Galaxy community members at BOSC 2019.

Why?

2018 was the first time GCC and BOSC held a joint conference. There is significant overlap between the two communities, and we had been considering a joint event since at least 2015. Organizers from both communities felt that GCCBOSC 2018 was a success, and that future joint meetings have even more potential for success.

Both the GCC and BOSC organizers feel that we should try doing this again. Not everything went as smoothly as it could have, but we now have a year's experience and a plethora of excellent feedback and suggestions from conference participants.

On the flip side, there are also significant reasons to not permanently join the conferences together: A permanently joint conference risks diluting both communities. GCC also has a different focus from ISMB (BOSC's usual conference partner), and many BOSCers (while still enthused about the GCC partnership) really hesitate to give that up. Planning a joint conference is also more work than planning a standalone GCC.

Meeting together every few years preserves both communities, and has the potential to further increase the synergy between them (which was our primary motivating goal in 2018). This also gets BOSC back to ISMB on a regular basis, and helps us avoid some logistical challenges a joint conference would pose in 2019.

A joint meeting in 2020 or 2021 depends on finding a suitable venue (300+ attendees, and more parallel events is just harder) and several other stars aligning, but we aim to bring these communities back together.