Theme Management
Organize your conference with themes and assign theme leaders
What are Themes?
Themes (also known as tracks or topics) help organize submissions by subject area. Each theme can have its own organizer and leaders who are responsible for reviewing and managing submissions within that theme. This allows for distributed management and ensures domain experts review relevant papers.
1 Creating Themes
You can create themes during initial conference setup or add them later through the conference settings.
Steps to Create a Theme
- 1
Navigate to Conference Themes Section
In the conference creation or edit form, scroll to the "Conference Themes" section.
- 2
Click "Add Theme"
Click the "Add Theme" button to open the theme creation modal.
- 3
Fill in Theme Details
Enter the theme name, optional description, and assign organizer/leaders.
- 4
Save the Theme
Click "Add Theme" to save. The theme will appear in the themes list immediately.
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Theme Name | Required | A descriptive name for the theme. Examples: "Artificial Intelligence", "Machine Learning", "Computer Vision" |
| Description | Optional | A brief description of what topics fall under this theme. Helps authors choose the right theme. |
| Theme Organizer | Optional | The primary person responsible for this theme |
| Theme Leaders | Optional | Additional people who can review abstracts and manage papers in this theme |
2 Theme Organizers
A theme organizer is the primary person responsible for a specific theme.
Organizer Responsibilities
- Review and approve/reject abstracts submitted to their theme
- Assign reviewers to papers from the conference reviewer pool
- Monitor review progress and set required reviewer counts
- Make final accept/reject/revision decisions on papers
- Access the Theme Leader Dashboard for their theme
Assigning an Organizer
- 1. In the theme modal, click the "Theme Organizer" dropdown
- 2. Search for an existing user by name or email
- 3. If the user doesn't exist, click "Create new user" and enter their details
- 4. Select the user to assign them as organizer
3 Theme Leaders
Theme leaders work alongside the organizer to manage submissions. You can assign multiple leaders to a theme.
Leader Capabilities
- Review abstracts in their theme
- View all papers in their theme
- Assign reviewers to papers
- Make final decisions
- Download paper files
Why Multiple Leaders?
- Distribute review workload
- Cover different sub-topics
- Ensure coverage during absences
- Get multiple perspectives
Important Note
Theme leaders can review their own submissions if they submit to their theme. This is by design as they have oversight responsibility. However, for fairness, consider having another leader or the chair review such submissions.
4 Editing and Deleting Themes
Editing a Theme
- 1. Find the theme in the themes list
- 2. Click the pencil (edit) icon
- 3. Update the theme details in the modal
- 4. Click "Update Theme" to save changes
You can edit theme name, description, organizer, and leaders at any time.
Deleting a Theme
- 1. Find the theme in the themes list
- 2. Click the trash (delete) icon
- 3. Confirm the deletion in the dialog
Warning: Deleting a theme will affect all submissions associated with it. This action cannot be undone.
5 Best Practices
Clear Naming
Use clear, descriptive theme names that help authors understand where their work fits best.
Balanced Distribution
Try to create themes that will have relatively balanced submission numbers to distribute workload evenly.
Domain Experts
Assign theme leaders who are experts in that specific area to ensure quality reviews.
Backup Coverage
Assign at least 2 leaders per theme to ensure coverage if one is unavailable.