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Mentoring Information

October 23-26, 2022

Mentoring is an important process that helps bring new researchers into the ASSETS community and to ensure that papers are accessible to everyone. We have two types of mentorship [1] available: Paper Writing Mentorship and Accessible Submission Mentorship. This page provide information for Mentors and Mentees for ASSETS 2022 including expectations and applications.

Paper Writing Mentorship: Help from seasoned researchers is available through the ASSETS Mentoring Program. You may receive advice on a submission in any of the submission categories provided by ASSETS. If you think you would benefit from mentoring because you are new to presenting your research, new to the type of category you would like to submit to, or seek assistance in preparing an English-language paper, please consider applying for mentoring help. The deadline to request a Paper Writing Mentor is Tuesday, February 15, 2022.

Accessible Submissions Mentorship: It is expected that papers will be made accessible both at the time of review and for the final submission. Paper submissions that are not accessible may be desk rejected. If you think you could benefit from a mentor, such as to help you with this writing informative alt tags and making the paper accessible, please consider applying for mentoring help. The deadline to request an Accessible Submission Mentor is Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

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What is Paper Writing Mentoring?

Help from seasoned researchers is available through the ASSETS Mentoring Program. You may receive advice on a submission in any of the submission categories provided by ASSETS. If you think you would benefit from mentoring because you are new to presenting your research, new to the type of category you would like to submit to, or simply find preparing an English-language or accessible paper to be difficult, please consider applying for mentoring help.

Mentoring typically pertains to the process of composing the submission, with at least two communication sessions: one at the beginning and one right before the deadline to submit. After reviews are received, mentees are encouraged to contact their mentor again and seek advice on interpreting the reviewers' comments. Even if the submission is accepted, this final session may help the mentee produce an even better camera-ready version.

Mentors provide feedback to authors on a draft of their paper and particularly highlight how an ASSETS paper could differ from other conferences in expectations. Mentors are not co-authors on the paper, their role is to provide advice during the writing process. Mentoring is not a pre-requisite for submitting a paper to ASSETS. It is meant to help bring in researchers to our community.

Participating in the ASSETS Mentoring Program does not guarantee that ASSETS will accept your submission. However, most individuals who have used the mentoring service at ASSETS or at the CHI conference where it began have reported positive experiences and an improved understanding of what reviewers require in general.

Authors should refer also refer to the General Writing Guidelines for Technology and People with Disabilities when preparing submissions.


Apply to have an ASSETS 2022 Paper Writing Mentor

To Apply, please use this form to enter the following details so we can match you to a suitable mentor. You will need to submit a one page extended abstract.

The deadline to request a Paper Writing Mentor is Tuesday, February 15, 2022.

After we introduce you and your mentor via email, you will need to send your submission to that person and discuss it together, for example, by email or video call.

Volunteer to be an ASSETS 2022 Paper Writing Mentor

Mentoring is an important process that helps bring new researchers into the ASSETS community. Potential mentors should have had at least one accepted paper at past ASSETS and be willing to spend the time as indicated above. If you are interested in being a mentor, please email the mentoring chairs (mentoring-assets22@acm.org) by February 15, 2022 5pm PST, to indicate your area of expertise.

Suggested Communication Process

Once we have put the mentor and mentee in touch, they are of course free to choose whatever communication method they prefer. One possibility (that really works, at no cost!) is the following:

  1. The mentee sends the submission by email to the mentor to give her/him/them a chance to read it in advance,
  2. The mentor and mentee set up an appointment for a video call by email,
  3. The mentee uploads the text to a Google Doc and shares a link to it with the mentor,
  4. At the scheduled time, the mentor and mentee establish the video call and both open the shared file in a web browser.

That way they can talk about the submission and simultaneously edit it, instantly seeing what the counterpart does – almost as good as meeting face-to-face!

Accessible Submissions Mentorship

Accessibility mentors can answer questions like:

  • How can I ensure that someone using a screen reader can access my manuscript?
  • What makes good alt text to describe figures in my manuscript?
  • What challenges would someone with color-blindness have reading my figures?
  • What precautions must be taken so that screen-readers are compatible with my tables?

Note that this is not a service to make your paper accessible for you, but accessibility mentors will help all authors get the advice and resources they need.


Apply to have an ASSETS 2022 Accessible Submission Mentor

It is important to the ASSETS community that the research we produce is accessible to everyone and at every stage of the publication process. However, producing accessible research articles, especially in PDF format, can be challenging. If you are new to this process, refer to the instructions on Creating Accessible PDFs. If you are new to producing accessible documents or are looking for advice on how to make your research more accessible, please fill in this form to be paired with an accessibility mentor.

The deadline to request an Accessible Submission Mentor is Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

Volunteer to be an ASSETS 2022 Accessible Submission Mentor

Do you have what it takes to create accessible documents? Consider becoming an accessibility mentor! If you already have experience publishing research articles that are accessible for people with vision impairments or other disabilities, please volunteer your time to help other authors! We are looking for accessibility mentors to give advice and answer questions about table/figure accessibility or PDF accessibility. If you are interested in being a mentor, please email the mentoring chairs (mentoring-assets22@acm.org) by March 15, 2022 5pm PST, to indicate your interest. We will work with you to ensure you are paired with only the amount of authors you have time to volunteer for!

Further Information on ASSETS Mentoring

For further information or any questions regarding the mentor program, please contact the Mentor Chairs – Sayan Sacar and Kirsten Ellis (mentoring-assets22@acm.org).

[1] Please note: Mentoring is not a pre-requisite for submitting a paper to ASSETS. It is meant to help bring in researchers to our community. Though the deadline for mentoring is past, we will be happy to consider further requests on a best effort basis to match with a mentor.

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