You are invited to submit preliminary proposals for papers to be presented to the 17th International COSAC & SABSA World Congress. The deadline for submissions is Friday 2 April 2010. Successful applicants will be advised prior to the end of April 2010. COSAC 2010 will take place at the Killashee House Hotel, Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, from Sunday 19 through Thursday 23 September 2010.

FORMAT OF PROPOSALS

Initial proposals should be in Microsoft Word format and consist of a session title, a session abstract of a minimum of 200 words, and a speaker biography. Papers may be proposed for Symposium Sessions (duration of up to 75 minutes) or Full Day Master Classes and Forums (duration seven hours) or post-conference Half-Day Workshops (duration three and a half hours). Sales content is strictly prohibited.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The COSAC programme is selected by regular participants. Short-listed proposals are anonymised prior to evaluation and content is assessed in four categories. Competition is fierce and it is strongly recommended that proposed abstracts contain extensive emphasis on how the session will address the four evaluation criteria of:

• Value - the session should provide a clear value proposition for professionals exceeding fifteen years experience;
• Uniqueness - preference is given to sessions that provide exclusive launch of new materials, research or methods and ideally the session should be unique and not previously presented at any other public forum or conference;
• Timeliness - the proposed material should be relevant and timely;
• Approach - the session content and style should be tailored to the expectations of the COSAC audience as discussed below.

SESSION STYLE & AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS

COSAC is not a traditional teaching conference but has a reputation for announcing and actively discussing new ideas, research and strategies in the field of Information Security and related areas. Presenters should be aware that attendees have an average experience well in excess of 15 years, have very high expectations, and provide a demanding challenge to all presenters. In the majority of sessions they will frequently interrupt and challenge the presenter to develop new ideas and strategies and to justify conclusions. Speakers are expected to facilitate maximum audience participation and to present material that introduces new issues, challenges current assumptions and standards, or opens for discussion and active development potential new solutions, methods, and case studies. COSAC expects that your session should attract feedback from our demanding audience that averages a score in excess of 9.5 out of 10 for content.

This invitation to submit proposals for papers regrettably does not guarantee selection. Please feel free to pass on this Call for Papers to any other interested party should you feel that they could make a suitable contribution to the COSAC Programme or have an interest in supporting or sponsoring COSAC 2010.

Best regards

DAVID LYNAS

COSAC Chairman

Email: chair@cosac.fsnet.co.uk.