About the PAKDD 2020 conference, I received this e-mail today mentioning that the conference should be partly online this year due to the corona virus situation。

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Dear PAKDD 2020 Authors,



COVID-19

As at the time of writing, COVID-19 remains a serious situation in many parts of the world. While the local situation in Singapore seems to be stabilizing and under control, we understand that some of you may be facing difficulties with travel at this time. On one hand, Singapore imposes entry restrictions based on travel history. On the other hand, some countries as well as institutions are restraining their citizens and employees from travelling abroad. The situation is still developing dynamically and we will continue to monitor it closely and update you accordingly.



Conference sessions will go ONLINE

We are actively making preparations to conduct the presentations online over a video-conferencing system (very likely Zoom). Every paper will be required to upload both a video of their presentations as well as their slides by 20 April 2020. At least one author from each paper will have to attend the online session in which their paper is presented. After the video is played, the speaker will be invited to address questions from attendees. You will receive a separate email with further instructions on how to upload the videos.



Conference venue will still be OPEN

The conference venue at Suntec City will still be open. Those of you who are not facing travel restrictions and would like to attend the conference in person can still do so. The conference rooms will be projecting the online sessions. Coffee breaks and lunches are still provided to attendees. The organizers will be taking necessary precautions, such as social distancing, at the venue.



Program ADJUSTMENTS

Out of concern of the safety of the attendees, we are cancelling certain program components that may lead to large congregations, namely: the banquet, the social program, and the summer school.



Student Travel AWARDS

If you are a student not facing any travel restriction, either from Singapore or your home country, we invite you to apply for a student travel grant if you do plan to travel to Singapore to attend the conference in person. Each award is valued at USD500, and a selected awardee will receive the funds only upon attendance in person at the conference venue. Apply via https://smu.sg/ijq by 25 March 2020.



Author registration is UNCANCELLABLE

We cannot refund the author registration that you have paid earlier. The conference policy is that a regular registration is required for every paper for inclusion in the PAKDD 2020 proceedings. The conference will still go on, both online and at the venue, and you will still have access to the conference programs including keynotes, tutorials, and workshops, in addition to the main conference sessions.



FINANCES

The conference has incurred substantial costs due to previous commitments. The financial status of the conference at this time is still unclear, even after accounting for the reduced program components. We are truly grateful for the great support that authors have extended to us. At the end of the conference, we will take another look at our financial status to see if there is anything at all we can do with regards to the registration costs that you have paid, though we cannot commit to specific refunds or adjustments at this time.



Best Regards,



Hady Lauw, Raymond Wong, Alex Ntoulas

PAKDD 2020 Program Co-Chairs



Ee-Peng Lim and See-Kiong Ng

PAKDD 2020 General Co-Chairs