Wide shot of the audience and panelists during a panel at the 2024 OMSCS Conference
Wide shot of the audience and panelists during a panel at the 2024 OMSCS Conference
Wide shot of the audience and panelists during a panel at the 2024 OMSCS Conference

2024 OMSCS Conference Recap

The 2024 OMSCS Conference was held on April 30 and May 1 at the Global Learning Center. 2024 marked two milestones for OMSCS: the 10th anniversary of the program, and 10,000 graduates. To celebrate these milestones, the conference was preceded by a 10th anniversary celebration on April 29 at the Biltmore Hotel. The celebration featured several notable speakers: Zvi Galil, Sebastian Thrun, Alex Orso, and Provost McLaughlin. President Cabrera and former President Bud Peterson were also in attendance!

The conference started in earnest on April 30 with a program featuring presentations from students, alumni, faculty, campus services, and the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), the latter of which also hosted a conference reception on the evening of April 30. The conference also featured a career and resource fair, a keynote address from Zvi Galil and David Joyner, and a campus tour.

10th Anniversary Celebration
OMSCS 10th anniversary celebration. Left to right: President Bud Peterson; Alex Duncan; Ana Rusch; Kishore Ramachandran; Provost Steve McLaughlin; CoC Interim Dean Alex Orso; Sebastian Thrun; President Ángel Cabrera; Zvi Galil; David Joyner; Nikita Burks-Hale; Hannah Moon

 

New For 2024

Based on feedback we received from last year’s conference, we implemented a few changes in 2024!

OMSCS Conference sign

Virtual Experience

A more robust virtual experience ensured that virtual attendees were able to participate in live Q&As. There were also optional engagement activities for virtual attendees during in-person-only programming.

Two attendees coloring a poster together

Community Building

Interactive activities were included in the program to encourage attendees to engage with each other, including: icebreaker BINGO; a collaborative coloring sheet; a trivia game; a codewords challenge; and dedicated social media hashtags.

Panelists during panel discussion at the conference

Panel Discussions

Panel discussions were added as a new presentation format this year, resulting in two engaging panels—one on the journeys of OMSCS students and alumni in the past decade, and one on the use of artificial intelligence in education.

Buzz cutting the 10th anniversary cake

Expanded Program

This year's conference was spread out over 2.5 days (compared to last year's 1.5) to allow for both more programming, as well as more breathing room in the agenda.

Who Was There?

110 people attended the conference in person, and 105 people attended virtually! Below are some stats about our in-person attendees.

Graph of gender breakdown at conference
Graph of specialization breakdown at conference
Graph of affiliation breakdown at conference
Graph of people who attended last year's conference

Global Audience

Many people traveled from different U.S. states to attend the conference in person, and some even traveled from other countries! Notably, 22% of our in-person attendees live outside the U.S.! Check out the maps below to see where people were traveling from.

United States map with pins on each state represented by conference attendees
World map with pins on each state represented by conference attendees

Feedback

We ran a feedback survey after the conference and received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Not only do attendees find the conference personally valuable, but they also believe it adds value to the program and connects them to their peers, faculty, staff, and the university. Attendees view the conference as a unique event where they can simultaneously learn, have meaningful interactions, and have fun. The 2024 OMSCS Conference clearly achieved its goals, and more!

Graph of feedback about the conference

Impact

We also note that the OMSCS Conference succeeds in at least two Strategic Focus Areas detailed in Georgia Tech’s Strategic Plan:

  • Connect Globally: Nearly a quarter of in-person conference attendees reside outside the U.S.; anecdotally, many of those traveled to the U.S. solely for the conference. Thus, the OMSCS Conference exemplifies our dedication to serving our global student and alumni population and may function as a model for similar globally-focused events.
  • Cultivate Well-Being: Attendees associate the OMSCS Conference with words such as “positive experience”, “valuable”, “meaningful”, “connected”, and “fun”. These descriptors have less to do with academics and more to do with mental and emotional health, highlighting the conference’s important role in strengthening the well-being of OMSCS students and alumni.

Based on our survey data as well as anecdotal feedback, the 2024 OMSCS Conference was a resounding success. Thanks to everyone who attended, and to the Provost's Fund for Excellence in Graduate Studies for their financial support that helped make this event possible. The OMSCS Conference makes a clear impact on the lives of our students and alumni, and we look forward to hosting it again in 2025!

For even more about the OMSCS Conference, check out this article!

Group photo of all conference attendees on a staircase

Quotes From Attendees:

"It was incredibly fulfilling to connect with a diverse group of professionals, exchanging insights and experiences that broadened my understanding of the industry. Building new connections and adding them on LinkedIn was particularly valuable, as it opens up opportunities for future collaboration and learning."

"I thought the presentations were interesting and accessible—the presenters did a good job and made the content easy to understand even without having a great deal of background domain knowledge."

"I had a blast, and this conference—even just once a year—makes me feel more like a part of something bigger. Really glad it is around to support me through the next few years."