Sean Murthy

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Engagement: Process

Much of the information on this page is for engagements outside the USA. (The US structure is quite different.)

I strongly recommend that the head of the host department (typically Computer Science or Information Science) or someone in institutional leadership be the sole contact person for all communication about the engagement. The contact person should have the position and influence within the institution to coordinate, plan, and execute the engagement. They will also need sufficient knowledge of the academic portion of the engagement. For example, they should be familiar with academic catalog/scheme and syllabi if organizing a guest lecture or workshop.

I recommend the engagement have institutional support because that adds “gravity” to the engagement, which in turn boosts participation. While I am happy to engage any audience, appropriate organization, advertisement, and participation are key factors in the engagement’s success. They are also a way to recognize and reciprocate my effort.

I appreciate professional communication with the host, including them carefully reading my messages, promptly replying to messages, and appraising me early of any issues with planning or executing the engagement.

I strongly recommend that hosts finalize the agenda for the engagement at least one week prior to when the engagement actually takes place. I try to be flexible, but I like to avoid feeling pressured or having to pressure someone.

Typical engagement process:

An informal mail or call from a department head or a person in institutional leadership introducing themselves, expressing interest, and inquiring availability. In some countries, this initial interaction could take place with my “event coordinator”.
A formal invitation to me by mail with a broad statement on the nature of engagement. Please specify target audience: students only, faculty only, administrators only, or a combination.
Exchange mails or calls with me to determine the exact nature of engagement. It is quite common for the final engagement to be (quite) different from the initial thought, and that is OK.
Develop and share with me a plan and agenda for the engagement. Please note that the plan/agenda needs to be specific about time windows for each activity and the purpose for each activity. I am unable to work with agendas with placeholders items such as “guest lecture”, “faculty meeting”, etc.
Advertise the engagement to appropriate audience. Here is a picture of me that should be good (enough) for use in flyers and such.
Make logistical arrangements for the visit. See the Logistics page.
Execute the engagement.
Evaluate the engagement: whether the engagent was a success or a failure, how could it have been better, potential future engagements, and so on.

I send the host links to pre-event and post-event surveys as part of the evaluation. The host should promptly broadcast the survey to the target audience and ensure that prospective/actual participants complete the survey in timely fashion.

Day visits

A “day visit” is the most common form of engagement and often takes place when I am already visiting the country.

A day visit lasts 4-8 hours, about six hours on average. It typically involves a meet with faculty, a guest lecture, an open forum (“Ask me Anything”), and a meet with institutional leadership.

Unless I have a personal/prior connection to the host, I do not entertain visits that do not include a genuine meeting with institutional leadership, or at least departmental leadership.

In general, I do not entertain a visit with just a guest lecture and nothing else because it has too much overhead in terms of transportation and my own preparation. Thus, I humbly ask that hosts plan an agenda that is worthy of everyone’s time and effort. (See a template non-binding agenda.)

Honorarium

I do NOT expect honorarium for a typical day visit, but accept it as the host’s acknowledgement of value received. I do expect honorarium for multi-day visits, multiple visits, or if an engagement of any kind/duration involves workshop, tutorial, faculty-related activities, or any “intensive activity” in my assessment.

It is important to clarify that engagements are largely about intellectual satisfaction, and NOT a profit-making or résumé-enhancing exercise, neither of which I need. I spend almost all of the honoraria I receive on engagement-related activities: Tools, apps, and the subscriptions needed to deliver technical content cost real money, not to mention my time and energy. It would be both unfair and unreasonabe to expect I pay these expenses from my personal savings.

It is important to also clarify that an honorarium is a token amount; not a large amount like a consulting fee. Any educator would reasonably expect the engaging instituition to be aware of the distinction, and would more importantly trust it unnecessary to convince institutions of the importance of recognizing value and that honoraria are the accepted means of recognition.

That said, I do not wish to let the issue of honorarium get in the way of a genuine engagement that advances education. So, I recommend checking with me (instead of assuming) if an honorarium is required or not for an engagement. The clearer we all are upfront about this topic, the better everyone’s experience can be before, during, and after the engagement. (Again, I do NOT expect honorarium for a typical day visit.)

Bottom line, I wish to work with like-minded people that are respectful of others and are genuinely interested in improving educational quality. I just do not want to feel used or taken advantage of in the process. On this matter, I am forced to disengage from institutions/people who disagree, even though it makes me sad to lose the opportunity to interact with students and faculty.

PS: This section is not about money, but about respect, recognition, and fairness.

Engagement links