350 rooms free at the Infosys center in Mysuru for ISSRE attendees! A major cost reduction, driving down the total cost of conference for the attendee.

Given these economic times, we know that travel is restricted. But, ISSRE in India is a unique opportunity for high impact on a large international software engineering audience. So, this is how we try to overcome some cost hurdles and have you attend ISSRE 2009.

Holding the conference at the Infosys Training Center in Mysuru helps us reduce costs. But, just how much this will mean to your conference budget, will surprise you. Thanks to Infosys, the net cost of conference to an attendee is reduced between 20%-50%.

Infosys has given ISSRE ~ 350 rooms at their residential training center, free. Just so we set the expectation right, please note that this is not a hotel, but consider it a corporate guest facility or a hostel with amenities that rival many resorts. This is a campus, with some wonderful facilities like gyms, movie theaters, coffee shops, pools, yoga clubs, bowling, etc. And some restrictions - such as no alcohol on campus and food is available at specific times, etc. (However, if you would rather stay at a full service hotel, check out the Mysuru-Hotels page). These are for speakers and participants of ISSRE 2009, free for the duration of the conference. Our plans are to allocate half of them to the overseas participants and the other half to the India resident participant. Priority is given to speakers and early registrants. International travelers arriving on the Friday night can stay the weekend before the conference, helping overcome jet lag and look around. A block of these rooms will be reserved for students, who will need to share - 2 people per room. Since conference hotel costs are often the biggest part of the conference expense, this will significantly reduce your costs. If we exhaust the 300 room subsidy we will link you to local hotels in Mysuru, which of course participant needs to pay for.

Our current estimate of registration for the international, non Indian resident, IEEE Member, early registration rate is around $550. Foreign student rates will be lower. Indian residents and members of Computer Society of India will register in Indian rupees and the rates will be commensurate with Indian conference rates (to be published shortly). We want to assure Indian residents that while this is an IEEE meeting, they will not be paying in US dollars or at IEEE USA rates. Their costs are subsidized by Indian companies. The conference serves a couple coffee breaks, lunch and dinner. Those staying on the campus will also get breakfast.

Roughly, for the first 350 participants, your costs are only airfare and registration, and students, that registration is lower.

This training center is a new residential training center unlike any in the world. Built in last few years, on a 375 acre campus, it accommodates over 10,000 people residential. It has over 300 classrooms and can handle 1000 new-hires a month, who often stay at this center for 6 months or more before beginning their assignments. The center is complete with health facilities, multiplex theaters, cricket fields, track, swimming pools, yoga clubs, etc. Jairam, the site manger tells me, "Ram, international guests, often spend their first day bicycling and exploring the campus rather than try to visit Mysuru. Relax, exercise, get over the jet lag and be ready for the work week". They have 3000 bicycles available.

The ISSRE conference will be held in their executive meeting center. We have one 300 person room for plenary sessions, and another 200 person room for a second major track. We also have another 200 person room that will be used for the tools fair. We have six breakout session rooms, each of which will accommodate between 30-60 people where we will organize the parallel tracks in the afternoons. At the center of this conference center we have the dining area, and we might do poster sessions there, or in the adjoining foyer.

Understanding total conference costs for an attendee

It is not uncommon for some of our colleagues to assume that an overseas conference is going to be expensive. However, with the subsidies it may be less expensive than a domestic conference. Here is some data:

Airfares to India from the US are available for around $1200. While this is slightly higher than a domestic ticket, travel from Europe and Asia may see a slight benefit. Once we factor in the subsidies
the total cost of conference for an attendee will be lower than a domestic conference. The comparison below separates the three major cost elements: Registration, Hotel and Airfare.

REGISTRATION: for IEEE Member, Early rate, including workshops and tutorials
2008 Seattle: $910 ($560+$250+$100)
2009 Mysuru: ~$550 (estimate) will include all workshops and tutorials

HOTEL for 5 days - (most meals are included with conference registration)
2008 Seattle: $750-$1250, depending on the hotel (with the 14.4% tax).
2009 Mysuru: Free for the first 350 attendees, thanks to Infosys

AIRFARE -
2008 Seattle: From US and Europe, ranges $500 - $1000. Asia is higher
2009 Mysuru: From the US ~$1200 on the low side.

Thus, with the subsidy, the total cost for an attendee of ISSRE 2009 at Mysuru, India can come in 20%-50% lower than last year's ISSRE 2008 in Seattle, USA.

Pictures from the Infosys training center in Mysuru