HDR Forum Tutorial Series on the COMBS Basics

 The HDR Forum is excited to announce the beginning of our long-awaited HDR Tutorial Series on COMBS Basics and to inform you all that we are seeking volunteers to present!

This is a fantastic opportunity to practice your presentation skills in a long format. I’ve included some information about the tutorials below, including timing information and structure examples (these examples are there as suggestions not guidelines).

If you are keen to participate and present, please contact the COMBS HDR Executive Representative (gabriel.brittomonteiro@adelaide.edu.au)  and HDR Forum President (Lantian Wei - S4061709@student.rmit.edu.au ).  We do not have anyone booked in currently and we are aiming to hold the first tutorial in mid-June to give the presenter enough time to prepare.

Tutorial Information:

• Tutorials will be hosted in a hybrid format (i.e. online and in-person) and will run for a total of one hour.

• Each presentation should be 30-45 minutes long, ensuring a minimum of 10 minutes for audience questions at the end and 5 minutes at the start for attendees to join the meeting.

• HDRs will be given a minimum of one month to prepare their tutorial.

• Presenters may choose to run their tutorials by themselves or with colleagues, as well as decide on the nature of the tutorials (i.e. interactive, lecture style, etc.)

• Tutorials will be held on a monthly basis, on the third week of each month beginning in June 2026.

• Presenters are allowed to choose which day of the week works best for them given any prior commitments at the time of volunteering.

Example Tutorial Structures:

• Concept-focused approach: Introduce the foundational ideas of a particular field or theme. Aim to build intuition, explain key terminology, and provide enough background for non-specialists to engage with the topic meaningfully. Presenters may choose to draw on their own research as a vehicle for introducing these concepts, using real examples to ground abstract ideas while maintaining a focus on the underlying principles rather than project-specific details. This approach helps connect fundamental concepts to active research, while keeping sessions broadly accessible and relevant across COMBS themes.

• Methods or techniques focused: Presenters walk through a specific experimental, computational, or analytical approach. These sessions would typically combine a high-level explanation of the underlying principles with practical insights into implementation, common challenges, and example results.

• Interactive formats: May include discussion-based sessions, where a short introduction is followed by guided questions or group discussion, or skills-based workshops that focus on transferable tools such as programming, data analysis, or experimental techniques. The use of demonstrations and/or online tools is encouraged.

Across all formats, presenters are encouraged to prioritise clarity and accessibility, minimise unnecessary jargon (unless the concept has already been explicated), and highlight connections to other COMBS themes wherever possible. Providing optional resources for further reading or follow-up is also recommended to support continued learning beyond the session.