Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communciation

International Interests

CPTSC’s interest in international organizations began in 1999 when Deborah Andrews proposed hosting a CPTSC-sponsored educators’ roundtable in conjunction with the next INTECOM FORUM, scheduled for London in July 2000. Having attended the previous FORUM the year before in Dortmund, Germany, Andrews noted that CPTSC was a member of INTECOM, an umbrella organization for various technical communication organizations, including STC, and that many technical communication educators from around the world attend FORUMs. CPTSC could sponsor a one-day roundtable just prior to the FORUM and attract participants already coming to London.

The London2000 Roundtable, with CPTSC and the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW) International Committee as co-sponsors, drew 24 participants from seven nations: China, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In future years, several attendees participated in CPTSC annual meetings held in the US. The Roundtable in London was such a success that it became an organizational practice: a one-day Roundtable in Milan, Italy, in 2003, alongside another FORUM; and evening Roundtables in Limerick, Ireland, in 2005 and Montréal, Canada, in 2008, both scheduled alongside IEEE’s International Professional Communication Conferences. The goals of the Roundtables were to help technical communication educators on different continents exchange ideas and information common on one continent, but in short supply on another.

CPTSC/ATTW International Roundtables

Enschede 2010

The Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC) and Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW) invite technical communication and translation/localization educators to its Enschede2010 Roundtable, on Tuesday, 6 July 2010, 14.00-17.00 (2:00-5:00 p.m.), at the University of Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands. If interest warrants, participants will gather nearby for dinner after the Roundtable.

The meeting is scheduled to precede immediately the International Professional Communication Conference (IPCC). Begun in London in 2000, the Roundtable series has previously taken place in Milan in 2003, Limerick in 2005, and Montreal in 2008. Roundtables offer educators the opportunity to discuss program partnerships, updates to curricula and teaching methods, and a world focus.

To participate or to propose a presentation, please contact Bruce Maylath at 1-701-231-7176 or Bruce.Maylath@ndsu.edu. Information about the 2010 IPCC is available here..

IPCC 2005: Limerick

Information about the CPTSC's panel at the IPCC 2005 conference, to be held in Limerick, Ireland.

Forum 2003: Milano

An international roundtable to exchange ideas about methods for teaching and perspectives on constructing academic degree programs in technical and scientific communication.