Shadow Program Committee

I had the privilege of participating in the Shadow PC for IEEE S&P 2020, an initiative that mirrors the peer review process of the main conference. Running parallel to the official Program Committee (PC), the Shadow PC follows the same rigorous process—reading and evaluating submissions, engaging in discussions, and reaching consensus on paper acceptances. At the end, we compared our decisions with those of the main PC to analyze differences in judgment and reasoning.

While reading and reviewing papers is a familiar task for graduate students, the Shadow PC introduced an additional layer of depth—debating evaluations with peers and assessing how our conclusions aligned (or diverged) from those of the main PC. Observing the reasoning behind the official decisions and contrasting them with our own was an insightful learning experience.

Participating in the Shadow PC was an invaluable opportunity for students. My key takeaways include:

1. Developing a stronger ability to critically review academic papers.
2. Improving the quality and depth of my written reviews.
3. Engaging in structured debates to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of research.
4. Gaining firsthand insight into the peer review process from an insider's perspective.
5. Building connections with fellow researchers and learning about their work.
6. Enjoying the entire experience—including a sponsored trip to NYC! Google NYC was a fantastic host.

Being part of this initiative was an enriching experience, and I highly recommend it.