Wishlist for the next Compfest

Congratulations to 2008 & 2009 ers (Asad, Naning, Panji, and friends) for successfully organizing Compfest 2010 last week, on May 8th and 9th. There might be some minuses but overall, it's a great job, a culmination of months of hectic works. I admit that I was rather pessimistic of the event's success, especially with the uncertainties regarding the funding. But in the end, the event did go on quite well.

Now to the wishlist for the next year's Compfest:

• I (or we, the faculty) would like that Compfest showcases more of our research in computer science and IT. This year's Compfest was admittedly emphasized a bit more on entertainment and seminars, rather than on research exhibition. To realize this wish is obviously a more difficult job because such contents are not as easy to sell than, let's say, entertainment.
• I would like that our Compfest draws many participants from other universities, e.g., ITB, or Binus, or other universities famous for the IT/computer science education. I am sure there will be many more things that can be shown in the Compfest if they are invited.
• I would love to see more IT communities involved in the Compfest, just like Compfest 2009 where several user groups were involved. Such communities are able to attract more crowd to the event, but the difficulty lies on the fact that they typically do not have much money (thus won't be able to pay anything in terms of sponsorship or booth) and often take a very long time to commit their participation in the event.

The next Compfest will take as great (if not greater) effort as this year's. Solid organization and strong leadership are needed to make it work. These were shown in this year's Compfest. Can they be shown again next year? I certainly hope so.