I am going to a conference where an award I submitted work for will be announced at a special dinner. The dinner costs extra and requires pre-registration, and I usually skip these social events because I would rather have some quiet time. Do conferences normally tell you ahead of time if you won an award? I am trying to decide whether it makes sense to pay for the dinner just in case, or whether I should assume they will only announce it at the event.
Do conferences tell you if you won an award before the ceremony?
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It really depends on the conference and the field. I have had awards where I was notified beforehand and others where the result was announced during the conference. I would not assume there is one standard practice.
I have been in situations where they did not tell the winner ahead of time. That can be awkward when the award is announced at a dinner that people had to register and pay for. If the organizers want people to attend specifically for the awards, it would be helpful if they made the process clear.
In my experience, some organizations contact the recipient privately before the ceremony so they can make sure the person will be there. But other conferences seem to treat the award announcement as part of the surprise, so everyone finds out at the dinner.
I would email the conference organizers and ask about the notification process without asking whether you won. Something like, "Could you let me know whether award recipients are notified before the ceremony, or are the results announced at the dinner?" That is a completely reasonable logistical question.
I would also check whether the award ceremony is the only reason you would attend the dinner. If you do not enjoy those events, there may be other parts of the conference that are more useful to you. You do not necessarily need to attend every social event just because you are attending the conference.
If you are shortlisted or selected, some conferences may need to know ahead of time so they can arrange the certificate, announcement, photos, or travel arrangements. That makes advance notification more likely in some cases, but it is definitely not universal.
I have also heard of people finding out only when the award was announced. So if you really want to know, I would ask the organizers directly rather than trying to guess from how the ceremony is structured. You can ask about the rules without revealing that you are hoping to win.