The 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education hybrid event will be held in March 2023. The in-person component will take place at the South building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The virtual component will be hosted online.

We are very excited to provide our community with a technical symposium supporting both online and in-person participation. We have done our best to design a conference that is engaging and open to all. Part of being open to all is keeping costs down, which means that we will have some sessions with both in-person and online participation, while others will have only in-person participation or only online participation. Plenary sessions, including keynote presentations, will be among those with hybrid participation, as will many panels and special sessions.

We ask for your patience and constructive feedback while we find a way to offer the symposium to all who are interested.

Table of Contents

• Venue
• Air Transportation
• Traveling to Canada
• Packing Tips
• Business Center
• Nurse
• Lunch
• Other Toronto Happenings

Venue

The in-person components of 2023 SIGCSE Technical Symposium will be held in downtown Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (South Building). The conference hotels are:

• Toronto Marriott City Centre (CAD 295.00 (approx. USD 220.00) + taxes per night)
  • A short outdoor walk is required to reach the SkyWalk that connects to the convention center.
• Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto (CAD 279.00 (approx. USD 210.00) + taxes per night)
  • The convention centre can be reached through the SkyWalk without going outside.
• Hyatt Regency Toronto (CAD 245.00 (approx. USD 180.00) + taxes per night)
  • This hotel is approximately 3 blocks of outdoor walking from the convention center’s north building. One can then walk through the north building to reach the south building where the technical symposium is being held.
• InterContinental Toronto Centre (CAD 295.00 (approx. USD 220.00) + taxes per night)
  • This hotel is connected to the convention center’s north building. The south building where the Technical Symposium is being held can be reached without going outside.

Please consider staying at one of the conference hotels and registering through the SIGCSE reservation link. This helps us meet our contractual obligations and SIGCSE gets a small percentage of the room revenue collected which helps us keep registration rates lower.

Consider reserving your rooms early. It is spring break for Toronto and Toronto ComiCon will be in the MTCC North Building while the Technical Symposium is in the MTCC South Building.

Business Center

The MTCC Business Center is on level 800, outside Hall D and will be open

• 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
• 9 am - 3 pm on Saturday

Nurse

If you aren’t feeling well, we have a nurse on staff on the 800 level near the washrooms.

In case of emergency, do not call 911. Call 416-585-8160.

Air Transportation

Toronto’s primary airport is Toronto Pearson International (airport code YYZ). It is a large international airport serviced by most domestic, US and international airlines. Direct flights are available from cities around the world.

Ground Transportation

Travelling from Toronto Pearson International Airport to downtown is easily accomplished using the UP Express – a train that travels directly from the airport to Union Station making only 2 stops along the way. The platform can be reached by following the signs that read “Train to City”. Tickets can be purchased online from www.upexpress.com, or from vending machines near the platform using major credit cards. A one way ticket is $12.35 (Canadian funds). Using promo code SIGCSE23 will provide a 25% discount when purchasing tickets online. While a taxi or Uber can also be used to travel from the airport to downtown those options are no faster while being substantially more expensive.

Traveling to Canada

You may find the following guidance for travelling to Canada helpful:

• Traveling to Canada from all international destinations, including the United States, requires a passport which is valid for 6 months beyond your departure date. US passports can be renewed as early as 9 months ahead of their expiry date.
• When returning to the United States by airplane departing from Toronto Pearson International Airport (and many other Canadian airports) you will pass through US customs before boarding your flight. Please allocate time for this when planning your flights and your ground transportation back to the airport.

People using NSF funds to cover their travel costs may also find the information in the blog entry on Using NSF grant money to attend the SIGCSE TS in Toronto helpful.

Packing Tips

While you are starting to think about packing, here are a few suggestions that may help your trip be more comfortable and stress free!

• Pack your passport, unless you are Canadian!
• Pack masks, if you plan to wear them.
• Pack gloves, a hat and a coat. The temperatures are increasing daily in March in Toronto, however the lows average -4 degrees Celsius (24 degrees Fahrenheit) and highs average 2 degrees Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Pack a board game if you have a game that you’d like to play at our Game Night on Friday, March 17th.

Lunch

We recommend two local food courts to grab a byte (or 8 bits) to eat during our lunch break.

• Union Food Court, at Union Station - 9 minute walk outside from the MTCC. You can also use Toronto’s PATH Network to walk over to Union Station without going outside! Directions
• Metro Hall - 10 minute walk from MTCC

Other Toronto Happenings

While you will be busy meeting/learning/greeting at the technical symposium, you may want to do something different at night or extend your stay. Below are unique happenings in Toronto during our symposium:

• Toronto Comicon is happening in MTCC North, starting on Friday!
• St. Patrick’s Day is Friday, March 17th - St. Patrick’s Day is generally busy at most pubs, especially those that self-identify as Irish
  • On Sunday, March 19th, there’s a small parade near the University of Toronto campus (https://stpatrickstoronto.com/) and a race that takes place near Roundhouse Park.
  • There are some clubbing opportunities at the Docks nightclub (https://www.spdcanada.ca/).
  • Closer to March 17th there will be plenty of articles for people who want pub recommendations (https://www.tastetoronto.com/guides/the-best-places-in-toronto-to-celebrate-st-patricks-day, https://www.blogto.com/radar/2022/03/st-patricks-day-parties-events-toronto-2022/)

Location

Rooms