Lab Meetings

Overview and quick reference

Modified

February 1, 2026

Overview

Lab meetings are essential for sharing progress, getting feedback, and staying aligned as a team. We use GitHub Discussions in the lab-handbook repository to organize meeting agendas, capture notes, and track action items.

This approach provides:

  • Transparency: Everyone can see what’s coming up and what was discussed
  • Searchable history: Easy to find past decisions and context
  • Accountability: Action items are tracked with assignees and due dates
  • Asynchronous input: Add agenda items anytime before the meeting

Meeting Types

Meeting Frequency Duration Purpose
Lab Meeting Every two weeks (Thursdays 9:30am) 90 min Research presentations, paper discussions
1:1 with Dr. Rashid Bi-weekly 30 min Individual progress, mentorship
Working Groups As needed 30-60 min Project-specific collaboration

Virtual & Hybrid Participation

When attending remotely or in hybrid format:

Situation What to Do
Joining remotely Use Teams link in calendar invite; mute when not speaking
Leading remotely Share screen with Discussion thread; designate in-person note backup
Hybrid meeting In-room laptop displays remote participants; one person monitors chat

Teams link: Posted in each meeting’s Discussion thread by the lead.

Screen sharing: Presenter shares their screen; others keep video on if bandwidth allows.

Remote participation tips:

  • Join 2-3 minutes early to test audio/video
  • Use “raise hand” feature for questions
  • Keep camera on when speaking if possible

GitHub Discussions Workflow

Meeting Discussion Categories

We use the following Discussion categories:

Category Purpose
Lab Meetings Biweekly lab meeting threads
Announcements Lab-wide announcements
Q&A Technical questions and answers

Lab Meeting Thread

Each lab meeting gets its own Discussion thread, created by that meeting’s meeting lead. The thread serves as the single source of truth for agenda, notes, and action items.

Thread title format: Lab Meeting - YYYY-MM-DD

Example: Lab Meeting - 2026-02-07

Roles and Responsibilities

Meeting Lead (Rotates Each Meeting)

The meeting lead is responsible for:

  1. Create the Discussion thread by Tuesday 5pm
  2. Post the agenda template (see Templates)
  3. Remind team members to add their items by Wednesday 5pm
  4. Facilitate the meeting and keep time
  5. Take notes during the meeting (or designate a note-taker)
  6. Update the Discussion thread with notes and action items after the meeting
  7. Commit meeting notes to the repository
TipFirst Time Leading?

See the complete Meeting Leader Guide for step-by-step instructions.

All Lab Members

Every lab member should:

  1. Add agenda items by Wednesday 5pm if you have updates
  2. Review the agenda before the meeting
  3. Complete action items by their due dates
  4. Update action item status in the Discussion thread

How It All Connects

Here’s how the GitHub features work together for meetings:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    MEETING WORKFLOW                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│  DISCUSSION (GitHub Discussions)                            │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │ "Lab Meeting - 2026-02-07"                          │   │
│  │ - Agenda posted by lead                             │   │
│  │ - Team replies with their items                     │   │
│  │ - Notes added after meeting                         │   │
│  │ - Action items tracked with checkboxes              │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│           │                              │                  │
│           │ references                   │ action items     │
│           ▼                              ▼ become           │
│  ┌─────────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────────┐        │
│  │ COMMITTED NOTES     │    │ ISSUES (optional)   │        │
│  │ meeting-notes/2026/ │    │ For complex tasks   │        │
│  │ - Permanent record  │    │ that need tracking  │        │
│  │ - Searchable        │    │ beyond one week     │        │
│  │ - Version controlled│    └─────────────────────┘        │
│  └─────────────────────┘              │                    │
│                                       │ leads to           │
│                                       ▼                    │
│                          ┌─────────────────────┐           │
│                          │ PULL REQUEST        │           │
│                          │ When action item    │           │
│                          │ involves code       │           │
│                          │ changes             │           │
│                          └─────────────────────┘           │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Feature Role in Meetings
Discussion Central hub for agenda, notes, action items
Replies Team members add agenda items as replies
@mentions Notify people of action items
Checkboxes Track action item completion
Committed files Permanent record in meeting-notes/
Issues Track complex tasks that span multiple weeks
PRs Submit code that addresses action items

Quick Reference

Deadlines

Task Deadline
Meeting lead creates Discussion thread Tuesday 5pm
All members add agenda items Wednesday 5pm
Meeting lead posts notes & action items Thursday EOD
Action items from meeting As assigned (typically 1-2 weeks)

Tips for Effective Meetings

  1. Send agenda 24+ hours ahead - Gives time to prepare
  2. Start with action item review - Creates accountability
  3. Assign a timekeeper - Keeps discussions focused
  4. End 5 minutes early - Time for wrap-up and action items
  5. Post notes same day - While memory is fresh
  6. Use checkboxes - Makes completion visible
  7. @mention assignees - Sends GitHub notifications
  8. Review parking lot monthly - Don’t let items languish