Help me avoid desk rejection of ICASSP 2023 paper

My recently accepted paper at @ieeeICASSP 2023 (https://2023.ieeeicassp.org) is close to being REJECTED for issues I am not at fault .

This paper was the product of my research internship at @salesforce in 2022, and as such is in the interest of the company that it be published.

@salesforce refuses to support me or the other authors (salesforce employees) in attending the conference. But @ieeeICASSP mandates that at least one author pays the registration and attends the conference, otherwise the paper is automatically REMOVED from the conference!

The deadline for registration is today (march 20th)! All academics know how publications are important for an early career researcher like me. Hence, this paper getting rejected is hugely detrimental to my career, more so as a researcher from an underrepresented group in #ai #latinx

I have tried to contact the #Equality chairs at salesforce @SalesforceEQ i.e., @LoriCastilloM and others through LinkedIn, but so far I haven't got a single reply, and the time is running out. My university or Lab cannot help as the paper was not done while at EPFL.

I even applied for the registration/travel grants from the conference but got rejected. After all, they probably prioritize students presenting papers on behalf of an academic institution, rather than one of the largest tech companies in the world!

I have heard of similar cases in the past, at other places like META (Facebook) and unfortunately, they were only resolved after the issue became public on Twitter. Hence I am asking friends/colleagues if you can help me RT for visibility.

As a last resort, I will ask my family in Colombia for a loan to register at the conference. All this at a time when the Colombian peso (COP) has seen a severe devaluation against the dollar (USD) and the country is struggling with double-digit inflation‍.

For this reason, I am setting up this campaign to raise the amount required to register at the conference. This is currently the only way to ensure my paper does not get rejected. Thank you for your support. Here you can see the registration fee: https://2023.ieeeicassp.org/registration-fees-and-benefits/

I am not a @salesforce employee anymore but all the work done after my internship ended (paper submission, rebuttal etc.) as well as attending and presenting the paper is in the interest of the company! I have to disclose that they will be indirectly benefiting from any funds I raise for my registration and travel.

I want to remark that my ex-colleagues and co-authors at salesforce have been extremely supportive and have tried to find a solutions but such decisions come from upper management.