Suggestions for organizing a scientific conference without mishaps
Whenever we start a new project, anxiety and motivation flood our consciousness. If on the one hand we dream and idealize, on the other hand we have doubts and fears that haunt us. In event management the problem is identical – each event is unique and we want it to be special, memorable and worthy of praise.
However, in addition to their unique specificities, events are also made up of features that the organization can easily replicate and optimize, thus not only reducing the stress associated with the organization, but also drastically reducing the financial, human and time investment required for the realization of the event.
If you are now starting the organization of scientific conferences, we share with you some tips that may be useful:
- You don’t want to do everything by yourself. Find a reliable and motivated team, and delegate responsibilities to them;
- Start the organization a year in advance (or more if you expect more than 750 participants);
- Define the meeting place as soon as possible;
- Make a draft of the scientific program;
- Develop a budget with local suppliers and define the minimum number of participants so as not to have a financial loss;
- The fewer intermediaries in the services (especially catering), the lower the costs;
- Choose, if possible, small towns with a good transport network. Compared to large urban centers, prices may be substantially lower and you may get better accommodation conditions;
- If you choose to hold your event in a large urban center, you should anticipate the big events on the dates you have planned – this will have a great impact on the available services and associated costs and, above all, on the pressure on hotel accommodation;
- Simple, well organized and harmonious conference page. Give preference to responsive pages without too many distracting points like: too strong colors, too many highlights, too much movement
- Invest in social networks (and specialty groups) and scientific entities that can enhance your reach in your area, but only when you already have a provisional program and a webpage;
- If you choose to send emails, make sure the listings respect data protection policies – even when a colleague shares email listings you should have to be careful;
- Include an award ceremony. Awards enhance the merit and increase the visibility of conferences, either by increasing the number of communications submitted or by disseminating them through social networks;
- Close the acceptance of communications at the latest 3 months before the conference;
- Avoid extending payment deadlines into the last month;
- Print the abstract book one month before the conference;
- Have the list of participants and payments closed fifteen days before the date of the event.
- Choose an event management software that integrates several services.
More information at www.sci-meet.com
