Moving conferences online: lessons learned from an international virtual meeting
Moving conferences online: lessons learned from an international virtual meeting
We consider the opportunities and challenges associated with organizing a conference online, using a case study of a medium-sized (approx. 400 participants) international conference held virtually in August 2020. In addition, we present quantifiable evidence of the participants' experience using the results from an online post-conference questionnaire. Although the virtual meeting was not able to replicate the in-person experience in some aspects (e.g. less engagement between participants) the overwhelming majority of respondents found the meeting an enjoyable experience and would join similar events again. Notably, there was a strong desire for future in-person meetings to have at least some online component. Online attendance by lower-income researchers was higher compared with a past, similar-themed in-person meeting held in a high-income nation, but comparable to one held in an upper-middle-income nation. This indicates that online conferences are not a panacea for diversity and inclusivity, and that holding in-person meetings in developing economies can be at least as effective. Given that it is now relatively easy to stream contents of meetings online using low-cost methods, there are clear benefits in making all presented content accessible online, as well as organizing online networking events for those unable to attend in person.
early career, inclusivity, logistics, online accessible, questionnaire, virtual meeting
20211769
Stefanoudis, Paris V.
67acb3d4-a5a6-4146-a8fc-3c4f373d3ed4
Biancani, Leann M.
da1d1623-ce0b-4163-861b-bf5c124538d0
Cambronero-Solano, Sergio
6538d50e-9094-49b5-8799-81139cb3fd67
Clark, Malcolm R.
cd47dc3e-9154-4ef9-a32f-d0e798c4e259
Copley, Jonathan T.
5f30e2a6-76c1-4150-9a42-dcfb8f5788ef
Easton, Erin
344c8a3c-b801-47b3-a06c-b628351d4776
Elmer, Franziska
bd21de1b-fb28-4f30-9591-9cdb93799206
Haddock, Steven H.D.
2b7338a3-ef4f-4d8c-b2db-c304e7ef3045
Herrera, Santiago
a8a6730a-9616-47d5-a0f8-24972878957a
Iglesias, Ilysa S.
006a1886-a303-4997-bc7e-329176eebfe0
Quattrini, Andrea M.
20f9a7fa-9546-4390-b59d-64b7cdd12394
Sigwart, Julia
8bf86a20-94a9-4a0c-94cb-f1e61d19ccc6
Yesson, Chris
510cd2f7-eadf-409c-8488-594339a05261
Glover, Adrian G.
91192a3a-fc25-4c1f-b062-2e4da183272e
Stefanoudis, Paris V.
67acb3d4-a5a6-4146-a8fc-3c4f373d3ed4
Biancani, Leann M.
da1d1623-ce0b-4163-861b-bf5c124538d0
Cambronero-Solano, Sergio
6538d50e-9094-49b5-8799-81139cb3fd67
Clark, Malcolm R.
cd47dc3e-9154-4ef9-a32f-d0e798c4e259
Copley, Jonathan T.
5f30e2a6-76c1-4150-9a42-dcfb8f5788ef
Easton, Erin
344c8a3c-b801-47b3-a06c-b628351d4776
Elmer, Franziska
bd21de1b-fb28-4f30-9591-9cdb93799206
Haddock, Steven H.D.
2b7338a3-ef4f-4d8c-b2db-c304e7ef3045
Herrera, Santiago
a8a6730a-9616-47d5-a0f8-24972878957a
Iglesias, Ilysa S.
006a1886-a303-4997-bc7e-329176eebfe0
Quattrini, Andrea M.
20f9a7fa-9546-4390-b59d-64b7cdd12394
Sigwart, Julia
8bf86a20-94a9-4a0c-94cb-f1e61d19ccc6
Yesson, Chris
510cd2f7-eadf-409c-8488-594339a05261
Glover, Adrian G.
91192a3a-fc25-4c1f-b062-2e4da183272e
Stefanoudis, Paris V., Biancani, Leann M., Cambronero-Solano, Sergio, Clark, Malcolm R., Copley, Jonathan T., Easton, Erin, Elmer, Franziska, Haddock, Steven H.D., Herrera, Santiago, Iglesias, Ilysa S., Quattrini, Andrea M., Sigwart, Julia, Yesson, Chris and Glover, Adrian G.
(2021)
Moving conferences online: lessons learned from an international virtual meeting.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288 (1961), , [20211769].
(doi:10.1098/rspb.2021.1769).
Abstract
We consider the opportunities and challenges associated with organizing a conference online, using a case study of a medium-sized (approx. 400 participants) international conference held virtually in August 2020. In addition, we present quantifiable evidence of the participants' experience using the results from an online post-conference questionnaire. Although the virtual meeting was not able to replicate the in-person experience in some aspects (e.g. less engagement between participants) the overwhelming majority of respondents found the meeting an enjoyable experience and would join similar events again. Notably, there was a strong desire for future in-person meetings to have at least some online component. Online attendance by lower-income researchers was higher compared with a past, similar-themed in-person meeting held in a high-income nation, but comparable to one held in an upper-middle-income nation. This indicates that online conferences are not a panacea for diversity and inclusivity, and that holding in-person meetings in developing economies can be at least as effective. Given that it is now relatively easy to stream contents of meetings online using low-cost methods, there are clear benefits in making all presented content accessible online, as well as organizing online networking events for those unable to attend in person.
Text
rspb.2021.1769
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 28 September 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 20 October 2021
Additional Information:
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords:
early career, inclusivity, logistics, online accessible, questionnaire, virtual meeting
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 453642
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/453642
ISSN: 0962-8452
PURE UUID: e7dbb0da-ba9c-4a43-9561-796bd9344f5f
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 20 Jan 2022 17:42
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:41
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Paris V. Stefanoudis
Author:
Leann M. Biancani
Author:
Sergio Cambronero-Solano
Author:
Malcolm R. Clark
Author:
Erin Easton
Author:
Franziska Elmer
Author:
Steven H.D. Haddock
Author:
Santiago Herrera
Author:
Ilysa S. Iglesias
Author:
Andrea M. Quattrini
Author:
Julia Sigwart
Author:
Chris Yesson
Author:
Adrian G. Glover
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
