Reimagining scientific conferences-a Keystone Symposia report

Shannon Weiman¹, Jennifer Cable², Walter Greenleaf³, Felix Rundel⁴, Kate E Whitfield⁵, Lory Wingate⁶, Richard Gallagher⁷, Jennifer Pesanelli⁸, Dereck Orr⁹, Thale C Jarvis¹, Raluca Cadar¹⁰, Matthew D' Uva¹¹, Dylan Ruediger¹², Robert Vaez¹³, Adam Frisby¹⁴, Sami Ahmed¹⁵, Dorit Donoviel^{16

17}, Judith Klinman^{18

19

20}, Debbie Johnson¹

Affiliations

¹ Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology, Silverthorne, Colorado, USA.
² PhD Science Writer, New York, New York, USA.
³ Stanford University Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
⁴ Futurehain, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Zeroverse, Nakagami district, Okinawa prefecture, Japan.
⁶ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
⁷ Annual Reviews, San Mateo, California, USA.
⁸ Biophysical Society, Rockville, Maryland, USA.
⁹ Communications Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹⁰ The Protein Society, Canyon Country, California, USA.
¹¹ American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
¹² Ithaka S+R, New York, New York, USA.
¹³ EventMobi, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁴ Sine Wave Entertainment, London, UK.
¹⁵ Zoom Video Communications, San Jose, California, USA.
¹⁶ Translational Research Institute for Space Health, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹⁷ Center for Space Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹⁸ University of California, Department of Chemistry, Berkeley, California, USA.
¹⁹ California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Berkeley, California, USA.
²⁰ Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.

PMID: 37534923
DOI: 10.1111/nyas.15037

Reimagining scientific conferences-a Keystone Symposia report

Shannon Weiman et al. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2023 Sep.

. 2023 Sep;1527(1):49-59.

doi: 10.1111/nyas.15037. Epub 2023 Aug 3.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology, Silverthorne, Colorado, USA.
² PhD Science Writer, New York, New York, USA.
³ Stanford University Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
⁴ Futurehain, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Zeroverse, Nakagami district, Okinawa prefecture, Japan.
⁶ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
⁷ Annual Reviews, San Mateo, California, USA.
⁸ Biophysical Society, Rockville, Maryland, USA.
⁹ Communications Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹⁰ The Protein Society, Canyon Country, California, USA.
¹¹ American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
¹² Ithaka S+R, New York, New York, USA.
¹³ EventMobi, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁴ Sine Wave Entertainment, London, UK.
¹⁵ Zoom Video Communications, San Jose, California, USA.
¹⁶ Translational Research Institute for Space Health, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹⁷ Center for Space Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹⁸ University of California, Department of Chemistry, Berkeley, California, USA.
¹⁹ California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Berkeley, California, USA.
²⁰ Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.

PMID: 37534923
DOI: 10.1111/nyas.15037

Abstract

Scientific conferences play an important role in advancing research, scholarship, and the careers of emerging scientists. The COVID-19 pandemic offered meeting organizers and researchers alike an opportunity to reimagine what scientific conferences could look like. Virtual conferences can increase inclusivity and accessibility while decreasing costs and carbon emissions. However, it is generally perceived that the digital world fails to adequately recapitulate many of the benefits of in-person face-to-face interactions; these include socializing, and collaborative environments that can forge new research directions and provide critical career development opportunities. On November 15 and 16, 2022, researchers, representatives from diverse scientific conference organizations, leaders in virtual platform technologies, and innovators in conference design gathered online for the Open Access Keystone eSymposium "Reimagining Scientific Conferences." The meeting focused on how conference organizers can leverage lessons from the pandemic and emerging virtual platforms to engage new audiences, rethink strategies for scientific exchange, and decrease the carbon footprint of in-person events.

Keywords: academic travel; accessibility; carbon footprint; equitable academia; inclusivity; networking; scientific conference; virtual conference.

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References

REFERENCES

1. Yates, J., Kadiyala, S., Li, Y., Levy, S., Endashaw, A., Perlick, H., & Wilde, P. (2022). Can virtual events achieve co-benefits for climate, participation, and satisfaction? Comparative evidence from five international agriculture, nutrition and health academy week conferences. Lancet Planetary Health, 6, e164-e170.
1. Tao, Y., Steckel, D., Klemeš, J. J., & You, F. (2021). Trend towards virtual and hybrid conferences may be an effective climate change mitigation strategy. Nature Communications, 12, 7324.
1. Green, D. (2016). Conference rage: ‘How did awful panel discussions become the default format?’. The Guardian. June 2, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/201...
1. Ngumbi, E. (2020). Science conferences are stuck in the dark ages. Wired. January 3, 2020. https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-science-conferences-are-stuck-in-the...
1. Schuman, R. (2015). The humiliating nightmare of academic-conference season. Slate. December 9, 2015. https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/12/the-humiliating-nightmare-of-ac...

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Reimagining scientific conferences-a Keystone Symposia report

Affiliations

Reimagining scientific conferences-a Keystone Symposia report

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

REFERENCES

MeSH terms

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Full Text Sources

Medical