Innovative Approaches for Organizing an Inclusive Optics and Photonics Conference in Virtual Format

Abstract

The COVID pandemic is forcing the renewal of scientific conferences, offering opportunities to introduce technological and inclusive developments. Our analysis focuses on the implementation of inclusive practices for female and early-career researchers in a virtual scientific conference. This organization approach was applied in the XIII Spanish Optical Meeting (RNO2021), which was also characterized by avatars interacting in an online metaverse. The effectiveness of inclusive policies and novel technological tools was evaluated using the participation data and a post-conference survey. Our study reveals the high impact of inclusive actions and a strong interest in the scientific community to explore conference advances.

Breaking Boundaries: The Global Impact of Medical Student Research - Highlights from the Second WCMSR IJMS Conference

“…numerous scientific conferences are executed effectively across various online platforms. [13][14][15][16] On October 7, 2023, the IJMS organized the Second World Medical Student Research Summit (WCMSR), a virtual research conference that gave medical students and recent graduates (within three years of graduation) the chance to present their research to a global audience. The present conference marked the second occurrence of its kind after the triumphant inaugural WCMSR on November 12, 2022.…”