Organising a conference is one of the main ways to present your dissertation subject, or share the knowledge you have on an academic subject, with others in the field. The amount of knowledge shared – however niche – is incredibly inspiring. Now we are organising our conferences online more and more, it enables us to share knowledge across borders without having to travel. An incredible development! In this blog, we share the things that need to be done to organise a virtual conference, before, during and after the event.
Being organised since the 17th century, (academic) conferences have been a source of cutting edge knowledge. New ideas, research and results are shared during such events. This type of connection is important for the attendees to keep up to date with new developments and to allow them to network. In the 21st century, knowledge sharing and inspiring each other is still the main goal when you organise a virtual conference. We’ve listed some of the most important things you need to consider before, during and after the conference:
Before you organise a virtual conference
There’s a lot to focus on here, because to organise a virtual conference is not a small feat. You can disregard a couple of things though: you do not need to provide a venue, or organise catering for your virtual conference. Since it will be online, the location is set and people will provide food for themselves (they can pick their favourite, which is even better!). So what is it that you have to consider before you can organise the ultimate, inspiring, virtual congress? Read this blog, or check out our congress page!
Who is presenting?
Each virtual conference has presenting parties, which create the possibility to create conversation on the subject they are researching, or the findings that they did. To organise a virtual conference requires this before anything: people that want to share their research. So: set up a format in which you would like them to present their ideas, and set up an open call for your virtual conference! This way you can promote the conference and at the same time, you get control over which ideas, themes and subjects will be discussed.
Which virtual platform is used?
We are long past the zoom-meetings that just function as a platform to send information to the attendees, the best platforms look for more interaction and engagement. Take care when you organise a virtual conference, that you find yourself the best possible platform to host your event on. Look at the networking features, the possibilities that you give your attendees to interact and most importantly: which options speakers have. Is there room for knowledge sharing and discussion in an intimate, proficient manner?
Check out our guide on how to select the right event-platform here if you need some help figuring this one out! Or watch the video below, to see what our platform looks like:
Who is attending?
You’ve got the people that are going to present their ideas, but in order to spark the right conversation, you will need to run some marketing. People need to find out that you are organising a virtual conference! It would be a shame that your conference goes by without making a smashing impact – or, at least: impact on the visitors! The sky is the limit in this: since you organise a virtual conference, there’s the possibility of letting let people from all over the world attending! This will definitely increase the amount of inspiring conversations because new viewpoints and insights always make them go further.
Who is the host?
This role of the host has a lot to do with the size of your event, but whether you organise a virtual conference for 50 people, or for 500: they need to be there. A host is exactly the kind of person that will create the glue and interaction that holds the event together. When you organise a virtual conference, this is incredibly important.
Honestly, this is just the tip of the iceberg of things that you need to think about when you organise a virtual conference. Overwhelming, right? We know! Luckily, we know exactly what you need and how to make sure it happens for your virtual conference. Whether you are a virtual conference-veteran, or are organising it for the first time: Let’s Get Digital has your back! With our Delivery Consultants by your side, you will organise a virtual conference without a hitch, with all the help you can get and all the tools for interaction!
