The future of scientific conferences in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic: Critical analysis and future perspectives.

The global spread of COVID-19 pandemic forced the scientific community to identify new ways of exchanging and transferring the scientific knowledge, also considering that the measures taken to combat the pandemic, such as travel restrictions, closed borders and gathering bans, led to cancellations of many conferences, meetings and workshops. The enhancement of the existing digital platforms and the development of new systems to share scientific knowledge has allowed the scientific community to "meet" again in new virtual environments (e.g., Zoom, Cisco WebEx, Live Stream, Demio, GoToWebinar Seminar, Google Hangouts, Skype, Microsoft Teams, etc.), providing an unprecedented opportunity to reform methods of organizing academic conferences in all disciplines.Starting from the review of the existing literature, this study aimed at investigating the impact of the spreading of virtual conferences on the field of research. The SWOT analysis was used to identify strengths and weaknesses of the scientific conferences organized in the new format, as well as opportunities and threats created by the socio-economic and political context in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Science shines in a new virtual SY-Stem.

The third 'Symposium for the Next Generation of Stem Cell Research' (SY-Stem) was held virtually on 3-5 March 2021, having been cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As in previous years, the meeting highlighted the work of early career researchers, ranging from postgraduate students to young group leaders working in developmental and stem cell biology. Here, we summarize the excellent work presented at the Symposium, which covered topics ranging from pluripotency, species-specific aspects of development and emerging technologies, through to organoids, single-cell technology and clinical applications.

Converting to a Synchronous Virtual Nursing Research Conference Amidst a Pandemic: A Case Study.

University of California San Diego Health was set to launch its 13th annual Nursing and Inquiry Innovation Conference event in June 2020. However, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic placed a barrier to large gatherings throughout the world. Because the World Health Organization designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, the University committed to continuing the large-scale conference, converting to a virtual event. This article reviews the methodologies behind the delivery of the virtual event and implications for user engagement and learning on the blended electronic platform.

Conducting a Virtual Research Symposium: Path to Success.

Strategies used to change an annual statewide research symposium from a face-to-face experience to a virtual event at a 434-bed Magnet® redesignated community hospital are described. The program met with success and increased access for attendees. For the 1st time, credited to the virtual format, representatives from all 9 hospitals in the system were able to attend. Feedback following the symposium suggested that participants who live at a distance from the hospital appreciated being able to attend the meeting without traveling, technical issues were promptly resolved, and presenters received positive evaluations.

Participation in Virtual Urology Conferences During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: Due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, conventional face-to-face academic conferences have been restricted, and many of these conferences have moved onto the internet. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the virtual conferences in the field of urology during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide suggestions for better organization of such conferences. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 30 to June 15, 2020, in China. Our team designed a 23-item questionnaire to investigate the conferences attended by urologists during the COVID-19 pandemic. SPSS 22.0 (IBM Corporation) was applied to analyze the data collected. RESULTS: A total of 330 Chinese urologists participated in our survey, and the response rate was 89.7% (330/368). Among the participants, 40.9% (135/330) were associate chief physicians. The proportion of participants who took part in conventional face-to-face academic conferences decreased from 92.7% (306/330) before the COVID-19 pandemic to 22.1% (73/330) during the pandemic (P<.001). In contrast, the proportion of urologists who took part in virtual conferences increased from 69.4% (229/330) to 90% (297/330) (P<.001). Most urologists (70.7%, 210/297) chose to participate in the virtual conferences at home and thought that a meeting length of 1-2 hours was most appropriate. Among the urologists, 73.7% (219/297) reported that their participation in the virtual conferences went smoothly, while the remaining respondents reported that they had experienced lags in video and audio streaming during the virtual conferences. When comparing conventional face-to-face conferences with virtual conferences, 70.7% (210/297) of the respondents thought that both conference formats were acceptable, while 17.9% (53/297) preferred virtual conferences and 11.5% (34/297) preferred conventional face-to-face meetings. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual conferences are increasing in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, many aspects of these conferences could be improved for better organization.