Shifting to Smart Conferences: Author Perceptions of Presenting Virtually at the 2021 Associated Schools of Construction Conference

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to academic institutions as well as the conferences associated with those disciplines. The Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) was among those affected and was forced to cancel their 2020 conference and shift their 2021 conference to a Smart Conference. This study collected feedback from the authors to gauge their perceptions of presenting in a virtual format to determine if the ASC should continue to integrate smart options for future events post-pandemic. The results indicated that the smart option for presenting conference proceedings papers was well received, and that almost 60% of the respondents indicated that if a smart option was available in the future, they would be more inclined to submit a paper for publication. These results indicate that an opportunity exists for the ASC to broaden its engagement with faculty members and further its mission to advance construction education by embracing Smart Conference techniques at future events. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.