This was my first experience with attending a virtual conference. I was really curious about how it would be arranged, and how the experience would translate to a virtual audience.
Navigating the ECCVID 2020 platform was very simple. After you log in, you are immediately immersed in the ‘virtual lobby’, and from there, you can choose where you want to go. I was interested in the virtual exhibition hall, the live sessions, and the ePosters.
The virtual exhibition hall was arranged so you could see all the vendor booths at-a-glance. They organizers had organized them into categories so you could approach them by research application. Think of it like a ‘chocolate map’, but for booths. I found myself wanting to wander into every booth, to see what they looked like, and to assess my overall experience in each booth. The vendors embraced the booth ‘template’ and were able to convey their brand look and feel in this medium. Some had ‘virtual assistants’, some had a ‘chat’ feature, and most had a ‘virtual literature rack’, to see product data sheets or videos. Ok, so there wasn’t free food or giveaways, but it was safe to say that some booths were truly magical to visit.
The live sessions were arranged to accommodate a global audience. We are fortunate to be a global company, so we could take advantage of the session calendar to the best of our abilities, so that we didn’t miss a live session were interested in. There were a number of live sessions from global experts, which covered many aspects of COVID-19, from epidemiology, antivirals, antiparasitics, antimicrobial resistance, outbreak management, diagnostics, to the economy of the disease, disease modeling, clinical trials, and vaccines.
The ePosters were visually well organized into 39 different research areas, so you could see at a glance which of the 524 posters you wanted to visit. Since there were no ‘in-person’ poster sessions, some authors submitted a video of themselves explaining their poster, which enhanced the experience. You could even submit a question to the poster author.
Overall, I was very impressed at how well organized this conference was. From the quality of the speakers and posters, to the way the information was organized and presented, to the live session quality, and the way that the audience was engaged visually, it was very well done and it was a positive experience to be able to attend this conference. If you were not able to attend, the ECCVID 2020 platform will remain open for 3 months. If you are studying coronavirus as part of your research program, we have products to support your research. Visit TOKU-E.com/COVID-19.