Conference organisers all over the world have unfortunately had to cancel or postpone their plans in response to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. However, some conference organisers made last-minute decisions to hold their conferences online. I have managed to attend two online conferences during lockdown; CEMWOQ 6.5 (The 6.5th Crystal Engineering and Emerging Materials Workshop of Ontario and Quebec) and CEFMC2020 (Crystal Engineering: From Molecule to Crystal 2020), which were held virtually via zoom from Canada and India respectively. Both conferences were attended by participants interested in crystals and crystalline materials from all parts of the world. Overall, they were extremely welcoming, well-organised and the feedback both during the conference and afterwards on twitter has been very positive.
Twitter has been extremely useful during lockdown to keep up with literature, discover useful webinars and it is where these online conferences were mostly advertised. It also provided a platform for posters to be presented prior to CEFMC2020, allowing participants and judges to browse at their own pace. In contrast, CEMWOQ 6.5 organisers made use of breakout rooms on zoom, which allowed the presenters to discuss their posters with other interested participants.
Whilst it is easier to network at normal conferences and meeting in-person is nice, online conferences have the potential to play an important role in improving diversity and inclusivity in science. Both CEMWOQ 6.5 and CEFMC2020 were completely free to attend and anyone who wanted to participate could register until capacity was reached. This provides an opportunity for postdocs, PhD students like me and even keen undergraduates to attend conferences and become inspired by incredible talks that they may have otherwise been unable to attend for financial or personal reasons. Even speakers with poor internet connections were able to present by providing pre-recorded talks.
One of the only negatives of the online conference is the time-zone difference. Depending on where you are based, a very early start or late night may be required, but that’s a reasonable sacrifice to learn about the fantastic research being done within the community.
Online conferences may become more commonplace post-COVID-19 now that they have been tried and tested. Whilst normal (in-person) conferences shouldn’t be completely replaced, switching between the online and in-person formats will allow for wider, more inclusive participation and less air travel is always a positive to help protect our planet.
About the Web Writer:
Lee Birchall has recently started his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Helena Shepherd at the University of Kent, where he also completed his MSc under the supervision of Dr. Stefano Biagini. He obtained a first class BSc at University College London. He enjoys music, languages and windsurfing and you can find him on Twitter at @LTBIRCH.
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