We listened!

Each year we ask delegates to feed back on their experience at our Annual Meeting. We are continually trying to improve our meetings and we want you to know that your feedback doesn’t go unheard. Below are some of the key points brought up in the feedback and what we’re doing to address these at #BES2018.

You asked for more variety of presentation formats and more opportunities for interaction.

It’s very easy to stick with what you know and the standard oral and talk presentations have always worked well for our meetings. We are, however, very aware that there are more exciting formats, particularly involving technologies, that promote different types of interaction.

In 2017 we introduced lightning talks before the main poster sessions, which we will be continuing this year. This year, we’re trialling electronic poster boards, as an interactive way to present information visually. The electronic posters will be promoted by lightning talks and displayed throughout the exhibition hall at the meeting.

This year we are also excited to introduce Interactive Sessions on Tuesday 18 December, allowing for more opportunities for delegates and speakers to meaningfully engage on a topic.

More of you wanted to attend our entertaining Science Slam, but found it hard as you also wanted to go to a Special Interest Group (SIG) social event.

This year we have moved the Science Slam to after the Welcome Mixer on Sunday 16 December. This allows all delegates the opportunity to attend, enjoy the comedy and it also extends the networking time on the pre-conference evening!

A number of delegates didn’t feel associated with any one Special Interest Group (SIG), so wanted an alternative event on the SIG social evening.

Along with our successful social events from our 19 SIGs, we will be running a non-SIG social event. The details of this have not yet been released, but watch this space!

You were all very positive about the lunchtime workshops, but didn’t always manage to grab lunch before the workshop started.

The lunch break timings have been changed this year, to give delegates more time to get lunch and eat something before the workshops start. A whole 45 minutes to be precise!

It was great to hear so many of you attended our additional mixers on the second evening, including the LGBT+ Mixer, but they overlapped with some of the poster session, restricting who could attend.

We’ve made some room in the programme to ensure the two events are now distinct, so everyone will be able to attend both the poster session and various mixers this year.

Delegates love the buzz of the poster session, but the rows of posters make it hard to manoeuvre.

We’ll be getting rid of the mile long rows of posters boards and spreading them out more within the exhibition area to ensure there’s more breathing room!

Floorplan…

Yes, we hear you! The venue at Ghent did not have user friendly floorplans, but no floorplan in the programme was a terrible mistake and it won’t be happening again!