Dear All,
Apologies for slow follow up on last Friday’s SOC meeting. Here it is. Below I outline the conclusions and elaborations on these for those who couldn’t attend and also those who could. The meeting was recorded and is
available here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ixwn16knK2wGBK12VqYOM_aHRUCo0vuT/view?usp=sharing , but I will try summarize all points below (so you do not have to listen to >hour of us brainstorming, and there are some extra points).
- The next SOC meeting is planned this
Friday 27th June at 13:00 (CET). Hope many of you can make. For this the same Zoom link can be used (reminder with link will be sent out in due course).
- Time-line: We came up with a timeline as follows… Invited speakers to be confirmed by latest July 20th. Abstract Submission: 1st August. Abstract
Submission closes: 1st October. Registration Opens (payment): 1st August (possibly later?). Meeting: 25-27th November.
- Sponsorship. Both Thorsten and Michael shared the sponsorship packages they offered in last two meetings. These are essentially the same. My proposal
was that we could increase these amounts a little (to account for things getting more expensive). In particular raise Platinum sponsorship to 4k and other packages accordingly (3k and 2k). Also offer platinum sponsors a 25min speaking slot (how exactly we
allocate this in regard to start/end of session or separate session can decide during scheduling). I received no arguments against this (which was also proposed in last email), so assume all are ok with and can go ahead with. The other aspects offered can
all be kept. I paste these below. Stephanie agreed to make pdf flyer that these are place into (akin to what Michael and Thorstens team did for their meetings) that can be sent to potential sponsors we are not in direct contact with already and are not familiar
with meeting and that explains also the meeting concept a bit (Stephanie: you can just use these texts at end of email, and share to all when ready). I would propose that we each already contact sponsors ASAP using this info. The word doc that Robert created
(henceforth referred to as “the document”), which we have been using as template for meeting planning, should be used to keep track of who contacted who and their replies. If you think of other potential sponsors you can contact, please just add to this document
along with your name and their reply when you receive. What should also ideally be included in pdf for sponsors and when contacting them otherwise are dates/times of exhibitions and as much else of schedule as reasonable at this point. (I attach the flyer
Thorsten sent for last year – maybe Stephanie this can provide some inspiration)
- Invited Speakers.
The categories/fields of invited speakers in regard to areas of expertise, were narrowed down to three fields: Brillouin Physics & Tech Dev, Applications, and Tangential fields. Several names were added and removed from the document
upon discussion, trying to keep in mind gender balance/diversity, ranges of expertise, etc.. but ultimately how much they could contribute to the meeting. It was agreed that we would invite a lot of speakers (to maximize attendance) but clearly state in invitation
that either cannot reimburse them or can only do so if really needed for their attendance (making also clear that there are a limited number of stipends). I am personally not a big fan of inviting people and not paying for them (my instinct has always been
that when we invite people we pay for everything), but this is the obvious trend also with prestigious/legitimate conferences (to give e.g. a keynote at SPIE you still have to pay their ~1.5k registration even if you literally flew in and out for that talk).
I would hope most people are honest here and it will not be an issue to cover travel on their own expense. From experience a lot of established PI’s will only attend if they are invited (even if nothing is covered) – so inviting a lot of people we would like
to attend amounts to nothing more than guaranteeing them a talk (like inviting people to a house party and guaranteeing them a drink). For them it might help justify travel or I don’t know maybe give them CV points if they still need and are counting. So logistically
it can only help increase attendance and getting people we want there (not unlike asking people we know are working in field and are simply curious/interested in knowing what they have been up to). In other words, I see it as tool for getting everyone who
is important in field there and making people outside field aware that everyone who is important in field will be there. It was agreed that a stipend of 500 EUR for European and 1000 EUR for overseas makes sense, with the offer to also reimburse university
or otherwise issued invoices up to this amount (to save potential tax reporting headaches for some). The number of stipends we offer does not need to be disclosed, and will depend on amount we gain from sponsors. We selected a couple of persons to be listed
as “Keynote” speakers (underlined in the document). The purpose of having some keynote is largely for advertising purposes (so should have ideally some name recognition). The keynotes should also cover range of topics (i.e. not have comparable research areas),
take into account gender equality and having (for the most part) not given keynotes in previous meetings. There is no distinction in funding for keynotes and invited (both should if they can cover their costs, and if they can’t we can potentially offer a stipend).
Have not selected members of SOC for Keynote as would be bad form (reminiscent of scam conferences).
- Abstract Submision. I proposed in previous email a system where people email filled in abstract template to a created/dedicated email address (e.g. abstracts-2025@biobrillouin.org).
This I believe is the quickest to implement and turn over. I attach such an example template. If someone is willing to dedicate time to setup an online submission system on the BioBrillouin website, by all means we can do this (Michael?) However, in this case
should test first and ideally have some online folder where abstracts are collected.
- Registration. This can for simplicity be a separate thing from abstract submission. While abstract submission needs to end with enough time to plan schedule,
registration can in principle run longer. Also, I imagine some people will not want to register until they know that their talk has been accepted. For payment ideally two options should exist: (1) an instant online payment system– ideal here would be Visa/Mastercard/American
Express. I can’t remember who, but someone once mentioned it was quite easy to setup something like “Slide” or similar on website. Paypal would also be option but credit card payment more universal. (2) Offer persons to pay per invoice and bank transfer.
While (1) is not absolutely essential it would be nice. (2) should be offered in any case as some institutions need. I am working on setting up bank account we can use and will report on in next meeting. Michael or anybody else: could you help look into (1)
and help set up? Robert: would it be possible if you or someone you delegate could take care of issuing these invoices?
Ok, apologies for long email. Think we are on track. Please give feedback on comments and let’s catch up on Friday hopefully. The most timely things are confirming invited speakers and getting sponsors for now. Once
we have this all else should fall into place.
All the best,
Kareem
Proposed Sponsorship / Exhibition packages:
Platinum: €4000
25 minute presentation in Technology Development session. 1 large exhibition desk, 4 chairs, 4 registrations, 4 networking dinner tickets included, company logo and full-page feature (narrative) in conference program,
company logo on the website and program, recognition as a platinum sponsor at opening and closing sessions, acknowledgement as prize sponsors, named sponsor of one session, electronic delegate list supplied post congress.
Gold: €3000
1 large exhibition desk, 4 chairs, 2 registrations, 2 networking dinner tickets included, company logo, half page feature (narrative) in conference program, company logo on the website and program, named sponsor of
one session, electronic delegate list supplied post congress.
Silver: €2000
1 standard exhibition desk, 2 chairs, 2 registrations, 1 networking dinner ticket included, company logo on the website and program, electronic delegate list supplied post congress.
Bronze: €1000
Listed as meeting sponsor on website and in program, electronic delegate list supplied post congress.