EULAR will be hosted virtually for the first time in June. Instead of flying to Europe, rheumatologists will tune in from every corner of the planet. So what can they expect?
EULAR will be hosted virtually for the first time in June. Instead of flying to Europe as originally planned, rheumatologists will tune in from every corner of the planet.
“I plan on tuning in each night, as I think a lot of people will be,” says Australian rheumatologist Dr David Liew.
“As far as time zones are concerned, it’s essentially like watching the Ashes from Australia.”
Rheumatology Republic wanted to find out what the first digital EULAR meeting would be like, so we’ve interviewed Dr Julia Rautenstrauch, the executive director of EULAR.
Q: What should Australian rheumatologists expect from the first virtual meeting? The same as usual? How will it be different?
A: The whole scientific program has been adapted to the e-world. This means, that we removed hands-on sessions (were you would have trained practical skills on real-world devices), shortened the lecture time and divided the sessions into pre-recorded and live sessions. Pre-recorded sessions are the preferred format for educational sessions, whereas live sessions are the ideal format to release very new (last minute) data. In addition, we will publish the abstracts as usual and integrate the poster publication including short oral presentations of abstract/posters.
Q: EULAR has had to pivot really fast to get this virtual event up and running. What tech are you using?
A: We use a software provider from Germany with experience in virtual meetings for 12 years.
Q: Is EULAR doing shorter sessions? Are presentations going to be pre-recorded and then broadcast?
A: Yes, speaker and abstract presentation times have been shortened mostly. Most sessions will be pre-recorded, but we transferred a few “highlight sessions” into live sessions. Live sessions are much more complicated from a technical point of view, but also allow a direct interaction with the audience. Both types of sessions will be available on demand after the first round until 1 September 2020. This will allow every participant to follow his own schedule over a period of three months and adapt his participation to the respective time zone.
Q: How will sponsors get some airtime? Symposia can be pre-recorded or live presented.
A: Companies can present themselves on company profile pages with different functionalities. They will have the option to upload material and to use live chat room functions. The satellite symposia can be executed in the same way as for the scientific part, either pre-recorded or live.
Q: Will there be any social events online?
A: The opening session is supposed to keep the community feeling within our audiences and transfer the “EULAR spirit” to every single delegate. I am convinced that people will enjoy it.
Q: How much will it cost to attend virtually? How does that compare to the physical event
A: The registration fee is much lower than the registration fee of the face-to-face congress. Please see the details here https://www.congress.eular.org/registration.cfm. In addition the registration fee includes the one year subscription to our journal “The Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases” for HCP.
