And why event professionals should not aim to save the past.
In light of the dramatic effect that COVID-19 is having on scientific meetings, Kenes Group reached out to past participants, in order to better understand how healthcare practitioners (HCPs) feel about virtual events. As a professional congress organiser (PCO) that is dedicated to medical and scientific meetings, the survey reached 809 past delegates from 112 countries on 6 continents to get truly global feedback on the pressing question of effective virtual conferences.
In order to cross-check the validity of the received answers, Kenes Group combined it with three virtual medical meetings and their post-conference evaluations, with a total attendance of over 5,500 participants, gaining additional 1,872 survey responses. The analysed data sets hold identical questions, making the comparison of opinions possible, and adding data from confirmed participants of virtual meetings. This paper analyses what constitutes an ideal virtual event for healthcare professionals.
Main conclusions:
Successful virtual events start with superb content, delivered through a user-friendly platform designed for interaction and to stimulate adult learning. The new pricing methods are tier-based and tied to the presented science, creating value for the event owner, the meeting participant, as well as the sponsors and exhibitors. The scientific program is structured over a longer period of time, extending the life of the congress and allowing for custom learning paths to be built. The session formats are a mix of pre-recorded and live content, in-depth sessions, and bite-sized overview videos. The interaction between all stakeholders is designed and enhanced with the use of technology. The support to healthcare professionals (HCPs) remains and is now focused on allowing undisturbed time to fully submerge into the virtual experience.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
