Keynote presentation given during the November 26 Digital University Day organized by the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. Focuses on the transformation of medical society congresses to virtual formats during 2020, highlighting outcomes relevant for academic science and technology events.

1. THE FUTURE
OF SCIENTIFIC
CONGRESSES
What can we learn from
the medical world?
Len Starnes
Digital healthcare consultant
Berlin
Digital University Day
Delft University of Technology
26 November 2020

2. PARALLELS
Knowledge dissemination
Discussion & opinion
Teaching & learning
Networking

3. Disrupted medical congresses

4. VIRTUAL REALITY 2020

5. Digital evolution of medical society
congresses is hardly new
Slow yet
continuous

6. Inching towards virtual & hybrid formats
Access to live and on-demand
presentations – the 365 model
Social media
Congress apps
Virtual congress
highlights

7. Who was driving change?
MILLENNIAL DOCTORS

8. 2020:
Millennial
change drivers
at ESC board
level

9. Who will be driving more change?
GENERATION Z DOCTORSwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
/pmc/articles/
PMC6108364/

10. What’s
the verdict?

11. What do doctors say?
PROS CONS
Not being away from home
Eliminates travel
Significantly reduced costs
Global access
Educational experience as good
as or better than physical
Unable to physically network
No serendipitous collaboration
opportunities
Need for a better, more
personalized, user experience

12. PROS CONS
www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/
Press-releases/Best-of-ESC-Congress-2020-The-Digital-Experience
Almost 350% increase in attendance
33,510
Paris 2019 Virtual 2020
116,000
Delegates from
211 countries
Over 50% under
40 years old

13. 92%
Now consider
attending virtually
Survey of > 300 doctors
in EU & USA
Doctors’ traditional reluctance to attend
virtual congresses has changed dramatically
Healthcare professionals’ experiences of
virtual congress. September 2020
Ashfieldmeetings.com

14. Almost 70% will not attend
ASCO21 if no vaccine is available

15. June 18 poll:
Should the current restrictions on
public events be lifted, how likely
would you be to attend a medical
conference in the next 12 months?
261 respondents
All specialities
Almost 50% of UK doctors prefer to attend
virtual conferences next 12 months
Private correspondence: doctors.net.uk
35%
Feel comfortable
49%
Prefer virtual
16%
Do not attend confs

16. Impacts on medical societies
PROS CONS
Global access
Increased attendance
Educational experience as good
as or better than physical
No change in scientific
programmes
Rapid format transformation
Negative financial impact
Planning uncertainty –
future congress formats?
Imperative to develop viable
new business models

17. FUTURE FORMAT OPTIONS
HYBRID VIRTUALVIRTUAL EXTENDED+ +

18. Leading EU medical society:
majority of members prefer
hybrid events in future
Survey of members’ future
conference preferences:
2,700 responses*
83%
prefer hybrid formats
*Private correspondence

19. ‘Something that is a combination
of two different things, so it has
qualities relating to both of them.’
Cambridge English Dictionary
WHAT DOES HYBRID MEAN?

20. Physical events
HARD
T h e a w f u l t r u t h
Virtual events
HARDER
Hybrid events
EVEN HARDER

21. HYBRID
3 challenges confronting medical societies
UX
Treat physical &
virtual attendees
equally
Personalize
Enable flawless
physical-virtual
networking
Extend concepts
of time & space
UX
Treat physical & virtual
attendees equally
Personalize
Enable flawless
physical-virtual
networking
Extend concepts of
time, space & language
Internal
Steep learning curve
Significantly more
planning & coordination
effort
Be unafraid to
experiment &
innovative
Commercial
New business models
Appropriate fee
structures
Novel sponsorship
& exhibitor options

22. ESMO 17 - 21 Sept
Paris
ASCO 4 - 8 June
Chicago ESE 22 – 25 May
Prague
ERS 4 - 8 Sept
Barcelona
Physical 2021?
EAN 19 - 22 June
Vienna
ACR 5 - 9 Nov
San Francisco

23. First medical society to transform
all events to virtual 2021
www.escardio.org/Congresses-&-Events

24. European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
2021
First hybrid announcements
www.eaaci.org/eaaci-congresses/eaaci-2021

25. Association for Medical Education in Europe
2021
First hybrid announcements
amee.org/conferences/amee-2021
Glasgow

26. 2021
At least 3 vaccines available H1
Mass immunization impossible
Virtual H1
Mix of virtual & hybrid H2

27. 2022
Wide vaccine availability
Mass immunization unlikely
Hybrid dominates
Remainder virtual

28. 2030 and beyond
Fear of Climate Change will determine formats
Virtual dominates

29. Related resources
Disrupted events: what’s happening in #Medcomms practice?
MedComms Networking webinar, 20 July 2020
www.medcommsnetworking.com/forum_july2020.html
The extended congress: reimagining scientific meetings after the COVID-19 pandemic
Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), 22 June 2020
www.mededpublish.org/manuscripts/3148
The future of healthcare events
Keynote delivered at Healthcare Events Forum. Malmö, Sweden, 2019
www.slideshare.net/lenstarnes/keynote-the-future-of-healthcare-events
The medical conference is dead, long live the medical conference
Presentation given to healthcare and digital clients 2013 - 14
www.slideshare.net/lenstarnes/future-of-med-confs-final-11-dec-2013

30. lenstarnes@gmail.com
T: + 49 30 781 5513
M: + 49 172 1788253
Skype: lenstarnes
www.linkedin.com/in/lenstarnes
www.twitter.com/lenstarnes
www.slideshare.net/lenstarnes
Len Starnes
Len Starnes Digital Healthcare
Research and Consulting