What are the requirements for organizing scientific symposium?

Organizing scientific symposium differs from organizing conferences and exhibitions, as it focuses on a specific scientific issue and its specialists meet in order to discuss it and decide on one of its aspects, then come up with recommendations or decisions that will be implemented. There are many reasons for scientific symposiums, ranging from medical, environmental, engineering, or many technical matters to other scientific aspects.

In order to organize scientific symposium or medical symposium, one must take into account:

• Determine the place and time of the seminar.
• Choose a logo and design it.
• Develop an agenda that includes opening speeches, various sessions, rest and lunch times, times for presenting visual materials, and attendance interventions.
• Determine whether or not there will be an exhibition on the sidelines of the symposium.
• Selecting speakers carefully, taking into account the academic degree of each speaker.
• Scientific symposiums are directed to specialists in the field, which means ensuring that claims are sent to specialists. Who are known to be interested in the topic of the symposium.
• Distributing tasks to organizers, to facilitate the completion of the logistical aspect during the seminar.
• Ensure the availability of the tools and devices you need, whether screens, audio engineering systems, microphones, translation headphones, projectors, lighting systems, etc.

Principles of Organizing scientific symposium

Organizing a scientific or medical symposium differs from a conference in some implementation aspects, including:

• The seminar is carried out one day for a certain number of hours.
• Managed by a person responsible for distributing the interventions of speakers and attendees.
• The speakers are discussing a specific matter in the symposium, and there are no sessions.
• Time is allowed for questions from the audience.
• It can display visual materials such as a video or a collection of photos and infographics.

How to develop a plan for organizing scientific symposium or conference

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was able to be the destination for the implementation and design of a number of global and regional conferences. This is because of its pivotal role in the Gulf region, the Arab world, and the world.

Organizing medical conferences and seminars requires knowledge of various details. The ability to adapt technical tools and modern technology in presenting the content of the event in an impressive way that is able to better communicate information.

The most important general factors needed to hold a successful symposium

Before the symposium

• Determine the topic of the symposium.
• The results of the expected symposium must be highlighted with an explanation of the benefit of participation.
• There should be an attractive theme for the seminar.
• Choose keynote speakers with a high degree of distinction.
• The papers submitted to the symposium should be airtight to ensure quality and serve the main themes of the symposium.
• Don’t expand on panelists or prepare keynote speakers if you don’t have enough budget or logistical support.
• Create a website for the seminar that does not contain conflicting information.
• Advertise the seminar by all means, the most important of which are: the distinguished website, websites announcing seminars on the internet, letters, and direct emails.
• The three most important committees are the organizing committee, the scientific committee, and the financial committee. So choose very carefully the heads and members of these committees.
• The membership of the committees shall not be repeated or the same person shall chair more than one committee.
• Make sure that the chair of any committee is an organized and proactive person.
• Media sponsorship of the symposium An agreement must be made with a specific media party in order to find commitment from this party when wanting to publish the news and articles of the symposium.
• Decide on dates ahead of time as this allows participants to obtain approval from their references for attendance, visas, and tickets.
• Obtaining sponsorship from companies and institutions from an early age in order to make it easier for you to do many other things.
• Ensure that the seminar site is easily accessible to all and that restaurants are within walking distance.
• Provide adequate customer service to answer calls on a daily basis, and they must be able to respond in a professional manner and in both Arabic and English.

During the symposium

• Introducing modern technologies when registering participants.
• Taking care of the participant as soon as he enters the registration hall is very important. So there must be people whose task is to welcome him, answer his questions and solve any problem that may happen to him.
• Ensuring that there are informative boards leading to the place of the symposium, as well as on the lecture halls and supporting halls.
• Ensure that the monitors and connected computers are working properly.
• Availability of sufficient computers connected to the Internet and a printer.
• The presence of sufficient electrical outlets and types of plugs (plugs) suitable for different computers.
• Availability of the integrated seminar bag in larger quantities than the expected number.
• To clearly announce the bus movement times, and strictly adhere to that.
• Make sure to write recommendations at the end of the seminar, that they are practical, and that they are written in a group format.

After the symposium

• Send e-mails thanking the participants for their attendance, and offer them a general apology for any shortcomings. And make them feel a genuine desire to communicate with them on later occasions.
• If some of them have specific requests, such as a certificate of replacement for a loss or financial recovery, and the like, then take the initiative to implement that immediately.
• Send thank you letters to keynote speakers and panelists.
• Send letters of thanks to everyone who contributed to the work of the symposium. If there are financial rewards, then take the initiative to disburse them to them.
• Do a comprehensive evaluation session for the seminar attended by all those who participated in the seminar. With the aim of learning from the experience and improving it in the future and documenting the work so that newcomers can benefit from it.
• Follow up on the implementation of the recommendations of the symposium.