Virtual & Hybrid Participation

Ways to participate virtually in DPS 2024:

We look forward to seeing you at DPS 2024! Our goal is to organize a meeting that is inclusive, enjoyable, and productive for everyone. We will keep this page up-to-date as more details are finalized closer to the meeting. Please feel free to contact us at any time with questions or suggestions. 

Registration: Please make sure to register for the meeting when registration opens. We anticipate that early registration will open on Thursday, 18 July; please stay tuned for more information on registration fees and deadlines.

1. Prepare your schedule via the meeting app

• The meeting app, Engagefully, will be available around mid-September.
• Engagefully can be used to create a personal schedule for the meeting that can be accessed and updated in both desktop and mobile versions of the app. 

2. Present at or attend an oral session via Zoom and participate in the Q&A

• Zoom links to join oral sessions will be available in the meeting program. If you are a virtual presenter, you will receive a different Zoom link in advance of the meeting that will enable you to join the session as a ‘panelist’.  
• We anticipate that virtual presenters will share their own screen/presentation during their talk, but ask that all presenters upload their slides in advance of the meeting in case of technical difficulties. If you are a virtual presenter and feel comfortable doing so, please have your camera on as well. 
• Questions for presenters can be submitted using the Q&A feature in Zoom. Session chairs will monitor the Zoom Q&A during the session, and session-specific Slack channels will be available for asynchronous discussion outside the session.

Deadline to upload slides: All speakers (both in-person and virtual) will need to upload their presentation slides to the meeting website by Friday, 27 September. File upload guidelines will be provided closer to date. 
 
3. View posters and listen to lightning talks via the meeting app

• New this year! All poster presenters (in-person and virtual) will be asked to submit a PDF version of their poster and a pre-recorded, 1-minute lightning talk. These will be accessible through the meeting app at any time during the meeting. 
• New this year! All poster presenters (in-person and virtual) will have the option to have their posters printed by a local vendor. Locally printed posters will be delivered and hung before the meeting. We expect to have all posters up on all four days of the meeting, with scheduled in-person poster sessions focusing on a subset of posters.
• New this year! We ask that all poster presenters (in-person and virtual) include information on their poster regarding when (e.g. during scheduled poster sessions or at a more convenient time) and how (e.g. via Zoom or Slack) they will be available to discuss their poster virtually and/or in person. This information may also be shared via poster session Slack channels.

Deadline to upload posters and lightning talks: All poster presenters (both in-person and virtual) will need to upload their poster PDFs and lightning talk recordings by Thursday, 26 September. File upload guidelines will be provided closer to date. 

4. Interact with other poster presenters or attendees via Slack or Zoom

• New this year! We will not have a dedicated virtual poster session this year. However, virtual poster presenters will have the option to have their posters printed locally and displayed alongside posters presented in-person, as described above.
• New this year! We will not use GatherTown this year, but instead encourage all poster presenters and attendees (in-person and virtual) to plan for virtual interactions via Slack, Zoom, and/or email. 
• All meeting participants will receive an invitation to join the DPS56 Slack workspace, which will provide the ability to interact with poster presenters at any time via session-specific channels or direct messages.
• New this year! We ask that all poster presenters (in-person and virtual) include information on their poster regarding when (e.g. during scheduled poster sessions or at a more convenient time) and how (e.g. via Zoom or Slack) they will be available to discuss their poster virtually and/or in person. This information may also be shared via poster session Slack channels.
• Presenters with existing access to Zoom are encouraged to set up their own Zoom rooms for virtual interactions. We will also have a limited number of Zoom rooms available for participants to reserve via the meeting website, and will provide more details on this soon.

5. Connect with other meeting attendees via Slack

• Invitations to join the meeting Slack space will be sent around mid-September. Slack is a useful platform for connecting asynchronously with all meeting attendees.
• In addition to session-specific channels for Q&A and related discussions, the DPS56 Slack workspace is intended to be a space for our community to connect over science, as well as other shared interests and identities.

6. Sign up for workshops, splinter sessions, and other hybrid events at the meeting 

• Stay tuned for updates on workshops, splinter sessions, and other professional development and social events that may have both in-person and virtual components.