“Hybrid” scientific conference: lessons learned from the digital annual meeting of the CARS international conference during the Covid-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES: Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, all scientific conferences in the year 2020 had to be adapted in their form of presence to accommodate for safety regulations, postponed, or canceled entirely. As organizers of the annual Computer Assisted Radiology & Surgery International Conference & Exhibition (CARS)-Conference 2020, we decided to hold a “hybrid” conference, i.e., a virtual conference with partial presence to mitigate the drawbacks of a purely virtual conference. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the results and experience gained by our first hybrid conference. METHODS: Besides technical necessities like an online conferencing tool, we introduced additional personal namely the technical chairs and communication officers ensuring a smooth flow of presentations. To measure the success of the hybrid conference, we assessed various parameters during the conference (e.g., counting of adverse events, delays, and no-shows) and sent a questionnaire to participants for evaluation after the conference. RESULTS: We offered four types of presentation formats, whereas the majority of speakers presented their pre-produced videos including live discussions. Significant delays in sessions occurred during the morning sessions, which could be reduced during lunch breaks. The analysis of the influence of the distribution of the audience’s location/time zone toward the attendance rate showed a high relevance for the American zone and only little influence for the Asian-Pacific region. Based on the questionnaire, 60% of responders considered the hybrid approach as superior and 12% as inferior to purely virtual conferences. CONCLUSIONS: Most scientific associations in 2020 had to struggle with a dramatic change: Regular, traditional meetings with personal communication and exchange, networking, and creation of new visions became obsolete almost instantly. As an alternative, virtual conferences became increasingly popular, and are offering additional advantages (e.g., reduction of cost for travel, lodging, and time on transit). To overcome the drawbacks of purely virtual conferences, we introduced a hybrid concept for the CARS-Congress. While certainly, those with the privilege to take part personally on-site did benefit most from the hybrid format. Facing upcoming waves of the Covid-19 Pandemic, with ongoing changes to the regulations on meetings and transit, hybrid conferences are a viable option for scientific conferences for the future.