These five lessons guide organizations in transitioning in-person conferences to virtual environments

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., May 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Like hundreds of other event organizers across the country, University of Kansas Professional & Continuing Education (KUPCE) staff members were forced to make quick decisions regarding a host of conferences and events, including the 800+ attendee Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference (SPPAC) scheduled for March 18-20 in Dallas. To keep participants safe while still having the opportunity to learn and network, KUPCE and the SPPAC planning committee made a bold decision to transition the conference to a virtual format in less than a week and learned important lessons along the way.

"Hotel meeting and sleeping rooms were booked, speakers were lined up, 400 research poster presenters were finalized, 850 program books were printed, and food and beverage was ordered," KUPCE Director of Professional Programs Stacy Cordell said. "But considering the event is attended by pediatric psychologists from across the country, many of whom work in hospital settings with immune-compromised children, we thought we had a social obligation to consider whether people should be interacting in that type of environment."

When Society of Pediatric Psychology President Jennifer Pendley and the planning team suggested the idea of moving the conference online, Cordell was open, but hesitant. Together, they successfully transitioned the 51st annual conference to an online event but not without many lessons learned during the process.

Lesson 1: Make sure you have the technology

Evaluate your conference or event and map out its needs in terms of conference space.

"We had to make sure we had enough individual accounts with enough capacity to house the full plenary sessions which would normally hold 800 people, as well as the four or five concurrent breakout sessions," Cordell said. "Then we had to determine if the university had the bandwidth to handle all of those rooms running at the same time."

Lesson 2: Create a team with clear roles and communication methods

The next step was to pull every available human resource to form a team that could accomplish the transition. Cordell coordinated and assigned roles and tasks with these teams and IT to push a new plan into place.

Lesson 3: Simplify and structure while creating community

"Keep it simple. Work the schedule. Maintain Community."

These were three simple bits of advice from Cordell that made their transition to online meetings work so well. 

"One of the things the planning committee did that was so helpful is adjust all sessions to a standard length," Cordell said.

They scheduled ample time for breaks, allowing attendees time to connect with peers through Twitter and more.

"Giving our attendees the ability to make lunch for their children who were suddenly at home while learning about their profession was an unplanned benefit," Cordell said.

Lesson 4: Think through your registration process

With only 48 hours to allow SPPAC attendees to register for the online conference, it was imperative to think through every step. "If you're organizing a complex conference with concurrent sessions or workshops, you really need to map that out clearly in advance," Cordell said.

Lesson 5: Make time for training

With speakers presenting virtually from around the country, the team made sure all were comfortable with using Zoom technology. All but one team took advantage and were trained in a two-day span of time.

Learn more about Cordell's team's preparation process and more tips for virtual conferences here.

About the University of Kansas Professional & Continuing Education

KU Professional & Continuing Education supports the teaching, research and public service missions of the University, contributing to postgraduate professional education, workforce development, distance learning and quality of life for Kansans and worldwide communities. Other programming within Professional & Continuing Education includes Professional Programs, Aerospace Short Courses, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center and Kansas Fire & Rescue Training Institute. Combined, these programs teach more than 30,000 individuals a year in every county in Kansas, across the United States and internationally. It is headquartered at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park, Kansas.

Contact:
Hannah Lemon, KU Edwards Campus
913-897-8755, hannah.lemon@ku.edu 

SOURCE University of Kansas Edwards Campus

Related Links

http://edwardscampus.ku.edu