Executive Summary

Sunway University, Malaysia, partnered with Whova for the hybrid 15th International Symposium on Radiation Physics (ISRP15). The Research Centre for Applied Physics and Radiation Technologies (CAPRT), supported by the International Radiation Physics Society (IRPS), organized the annual conference to discuss physics topics related to research, biomedical, art fields, and more. Students and leading experts joined the virtual platform to share ideas in the Artifact Center and connect in the app’s Community Board. 

About the 15th International Radiation Physics Symposium

Since its foundation in 1985, the International Radiation Physics Society has regularly planned symposiums to promote global scientific exchanges, research, and education. This year, the ISRP15 was hosted by Sunway University, a top university according to the Malaysia Rating System for University College Excellence (SETARA). The organizers successfully managed the information of over 90 poster presentations and encouraged attendees to engage in the numerous live speaker sessions.

Challenges

• Coordinate poster information of over 90 presenters 

Nearly 100 leading physicists were joining the conference to share oral papers and poster presentations with attendees and fellow researchers. They needed to upload their materials online so both in-person and remote attendees could easily access their presentations.

• Motivate attendance in live-streamed sessions

Managing a hybrid audience during live sessions can be complicated, and the organizers wanted to ensure speakers received quality engagement during their sessions. To achieve captivating sessions, they needed online tools to engage both kinds of attendees.

• Manage sponsor brand visibility for different sponsor levels 

With sponsors contributing to the symposium at varying levels of support, the organizers needed to efficiently display higher-level sponsors with greater in-app visibility.

• Encourage networking in person and online 

Connecting remote and in-person attendees at a hybrid event is a challenge; the organizers wanted to ensure every attendee type had the opportunity to meet whether or not they were at the physical event.

Solutions

• Set up poster information conveniently in one spot 

It was easy for presenters to quickly upload videos, photos, PDFs, and biographies onto digital presentations in Whova’s Artifact Center, using personal links shared by the organizers. The organizers could monitor profile progress for each presentation and email reminders to all or individual participants if they were behind schedule. Attendees could jump between posters, like the presentations, and message presenters if they had any thoughts or questions.

Attendees could browse poster presentations in the app and watch recorded videos in the digital presentations

• Inspire online session attendance through exciting raffles

Whova’s Session Attendance Gamification encouraged attendees to join online sessions to win a prize from the organizers. Participating sessions were marked in the agenda, where attendees could view and add to their personal agendas. Attendees earned stamps when they stayed in special sessions for at least 15 minutes. Once attendees collected 25 stamps, Whova automatically entered them into the raffle for a chance to win an exciting prize. 

Sessions participating in the raffle contest had an orange tag so attendees could easily identify them

• Tier sponsors with different levels of visibility in the app

The ISRP15 organizers efficiently organized sponsors into multiple categories based on their support levels through Whova’s sponsor tiering feature. With the convenient tier manager, they could select or de-select banner visibility in the home, agenda, profile, and web app pages. Sponsors could be featured in specific areas, with the highest level sponsors being showcased in all four areas. 

The organizers invited all sponsors to upload videos, documents, contact information, handouts, and more to Whova’s virtual sponsor booths. Attendees could view the booths in the app, like and comment to engage with sponsors online, while the sponsors could gather leads and spark discussion with attendees in the app. 

Sponsors each had a unique digital booth to upload information, videos, live streams, and more

• Drive connection and networking with in-app gamification features

The Leaderboard and Photo Contests were a great way to incentivize attendees to participate in the app’s Community Board, an online networking forum. Attendees earned points in the Leaderboard Contest when they filled out surveys, polls, session feedback, or posted on the Community Board. At the end of the symposium, the top three attendees with the most points earned a small prize from the organizers. 

The Photo Contest especially encouraged attendees to connect on the app by sharing photos during the event. They could like and comment on their peer’s photos, and the image with the most likes was announced as the winner through Whova’s in-app announcements feature. 

• Facilitate networking with discussion topics and video meet-ups

The Community Board was a popular space for attendees to connect over shared interests and set up video calls through the app’s meet-ups. Attendees could introduce themselves with the icebreakers and post discussion topics about the physics industry or their favorite hobbies before, during, and up to three months after the event ended. They could find other professionals by searching their names or company titles in the “Attendee” tab and sending a 1:1 message.