Virtual conference hub launches successfully
In mid-December, climate researchers from ETH gathered in the CHN building for the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Although the event took place in the United States, there was no shortage of stimulating conversations and debates, nor informal exchanges over coffee.
The Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) is one of the world's largest conferences for earth and space sciences with over 25’000 participants. For the researchers at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science (IAC), this event is one of the most important weeks of the year. Luna Bloin-Wibe is a PhD student in the Climate Physics research group at the IAC and would certainly not have been out of place at the last AGU meeting in San Francisco. Despite the opportunities to expand her network and advance her research, she and other members of the institute deliberately decided not to fly to America. Not an easy decision. AGU does offer live broadcasts of the lecture sessions and researchers can even present their own contributions virtually. However, this participation format lacks the usual supporting programme with panel discussions and workshops as well as the encounters with peers from all over the world. To compensate for this disadvantage, Bloin-Wibe and other IAC members decided to put together an alternative programme for the remote participants at the institute.
Conference atmosphere in a familiar environment
This marked the launch of the “AGU Virtual Hub”, a kind of parallel conference to AGU’s Annual Meeting. Over the course of a week, the lecture sessions were broadcast live every evening into various classrooms. Before and between these sessions, there was room for events on site. For example, the programme included a debate on science communication & climate change, a "Recycled Poster Session" and a joint dinner in a restaurant. However, as at every conference, the coffee breaks were at the centre of the event. Every evening, a buffet was set up on the green floor of the CHN building. Where scientists from different universities mingled in San Francisco, the institute members now got to know each other better. "Contact between researchers on different floors of the institute is often limited. But the hub gave me the opportunity to find out more about the research projects outside of my group. The atmosphere has become more familiar as a result.", says Bloin-Wibe.
Will to act is supported by the department
The Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS) has been thinking about how emissions from air travel could be reduced for a while now. Overseas conferences are therefore a hot topic. Many members of the institute had qualms about flying across the Atlantic for a week-long event. When the IAC set up an internal task force for the reduction of flight emissions, Bloin-Wibe was elected to head it and seized the opportunity to enhance the otherwise uninspiring screen conference. This gave rise to the idea for the AGU Virtual Hub. At the centre of this was the question of why many scientists prefer to physically attend a conference and what an interesting alternative would look like. Financial support for the hub was obtained from the CO2 fund of D-USYS.
“Normally, people are so spread out at the venue, and everyone goes to a different session which makes it difficult to meet again for a peer discussion. This was no problem at the hub.”Donghe Zhu, PhD student in climate physics
Positive review from the organiser
Looking back, Luna Bloin-Wibe is very satisfied with how the AGU Virtual Hub went. Although the number of participants was manageable, the discussions were all the more stimulating. When asked whether she would do anything differently next time, she only responds, "I went grocery shopping for the apéro on each day of the hub. Maybe that could have been managed a bit better." Otherwise, the organisation went smoothly. As with other ETH events, the necessary permits had to be obtained early enough. "Due to the time difference, our sessions were held in the evening. This made it easier to reserve rooms, as most classes had already ended by then”, explains Bloin-Wibe. On the other hand, this meant that the participants had to struggle more and more with tiredness as the sessions progressed. For the next AGU meeting in Washington, D.C., this factor should be less of an issue.
The AGU Virtual Hub allows for more inclusion
One advantage of the AGU Virtual Hub, which Bloin-Wibe emphasises in addition to the avoided flight emissions, is the inclusion of groups of people who would not normally have been able to participate. For example, students were also invited to the hub. For them, it was their first insight into a scientific conference. Bloin-Wibe gives another example: "I have a co-worker who recently had children and therefore wasn’t able to attend the last major conference in Europe. This time, she could come to the hub and follow the conference in the US without being too far away from her family.", recounts Bloin-Wibe.
Even if it is not yet clear who will be in the lead next year, Luna Bloin-Wibe is certain that there will be a second edition of the AGU Virtual Hub. She is already thinking ahead, "If there are enough people interested, we could invite researchers from other Swiss universities to attend the hub in person. This way, we could do more justice to the networking aspect. In an ideal world, we would have an AGU Virtual Hub for the whole continent, bringing together researchers from all over Europe."
“I am convinced that we need to invent new formats for scientific exchange and for how we participate at international conferences. The AGU Virtual Hub was an excellent opportunity to gain experience with such an alternative.”Prof. Heini Wernli, Head of IAC
Advice for conference organisers
Are you interested in organising a virtual conference hub for your institute? Luna Bloin-Wibe is available to share her experiences.
Here you can find her two most important tips:
- Start planning early enough. You can never have too much time.
- Invest in advertising. Make the target group aware of the event with group emails, posters and early announcements.
Further information
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