The Annual Symposium is online this year, is this something that you expect to continue in the future?
No, COVID-19 presents unusual circumstances. We are planning to continue our in-person meeting tradition as of next year.
Why do we have to pre-record our presentations?
Many professional societies, including AIAA and INFORMS, are pre-recording presentations. Pre-recording helps minimize delays due to switching control from moderators to speakers, helps ensure that speakers stick to their allotted presentation time, and allows for greater audience participation through asking Q&As.
What is up with all of these strict deadlines this year? Seriously, if I don’t submit my recording by September 10th I’m off the technical and/or vendor program?
Yes, that is correct. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes effort that goes into preparing for a live broadcast. We have hired a production engineer (who has done live broadcasts for television) and are working who needs time to prepare the recordings for the live broadcast and supplemental programs. We do not have the ability to offer extensions this year on submitted presentation recordings and materials.
If I submit a .mp4 file for my presentation, will others be able to download it?
The videos can be viewed, but not easily downloaded. If the authors wish so, we will make the videos available for download at a later stage. The PDF version of the technical presentations will be posted to the AGIFORS presentation database, which is free for all members.
Why do I have to participate in a practice session with the production engineering?
During the last few virtual conferences during the pandemic, we have learned that it is crucial to practice the process in order to avoid issues with speakers connecting to their microphones and video to the software we are using. This was a particular issue with those using Macs. The practice session ensures that we work out these and similar bugs prior to the live broadcast.
Why do I have to register by September 7th if my abstract/technical presentation is accepted?
We need to be able to communicate by email with you and verify that the invitations we send you to connect to the software are not disappearing in your spam folder.
Will you send instructions on how I’m supposed to create a recording as an .mp4 file?
You can find an instruction manual here.