IAFOR Hybrid Conference Model

IAFOR on September 17, 2020

IAFOR is committed to ensuring that its members and conference attendees have the continued ability to present, publish and participate throughout the pandemic, and has worked to ensure that it’s conferences and content are more accessible than ever before. We have also put into place hybrid models that will ensure whatever the situation, that this platform that allows the exchange of ideas and research, will be able to respond to whatever your individual situation might be in relation not just to COVID-19.

Up until this point the barrier to entry to most events has been one’s ability to travel and attend in person. This practically excluded many, and on many different grounds, from financial to political.

Our aim is to use COVID-19 to make our conferences more accessible than before, and to fully utilise technologies to allow more engagement and participation than ever before. An example of kaizen include the enhancing the live-stream sessions and presentations by ensuring that these are available in “catch-up” or on-demand form, so people in different time zones or otherwise busy can see these presentations at their convenience. As with the pre-recorded presentations, these will all be put on the research archive and available after the conference. Panel members will be given their session in recorded form and encouraged to share this widely.

While I am confident that there is a post COVID-19 world, I don’t think we can say with any confidence that there will be a post-pandemic world: there may be second waves of this particular virus, or there may be others, more virulent, and more deadly, and we must be prepared. The hybrid model introduced by IAFOR allows us to protect the platform, be flexible, and allow you to continue to present, publish and participate. Together, we will face the future with resilience.

Dr Joseph Haldane
Chairman & C.E.O, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR)
Guest Professor, Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), Osaka University, Japan
Visiting Professor, Doshisha University, Japan & The University of Belgrade, Serbia
Member, Expert Network, World Economic Forum

Overview

The IAFOR Hybrid Model
IAFOR’s onsite-online hybrid model ensures effective interaction between online participants (participants that are not at the venue) and onsite participants (participants that can attend the venue).

IAFOR Conferences Live

Onsite & Online Operations Overview

Each room in the conference venue will be equipped with a computer and a camera, so that participants can join a zoom meeting and connect with other panel members.

Whether onsite or online, attendees can freely change room, depending on what panels are of the most interest. All meetings will be broadcast (live-streamed) to the website on IAFOR Live.

Onsite Room Overview and Roles Involved

Each presentation session will involve the following support roles: Moderator – moderates the panel; Admin support – hosts the zoom meeting; Technical support – prevents onsite technical issues. Admin staff and Moderators do not have to be onsite.

IAFOR Live Interface

All streaming panels will be listed on the IAFOR Live webpage as separate hyperlink, indicated as “Room 1”, ”Room 2”, etc. Depending on the schedule, participants can join the room, where they will be prompted with a login window to join the Zoom meeting.

IAFOR Live-stream Page Concept

1. An online participant clicks on the required panel, associated with a corresponding room in the conference venue.

2. This leads a user to the integrated Zoom login window within the conference website, where a participant can enter the details and login directly to Zoom and join the panel discussion

Onsite & Online Communication

Online participants will be able to engage with onsite speakers via the Zoom chat interface, leaving questions and comments in the chat window, which the session moderator can navigate through. Presenters and panelists can leave their contact details at the end of the panel indicating their amenability and availability for follow-up, which can be done through private channels.

IAFOR Catch-Up

All panels will be recorded* and the videos of these live streams will be placed on the conference Catch-Up page, so attendees who have been unable to view live for whatever reason can view the panels at their leisure.

*Important note

Prior to the conference, all panel chairs will be contacted in order to receive permission to record and further upload the corresponding panel session on the conference Catch-up page.

During live presentations, the recording of the sessions that required not to be recorded will be paused. Hence, will not be further uploaded on the conference Catch-up pages.

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