A research symposium has a certain amount of gravitas associated
with it, but they can be fun as well, it all comes down to how it’s planned.
Making sure that the topic is interesting and that there are plenty of oppourtunities
for everyone to network will see your event talked about as a resounding
success.
Decide on Your Topic
If you’re planning a research symposium, you’ve likely
already got a topic in mind. What you
are looking for is to bring a group of like-minded people together to discuss
various ideas. When we say like-minded, we mean that they all have a certain amount
of interest in a particular field. Healthy debate is always encouraged! When naming
your symposium, it’s best to keep it as general as possible so that you can accommodate
panels at all ends of the spectrum. Now is the time to think about the items
that you really want to see there and to make sure that it’s included when you
put out the call for papers.
Put Together a Team
If you are the academic organiser behind the symposium, you’ll
have a lot of work to do when it comes to choosing speakers and panellists from
those who have submitted papers. This is why it’s so important that you don’t
get overwhelmed and forget about the organisation of the actual event. Getting
a good administrative team behind you will help to ensure that everything runs
smoothly on the day. They will likely have organised different events before, and
communications can be kept to only what is important and be done through progress
meetings.
Budget
You might not think that a symposium costs a lot of money,
after all, it’s just a group of people in a room presenting their research, but
you might find yourself surprised. For one thing, the best symposiums have a
venue that works really well for presentations and with plenty of room. These
aren’t always cheap to hire which is why you’ll need to start searching early.
There is also the catering to consider. Academics still need fed at some point,
and preferably hot food if the symposium is to last all day or over the course
of multiple days. Having a budget in place is essential and getting cost
estimates in advance can help you to understand how much you are likely to
spend.
Pick a Venue
Your venue is arguably the most important decision you’ll
have to make regarding your symposium. You’ll need to think of the type of room
that you require, or if you are looking a venue where multiple talks can happen
concurrently. What type of stage and technology will your researchers need to
present? There are a number of private screening venues for hire in London that
make great symposium venues as they are all set up to be able to project onto screens.
The layouts of these venues are designed to accommodate this type of an
audience.
Decide on Keynote Speakers
Sometimes the biggest draw to a research symposium is the
keynote speakers, so make sure that you take your time and choose them
carefully. Their topic must be a central part of your theme or your audience
will be left disappointed. You will need someone who is well known in your area
but also an engaging speaker. Once you have secured your keynote, you should
promote this fact as soon as possible. It will start to build up interest in
the symposium as a whole and other academics are more likely to submit papers.
Have a Section For Young Researchers
A symposium is a great chance for young academics to shine,
and so ensuring that they have a chance to will be well received, A good idea
outside of panel discussions is to have a poster competition. Students and
early career researchers can practise talking about their research and presenting
their work to an audience. A symposium can also be a great ‘trial run’ for other
conferences that they wish to submit to. Many of these will require a poster so
this will be a great opportunity for all involved. Make sure that the winner is
announced to the audience at the end of the day and that they are available to
come and collect their prize.
Have a Schedule That Everyone Knows About
Having a schedule for the event with times clearly printed
is an absolute must. This means that the audience won’t miss their favourite
speakers, and they’ll know exactly when and where lunch is being served. You
should email a copy of this out a week in advance but also make sure that there
are plenty of hard copies available on the day. All speakers should be emailed
personally with a copy of the schedule so that there’s no confusion over when
they are speaking or how long for. You will need people there on the day working
to ensure everyone sticks to their time. Most will when given a limit, but
there are always a few that try to push the boundaries of this.
Advertise
To get people to attend your symposium, they are going to
have to know that it’s happening. Designing a well-thought out poster is the
first step in advertising for this type of event. You will then need to email
round all of your contacts asking them to share with anyone who they think may
be interested. Social media and your website will also be useful but contacting
people through your network and LinkedIn is generally much more successful for
a research event.
A research symposium isn’t like any other type of event but there
are some similarities when it comes to organising one. Making sure that you have
a plan and that everyone knows where they need to be and when is one of the
keys to running a successful symposium.
Search
