Due to COVID-19 pandemic the original meeting dates (April 2020) have been postponed to September 2020. We firmly believe in the added value of bringing our community together to exchange scientific ideas and perspectives, which is why we decided to keep the dates as announced. Because of this,…

Yes, the ‘Biology and Life History of Cephalopods’ Conference and the Satellite Events – CephRes2020 Virtual Event will be taking place from 16-21 September 2020 with live-streamed and recorded sessions according to the program schedule [see Program]. Satellites will span on 14 and 15 September 2020.

To accommodate different time zones, the program will be spanned in multiple days but keeping the total length to about 4 (four) and allowing that attendees from both West Americas and East Asia hours will be able to participate in the live sessions.

All of the meeting content will be available to registrants after the live sessions, on demand for a period of four months after the Virtual Event. So you can go back, view and enjoy all the sessions, Career development opportunities, as well as other events as many times as you want, when you want.

The Scientific Organizing Committee of this Scientific Event and the Board of Directors of CephRes decided to take the ‘Biology and Life History of Cephalopods’ Conference and the Satellite Events virtual.

The CephRes2020 Virtual Event and its 100+ speakers and presentations, live discussions and Q&A, including interactive dynamic-poster displays and exhibitors will be held entirely online.

The CephRes2020 Virtual Event will be available to all registrants on demand, for a period of four months after the official dates: you can go back, view and enjoy all the sessions, career development opportunities, some contents of the exhibitors, as many times as you want, when you want.

Facilitating scientific interaction and exchange within scientific community and stakeholders, as far as education & training and continuous professional development, are at the heart of CephRes.

An interim series of scientific events – to CIAC triennial conference – is one out of several initiatives that CephRes promotes with the aim to encourage interaction, networking and discussion around scientific findings related to cephalopods biology, life history, physiology, genomics, neuroscience and cognition.

The Cephs’ Interim meeting series has the main aim to bring together researchers – at any level of experience and from diverse fields – to promote dialogue and facilitate future networking and collaborations.

CephRes wants to continue to facilitate this endeavor.

Together with the Scientific Organizing Committee we were firm in the idea to do not move the event to the 2021, and we do not want to cancel it! We want to promote the scientific expected outcome, and we do not want that the conference will overlap with other analogous events programmed for the 2021.

Due to force majeure (COVID-19 pandemic) the dates have been moved to September 2020, but this will leave the plan for the interim series intact.

We firmly believe in the added value of bringing our community together to exchange scientific ideas and perspectives, which is why your participation at the CephRes2020 Virtual Event is of the utmost importance – for the continued progress of cephalopod science and community.

Faced with the uncertainty of the current situation and after investigating various options and much contingency planning, we opted for the virtual format as it allows us to bring our community together to share research, network and discuss the latest findings on various aspects of cephalopod biology.

You are automatically registered for the CephRes2020 Virtual Event, including Satellite Events. Further details and guidance on how to navigate the live virtual e-platform will be announced in due course (expected preliminary contacts to everyone in early August 2020).

Registration are still open . Abstract submission for dynamic-poster presentations and dedicated sessions will be still possible. Exceptional abstract submission is now open (closes on August 5^th 2020 for abstract submission; registration to the Event closes on August 18^th, 2020).

The CephRes2020 Virtual Event will offer you a full Conference experience and the opportunity to take part in every aspect of the program including:

• Free access to all live presentations and sessions.
• Access to all e-dynamic poster sessions.
• Attend programme events, and participate in conversations during live Q&A sessions.
• Asking questions, giving feedback.
• Career Development Chat.
• Use the short session surveys to rate sessions and help improve the overall quality of the program.
• Interactively and dynamically attend the scientific and social sessions, live.
• Create your own schedule, attend any and all of the sessions whenever and wherever for a period of four months.
• Networking with your colleagues. Use the world map to browse the list of participants and use the conference system to contact other delegates and network.
• Browse research on the hottest topics published in the CephRes2020 Virtual Event digital abstract book and connect with abstract authors and other colleagues from around the world through virtual e-poster consultations.
• The chance to join the “debate”.
• Visiting the virtual exhibition hall and related webinars. Journey through the exhibition booths, explore the materials on display, contact exhibitors directly and chat with other visitors.
• All Attendees will be available, pending their real time participation.
• Interaction and scientific discussion will be promoted and facilitated through a very sophisticated e-platform.
• Social Virtual Events and other scheduled entertainment social events.

Your registration allows you to access all days of intense science during the live CephRes2020 Virtual Event.

The extended access will allow you to go back, view and enjoy all the sessions and career development opportunities, on-demand, for an extra period of four months. Therefore, you will be able to attend more lectures and more events and keep the discussion going with your fellow delegates, at no extra cost.

The costs of organizing and managing a reliable, stable and secure virtual platform with more than hundred of contacts kept stable over time and accessible for four months after the Conference are high. In addition, a ‘survival kit’ will be posted to all registered participants.

We are doing our best to let your experience unique and valuable.

CephRes Board of Directors is committed to facilitate cephalopod science, thus we decided to return some money!

We are refunding all excursion fees and all satellite event fees.

In addition, CephRes reinstalled ‘early registration rates’ and is offering an extended 4-month on-demand access.

The difference between what paid and what due in the new scheme will be automatically refund to registered attendees, within the beginning of August 2020.

Each one of you will receive a personal email within the end of July 2020.

In terms of budget of the Conference, your fees will only cover less than 50% of the overall costs of managing and providing the adequate virtual platform in place.

We are not using ZOOM or GoToMeeting or similar platforms, that due the COVID also expanded their offering, but we adopt front-end, advanced e-platforms designed to accommodate large, interactive live events.

A Conference Box will also be mailed to all registered participants.

CephRes2020 Virtual Event is part of the Interim Series program and involves years of preparation – all steps that represent investment of both time and resources that are only to a limited extent supported by the registration fees.

Faced with the unprecedented pandemic very shortly before the scheduled 2020 Event, plans and efforts that had already been put in place for the onsite meeting in Napoli had to be cancelled. Additionally, the installation of the CephRes2020 Virtual Event as a virtual Conference and Interactive Event requires further dedication of resources in the platform itself as does the planning and implementation of the virtual programme and events.

CephRes is a non-profit organisation with the mission to facilitate scientific interaction and exchange within our community. Incomes from the Conference are only a little quota of the total allocated funds that CephRes put in place to organise a high-level international interim series. Attending at the virtual event will provide benefits that each participant will experience at the time of the conference.

In recognition that a virtual conference does not in all ways correspond to a regular meeting, CephRes has reinstalled Early Rates and is offering an extended 4-month on-demand access. We would like to assure everyone that all our efforts are now dedicated to ensuring that the quality of the CephRes2020 Virtual Event represents an exciting opportunity for everyone to meet, network and expand their knowledge.

The virtual platform is quite spectacular and we are excited to offer this to our participants at such a difficult time.

Press will be invited to the CephRes2020 Virtual Event. More information about Press contact person and services during the meeting days will be communicated well in time before the starting of the events.

You can contact cephres@cephalopodresearch.org or use CONTACT FORM select Registration as the Subject

The CephRes2020 Virtual Event platform is designed to allow presenters and delegates to easily navigate hundreds of sessions and e-posters AND find your research amongst them. Further information on the poster sessions can be found HERE.

CephRes is doing its best to ensure that the CephRes2020 Virtual Event will incorporate as much of the well-known experience and atmosphere we are used to deliver in meetings we organize.

All registered participants will be contacted with timely updates on program scheduling in due course. Special ‘social’ events will be also created, delivering an unique, unprecedented experience.

To facilitate contributions from people living in countries that are not based to the Central European Time Zone, and allow all Attendees to have equal chances to participate to the live sessions, the program will be spanned in multiple days, keeping the total length to about 4 (four), thus facilitating attendees from more than 20 countries, distributed from West Americas to East Asia and beyond to be able to attend and contribute to live sessions.

Presenters’ Room will be also arranged to assure that the presentation of everyone will proceed smoothly and in a pleasant way. Presenters will be tutored for preparing their communications.

No, the slides and posters from sessions cannot be downloaded and are considered protected property of the presenters. You may contact these through the conference system to request copies and details of their slides and posters.

The greatest majority of CephRes2020 Virtual Event sessions will be live, only in very few cases will be pre-recorded. We are doing everything to ensure the highest possible quality of the CephRes2020 Virtual Event while maintaining the energy of live sessions and live interactions.

Of course! Q&A will be available in live sessions.

All presentations and posters will be available for online viewing and provide interactive options for participants to engage in. Speakers are encouraged to add email/social media information to their slides in order to enable participants to reach out with questions and comments.

Presenters’ Room will be arranged to assure that the presentation of everyone will proceed smooth and in a pleasant way. Presenters will be tutored for preparing their communications.

For urgent matters, please contact rd_innovation@cephalopodresearch.org

Please check the cancellation policy of your booking.

If you have any questions, please contact cephres@cephalopodresearch.org

To attend the CephRes2020 Virtual Event, you need a stable internet connection, your device (most of commercially available ones) or computer and a valid registration. You will receive login details a few days prior to the meeting.