KBS 2021 will be the most easily accessible symposium in the history of the KBS!
The “conference venue”, a platform with access to all sessions, will be put together on this very site – under the title “Online event”.
On the page, there will be direct links to access the virtual meeting rooms where the online sessions take place. At the time of the conference, only those who have registered and paid have access to the virtual event. Besides the online platform, a full program pdf will be sent out to all participants some time before the event.
Zoom will be used as the online meeting program: We will set up virtual meeting rooms to correspond to what have been physical meeting rooms – one virtual space for one meeting room. Zoom is widely used by universities and can be used via a browser without downloading the program, if a participant’s institute does not allow this.
In addition to chairs, all the sessions also have a technical host to make sure everything works, to answer possible technical questions, to make sure all participants have their mics turned off, and so on.
To make sure the conference offers enough possibilities for formal and informal connections and discussion, a chat room with a “face-to-face” discussion option as well as written chat possibilities will be created.
We are motivated at making the conference easily accessible for all!
As the conference is hosted from Helsinki, the general time frame of the conference will be in accustomed Finnish working times (EEST).
When building the program, the program committee will do their best to consider the fact that people in Australia and Toronto live in quite different times – however, not everything can be taken into account.
Research groups in far-away time zones are welcome to consider arranging retreats if they wish to make the shift to another time zone together, and the pandemic situation allows: a stayference!
Besides the live sessions, the sessions will be recorded and uploaded on a password-protected area accessible for conference participants, to be watched within a week after the symposium.
As for technical conditions, participants are first and foremost encouraged to make sure they have an adequately stable internet connection.
If you know your internet connection to be unstable, please consider recording your presentation beforehand. Also in this case you should be present at the session to take part in the discussion, but in case internet problems occur, the presentation will still be heard. Instructions for submitting pre-recorded presentations will be posted on this website in spring 2021.
It is also essential that people with less experience with zoom familiarize themselves with the program and the connection and different features of the program before the meeting. Practice sessions will be organized to test connections and the program. We will send information and directions beforehand, including clear instructions about division of work to chairs, speakers, discussants and technical assistants.
