Case Study: The Inaugural B.R.A.I.N E-Conference
The inaugural Barts Research
and Advanced Interventional Neuroradiology (B.R.A.I.N) e-Conference
took place Monday 7th – Thursday 10th December. The
COVID-19 pandemic and associated Government regulations meant that this
conference was transformed from a planned face-to-face event in central London
to a virtual event. Although with only a
three month lead time, B.R.A.I.N. reached a global audience of just under 900
delegates representing 35 countries.
Programme directors Drs Paul Bhogal, Levansri Makalanda and Ken Wong, Interventional
Neuroradiologists at Barts Health NHS Trust, led the creation of a
comprehensive e-conference programme. With over 70 presentations over the four
days, each day focussed on a single topic such as Stroke, Aneurysms and Embryology,
Phylogeny, AVM and DAVF delivered by a truly global faculty of 60 speakers from
16 different countries.
The Millbrook team worked
closely with the faculty to ensure all were confident and familiar with the
virtual platform and delivering live presentations. This included arranging
speaker briefings, creating training documents and filming and editing 16 pre-filmed
talks. Working across multiple time zones was a key part to the success of the e-conference.
The team implemented a virtual green room for presenters to access prior to ‘going
live’ so they could go over any last minute questions or tests. This worked extremely
well and took pressure off the producers of the live stream. Good communication
was vital with presenters throughout the planning of the e-Conference. From
reminders sent one week, one day, and one hour prior to going live, as well as
obtaining back-ups of all presentations in case of any technical glitches.
A dedicated web-based
platform was chosen for this e-conference offering a vast array of interactive
features whilst being user friendly, eye-catching and easy to access regardless
of device and location. Sponsor Exhibitition pages, a Social Media Hub and Documents
Library gave attendees access to a wealth of information and ensured continued
engagement throughout the duration of the conference. A chat function and
Q&A boards were added to give two-way interaction for the delegates with
the Q&A system moderated by the Millbrook Team.
The e-conference received a
wealth of positive feedback, both on its format and content. Some comments from
Twitter users include: “Fantastic conference guys, well done. Looking forward
to 2021”, “Great conference , excellent organistation!”, “B.R.A.I.N
@brainconferenc1 2020 was an amazing conference. I hope to participate it in
person 2021!”. “Been the best virtual meeting of the year by miles, Very
well organised.”
We are looking forward to working
with Dr Bhogal and the Barts team to produce another successful conference in December
2021.

