
Larger conferences may have exhibits and displays for participants between sessions
the professional conference, large conferences not limited to academics but with academically related issues. These conferences are often organized by regional, national, or international learned societies, and held annually or on some other regular basis. the general conference, a conference with a wider focus, with sessions on a wide variety of topics. the themed conference, small conferences organized around a particular topic. Business meetings for learned societies or interest groups can also be part of the conference activities.Īcademic conferences typically fall into three categories: Large conferences also may have a career and job search and interview activities.Īt some conferences, social or entertainment activities such as tours and receptions can be part of the program. The larger the conference, the more likely it is that academic publishing houses may set up displays. They might be single track or multiple track, where the former has only one session at a time, while a multiple track meeting has several parallel sessions with speakers in separate rooms speaking at the same time.
In other disciplines such as the sciences, presenters usually base their talk around a visual presentation that displays key figures and research results.Ī large meeting will usually be called a conference, while a smaller is termed a workshop.
In some disciplines, such as English and other languages, it is common for presenters to read from a prepared script. Some disciplines require presenters to submit a paper of about 6–15 pages, which is peer reviewed by members of the program committee or referees chosen by them. Prospective presenters are usually asked to submit a short abstract of their presentation, which will be reviewed before the presentation is accepted for the meeting. Presentations may be Plenary sessions designed for all attendees (shown here) or breakout sections designed for smaller groups.