ASB2021 – the story of a successful hybrid conference (yes it can be done)

The 45th annual meeting of the ASB was held from Nov 29 to Dec 1, 2021. The meeting was held in hybrid format and the amazing work by the organising committee meant that more than 130 people enjoyed a conference that integrated both a local audience and online participants from across Australia.

Overall, the meeting was attended by 52 people present at the conference venue and another 86 people that joined us online. Participants enjoyed 11 talks from plenary and invited speaker, over 33 talks selected from abstract and 22 flash speakers and online poster sessions. The talks were delivered by people present in Melbourne and online. The great work by the organising committee was integral to creating sense of connection between the online and ‘real life’ audience. Our students and ECRs from across Australia had a chance to present their work despite travel restrictions remaining in many states in Australia.

We also enjoyed an image competition that further helped to create a sense of community despite many of us being distributed across the country (and at least 4 timezones).

For many people present in Melbourne, the 2021 ASB meeting was the first time to physically attend a conference since  covid-related travel restrictions started more than 18 months ago.  This made the social aspects of the conference particularly special.

The 2021 ASB meeting was a success and we would like the thank the organising committee for their amazing work. We also thank all our sponsors for their support. Finally, thanks to all our speakers and poster presenters for showcasing their excellent work.

Hopefully in 2022 we can all meet in person again! See you all at the 2022 ASB meeting 🙂