Original new format for EU-ISMET conference

The program showed shorter presentations and longer breaks allowing scientists to talk and interact. ETE’s new Chair, Annemiek ter Heijne, initiated this new approach. She argued that the essence of a conference is meeting and exchanging information between scientists, and that a more relaxed and informal atmosphere would contribute.

The invitation for the conference meeting previewed its unique design: “The meeting will allow you to meet and interact with leading experts in the field and present your research in a unique setting featuring lively keynote presentations, interactive sessions, poster pitches, oral presentations, and social activities.”

Redesign the conference set-up

ETE scientist Sanne de Smit, part of the organizing committee explains: ‘Together with David Strik, Tom Sleutels, Philip Kuntke, Shih-Hsuan Lin and several PhD students, we tried to redesign the conference set-up to encourage more informal contact between scientists. Therefore, the traditional in-depth presentations held by the participants, were replaced by short, five-minute pitches, focusing on the essence of the research, followed by long, interactive breaks, where the details of the topic could be discussed in person.

Easy going interactions

Poster sessions were also replaced by a ‘One Minute Madness’, where researchers pitched their poster in just one minute, followed by informal discussions. The possibility for scientists to present their research in an alternative, more creative format, like a short movie, a play, or even a cartoon, added to easy-going interactions. ‘To stimulate the contacts, the poster presenters gave colored stickers to the participants of the poster session’, de Smit says. ‘The person receiving the most stickers was awarded the ‘most interactive participant’ prize.

In-depth conversations

The new, creative conference format was received very well by the participants and interactions were indeed more effective. ‘Quite a few people said they were a bit skeptical at first, but really liked the new format, since it was more focused on having real in-depth scientific conversations’, de Smit says. ‘Due to the longer breaks, there was more conversation time and due to informal activities, like sport and pub quizzes, it was easier to connect to people.’

Funny and accessible

The appreciation for an ‘out of the box’ approach was also illustrated by the poster prize, that was awarded to ETE PhD researcher Rikke Linssen. ‘Her research deals with the bacterial conversion of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) into solid sulfur’, de Smit says. ‘Linssen illustrated her complicated research in a funny and accessible cartoon that was obviously highly appreciated by the participants.’

More appreciation

But there was more appreciation for the ETE scientists. Xiaofang Yan was awarded the prize for Best Oral Presentation as well as ISMET Innovation Award for the Best Technological Development for her research on ammonium (NH₄⁺) oxidation. And also, organizing ETE scientist Sanne de Smit herself scored with the Discovery Award for Best Scientific Paper for her research on the role of metals in the bacterial conversion of CO₂ into fatty acids.

Awarded publications:

Xiaofang Yan

Xiaofang Yan, Dandan Liu, Johannes B. M. Klok, Sanne M. De Smit, Cees J. N. Buisman, and Annemiek ter Heijne: Enhancement of ammonium oxidation at microoxic bioanodes, 2023 Environmental Science & Technology. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c02227

Sanne M. De Smit

Sanne M. De Smit, Thomas D. van Mameren, Yiduo Xie, David P. B. T. B. Strik, Johannes H. Bitter: Trace metals from microbial growth media form in situ electro-catalysts, 2023 Electrochimica Acta. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2023.142722