We can issue an official Invitation Letter that will bear the stamp of IMCAS Head Office which you can use to obtain your visa.
The request for an Invitation Letter must be done through our dedicated form on our congress website, in the ‘Plan Your Trip’ page of each congress.
Your personal translator will have to purchase a badge. Please refer to the registration page of our website.
Your nurse/medical staff will have to purchase a badge. Please refer to the registration page of our website.
An IMCAS Key Speaker is a speaker identified by the Scientific Board who follows the below criteria:
1. Lectured at more than one IMCAS congress within the past 3 years
2. Undergoes at the end of each conference a strict speaker evaluation by the chairs. This evaluation process and results are for the sole purpose of the Scientific Board
3. Supports IMCAS activities throughout the year as per the Task Forces
A 'wishlist' season is launched twice a year, allowing IKS to choose which future IMCAS activities they would like to attend and what they would like to present. Filling out the wishlist is not a binding commitment to any event, it simply allows the Scientific Board to assess preferences and to ensure IKS are selected as speakers in priority.
What if an IKS misses the wishlist submission deadline?
Do not worry as the Scientific Secretariat periodically reopens the wishlist submissions allowing IKS to propose their lecture topics.
All submissions are then reviewed and each IKS is contacted by the Scientific Secretariat with further details at least 3 months prior to a conference.
Please note that while speakers, exhibitions and sessions were confirmed at the time of publishing, circumstances beyond the control of the organizer may necessitate substitutions, alterations or cancellations.
As such, IMCAS reserves the right to alter or modify the advertised speakers, exhibitions and sessions if necessary, without liability. Any substitutions or alterations will be updated on our portal and notified as soon as possible.
The sanitary crisis has pushed worldwide events to switch formats from physical events to virtual events.
At IMCAS we believe physical gathering remains mandatory for successful learning. The profound learning that happens by gathering and exchanging in person is irreplaceable, and our conferences are aimed at continuing to be held in-person, bringing upfront our signature educational experience that transpires on site between our speakers, delegates and exhibitors.
But, and because "Something good comes out of every crisis" (Dave Pelzer), our physical events are now doubled with a full virtual experience. Indeed, while our excitement for human contact is palpable, we also understand that some participants may still be under a home travel ban and may not be able to attend the congress in-person. Those participants will be offered the choice of a physical badge or a virtual one to ensure that attendees across the world do not miss anything out.
Should it be really impossible to hold a physical conference, then the conference will go virtual only.
For a full explanation about "virtual attendance", please check out our attendees FAQ here.
• If the conference is held "in-person": speakers will attend in-person at the dedicated conference venue.
Lectures will be presented live in the conference rooms (for attendees with a physical badge) and will be live-streamed on our digital platform (for attendees with a virtual badge).
• If the conference is held as a "virtual event": speakers will lecture from a remote location.
Lectures will be live-streamed on our digital platform (for attendees with a virtual badge).
Nota: our virtual events remain live events therefore all lectures are live-streamed in real-time and are not pre-recorded.
Whether attendees have a physical or virtual badge, the same strict policy is applied for badge accesses.
As much as we would love to, we can only anticipate as best as possible with honor and candor.
There are still many uncertainties in our current time in France and around the world. We must take into consideration our governing laws as well as the rules of the local governments where we host our events abroad, all the while considering any severe restrictions from our attendees’ home countries.
The driving force of IMCAS is the marvelous synergy that our speakers, delegates and sponsors create together through sharing and exchanging online or on-site. There are many factors however, that may hold back these three parties from having the profound congress experience. Therefore, IMCAS may deem necessary to change the congress format to one that is more adaptable should conditions take a turn for the worst for all three parties (speakers, delegates and sponsors).
This change in format will be our last resort option and followed through with communication and policies that are clear, precise and fair for our speakers, delegates and sponsors.
In case the conference format switches from "in-person" to "virtual", your participation as a speaker will automatically be switched from physical to virtual.
If this is your first time logging in to your account, please send us an email to retrieve your credentials. If you have already created an IMCAS account in the past, you can login to your account by clicking on the Login button on the upper right corner of your screen and enter your credentials.
-> Your username is your email address
-> Your password* is the one you have defined when you created this account
*If you have forgotten your password, you may always reset it here.
You can send us an email anytime to retrieve your credentials.
If you remember your username, but not your password, you can rest a new password here.
NOTA: please remember to check your junk mail for the reset link if it doesn't appear in your main inbox.
The speaker account allows you to:
- view your lecture schedule and abstract status
- submit your abstracts and disclosures
- review and accept your grant policy
- book your hotel nights (if applicable)
- rsvp to any social event (if applicable)
- update your personal information and bio
- retrieve your certificate of attendance
- announce your participation to attendees, and more...
At IMCAS, we aim to push the boundaries in terms of qualitative and distinctive educational content. If you wish to contribute to this end, you can easily submit an abstract on our website.
NOTA: please carefully read the Abstract Guidelines and Conflict of Interest Policy before any submission.
Regarding abstract submission:
- Please carefully read the Abstract Guidelines and Conflict of Interest Policy before any submission.
Regarding copyright & privacy policy:
- Submission of an abstract implies that it has been approved by all listed authors. The IMCAS Scientific Board reserves the right to make the final decision concerning the form of presentation. As part of the submission, the author grants IMCAS the exclusive right to publish the abstract, and a non-exclusive right to publish, reproduce, distribute, display and store the abstract worldwide in all forms (including IMCAS programs and websites, whether print or digital versions).
No fee shall be paid to the author by IMCAS for the license granted herein. Apart from the above mentioned, the author will retain copyright of their abstract.
The abstract author may also allow IMCAS to publish the abstract and the presentation on IMCAS Academy.
For any inquiries, please contact the Scientific Secretariat at scientific@imcas.com.
The abstract submission deadline will be no further than 1 month before the event starts. Abstracts received less than 1 month prior to the event will not be considered.
Once submitted, your abstract will be reviewed by the Scientific Board and you will receive a definitive answer:
- 3 months before the congress starting date (in the case of a congress)
- 1 month before the event starting date (in the case of an e-learning event such as a webinar)
Detailed instructions regarding requirements and instructions for oral and e-poster presentations will also be provided at that time.
For example:
- Event starting date: August 1st
- Abstract submission deadline: July 1st
- Notification of inclusion will be received starting: May 1st
To check the status of an abstract you have submitted, login to your speaker account here. Once logged in, you will need to select the congress for which you have submitted an abstract and head to the ‘Lecture schedule’ tab:
• If your abstract has been accepted > the notice 'abstract accepted' will be visible and the Scientific Secretariat will get in touch with you with the next steps to follow. As a general rule for spontaneously submitted abstracts that are selected by the Scientific Board, registration to the congress is mandatory.
• If your abstract has not been selected > the notice "abstract refused" will be visible. Although the content of your work might be very interesting, if the sessions are fully booked we are no longer able to introduce your abstracts within our program and we invite you to resubmit them for another of our upcoming events.
Your lecture schedule is available at all times through your speaker account. Login to your personal account here, and head to the 'Lecture schedule' of the corresponding congress.
NOTA: for remote presentations, timings feature both a "local congress time" and your "speaker local time".
1. Onsite talk
Presentations must be uploaded through the speaker account starting 2 weeks prior to the conference, or onsite at our Speaker Preview Room at least 2 hours before the session starts.
IMPORTANT:
• Direct plug-in of a USB drive or a laptop is NOT ALLOWED in the conference rooms.
• If you are speaking within the first morning sessions, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you retrieve your badge and upload your presentations the day before the congress opening (an early Preview Room will be set up for you).
2. Live remote talk
Presentations are live-streamed in real-time, and remote speakers must follow the below steps:
a/ At least 2 weeks prior to your live presentation, have your material ready:
• Our AV team will schedule an appointment with you to test your remote connection and give you detailed instructions for the live.
• Our Scientific Secretariat will ask you to submit the presentation file through your speaker account.
b/ On the day of your live presentation: connect at least 30 minutes before your session starting time.
Presentation tips:
Remember readability is much more important than style, so keep it simple and clear.
• Language: presentations must be written and presented in English.
• Format: we support Keynote(.key) or Powerpoint (.pptx) formats (only post 2007 version of PowerPoint). Widescreen (16:9) is the recommended ratio, however standard (4:3) ratio is also allowed. "Presenter mode" will not be available during your presentation.
• Font: prefer Arial or Calibri rather than Times New. Narrow fonts are not recommended.
• Font size (remote lecture): font size should be 20 minimum. To check: look at your screen from from 6 ft (2m) away, and then from 12 ft (3,5m)
• Font size (onsite lecture): font size should be 28 minimum. To check:look at your screen from 5 ft (1,5m) away, and then from 6 ft (2m)
If you cannot read it your audience will not either!
• Slides (remote lecture): they will be launched by our AV team at the beginning of your lecture, and you will be given remote control to play them yourself. Avoid loud animations or transitions to have a smooth flow of your presentation.
• Color: choose a color that is easily readable.
• Bullet points: we recommend them to convey your message. If charts are necessary, then make them as clear as possible
• Patient privacy: you must ensure that the confidentiality of the patients that appear in any and all of your materials remains intact.
Technical requirements (for remote lectures ONLY):
• A minimum of 10 Mbps of upload speed from your internet connection: test it here
• A wired connection instead of WIFI (if possible)
• Zoom application up-to-date: download it here
• A headset with microphone, connected to your computer
• A webcam (or the embedded camera of your computer) and good lighting in front of you.
During the live, your presentation will be launched by our AV team and you will be given remote control to play them yourself. Even if you only see your slides in the Zoom window, participants will see both your webcam and the slides: so don’t forget to smile!
With our conferences going hybrid, attendees are able to follow the content either physically or virtually on our IMCAS Live platform.
All lectures are displayed both in the conference rooms (for physical badges) and online (for virtual badges). Whether attendees have a physical or virtual badge, the same strict policy is applied for badge accesses.
As a security measure, multiple simultaneous logins are disabled on IMCAS Live.
Chairs are selected by the Scientific Board to moderate one or several sessions at the conference.
Each chair is entrusted with the following missions:
• Ensuring all lectures end on time – You are entitled to stop speakers
• Keeping the content unbiased within the scientific sessions*
• Making transitions between lectures and animating the panel discussions
As a final task, chairs will be asked after the congress to rate each presentation of the session(s) they have chaired with the following criteria: presentation clarity, quality of content and level of English.
*If biased content is shown, chairs should ask the speaker to move on to another part of the presentation or to be comparative.
An e-poster is an electronic version of a traditional poster board. It presents scientific research with pictures, graphs and tables in a nice layout.
Read the Abstract Guidelines for more details.
• Format:
- References must be included within the e-poster.
- Product and/or company logos are not allowed on e-posters, except for industry-related lectures.
- The disclosure slide will automatically be shown before the e-poster presentation. If disclosure of commercial support is not included, the e-poster will not be accepted.
• Submission: e-posters must be submitted on our website through our abstract submission page.
• Display: e-posters are accessible on interactive touch screens with an active display
area of H1018.1 mm x W572.7 mm within the e-poster exhibition area of each physical congress, and within the dedicated tab of IMCAS Live platform. They are accessible to all participants allowing them to search and read the e-posters that are of their interest.
Abstracts submitted spontaneously must first be reviewed by the Scientific Board. Read this chapter on how to check if an abstract has been included within the scientific program.
Once an abstract has been accepted, registration to the congress remains mandatory. Please register through our online portal.
The diversity and excellence of our speakers has become our trademark. The congress welcomes 3 types of speakers:
• Faculty speakers: selected and invited by the Scientific Board, and speaking strictly within non-sponsored scientific sessions.
• Contributing speakers: selected by the Scientific Board upon spontaneous submission of an abstract, and speaking strictly within the contributing sessions. Contributing speakers must cover their registration fees.
• Industry speakers: selected and invited by an exhibiting company, and speaking strictly within sponsored sessions that are clearly identified as such. Industry speakers must cover their registration fees.
Industry speakers may be considered by the IMCAS Scientific Board to speak or to chair in other scientific session(s). IMCAS considers that such scientific sessions do not enter in conflict with any sponsorship agreement and that speakers should not be restricted to speak only within designated sponsored sessions.
An "Industry speaker" badge is automatically provided for industry speakers invited by an exhibiting company. That badge grants access to the sponsored sessions and the exhibition hall only.
Should industry speakers want to have access to the scientific sessions, an additional registration is mandatory. The company can register industry speakers for a full-access badge directly through their online company account.
Yes, a grant policy for speakers is specifically implemented for each conference.
We strive to ensure a fair and balanced speaker grant policy to respond to the demands of transparency and to continue to offer the speaker diversity and excellence that are our trademarks.
The grant policy details are sent by the Scientific Secretariat to each speaker in the invitation email, and remain visible at all times on the speaker account. It is mandatory for all speakers to review and accept their grant policy through their account before scheduling any lectures within the program. Once the grant policy is accepted, no subsequent changes can be made.
The grant policy is based on the speaker status, the congress format and the conference location.
Below are the items that make up the grant policy:
• Accommodation – based on speaker status, country of residence and number of lecturing days
• Honorarium – based on speaker status
• Registration fees– waived for all speakers statuses except contributing
• Transportation – based on speaker status and country of residence
• Academy subscription* – waived for all speakers statuses except industry and contributing
*12-month Premium subscription activated upon agreement of publication on IMCAS Academy.
In order to comply with applicable regulations and to be clear as to what is reimbursable, IMCAS has adopted the following terms and conditions.
The reimbursement policy is directly related to the grant policy. Read section 5.4 of this FAQ for more information on the grant policy.
Speakers must review and accept their grant policy via their speaker account prior to accepting a speaking invitation.
1. Policy for Faculty speakers
Below expenses may or may not apply depending on the speaker status - Speakers should refer first to their grant policy on their speaker account.
1. 1. Travel expenses
All airline and/or train tickets should be purchased far enough in advance of travel to take advantage of lower fares. Increased fares or penalties resulting from a change in the ticket after purchase will not be covered by IMCAS.
Ground transportation and taxis directly related to getting to and from an IMCAS event ONLY are included in the travel expenses.
1. 2. Accommodation expenses
IMCAS is block-booking rooms at 4-star nearby hotels for each conference.
If the grant policy includes hotel nights, speakers will be asked to submit their hotel preferences through their speaker account.
Nota: any days where IMCAS covers the cost of a speaker's accommodation, they are expected to attend the event.
1. 3. Submitting expenses
Instructions and expense sheets will be sent by the Scientific Secretariat within a week after the conference. The expense sheets should be returned as soon as possible and not later than 30 days after the conference.
A receipt must be provided for all expenses claimed. For train and flight receipts, the start and end points of each journey, passenger names, together with the dates of travel and fees should be given. Credit card statements are not acceptable documentation of expenses.
Reimbursement will be provided by bank transfer only and within a maximum of 30 days upon reception of valid expenses sheets and receipts.
2. Policy for Industry speakers
Industry speakers are expected to be funded by their company for travel and accommodation expenses.
If an industry speaker is unable to cover expenses through the company’s budget, the Scientific Secretariat should be contacted to discuss alternative options.
3. Policy for Contributing speakers
Contributing speakers should cover their own travel and accommodation expenses.
4. Guests, Spouses & Family Travel
IMCAS will not reimburse any expenses incurred by family members or any accompanying guests.
By accepting our invitation to speak, speakers agree with their grant policy and with IMCAS reimbursement policy stated above.
Faculty speakers with granted nights should submit their hotel preferences through their speaker account. Instructions are sent by the Scientific Secretariat a few months prior to the conference. The number of granted nights is based on speaker status, country of residence and number of lecturing days. It is visible at all times in the grant policy section of the speaker account.
Faculty speakers without granted nights, industry speakers and contributing speakers should visit our website (tab 'Attend' then 'Plan your trip' section) to book their hotel through our official land handler who negotiates special rates.You can retrieve your badge at the dedicated Speaker desk onsite.
Please bring the following with you:
• Identity proof (e.g. ID card, passport, driving license etc.)
• Business card (if applicable)
Refer to the chapter "Key moments" under "Plan your trip" tab on our website to learn more about the welcome desk opening hours.
It is necessary to login to your account and complete the 'online evaluation' form that will automatically become available once the congress ends. When the evaluation is completed, you will receive an email with a link to your certificate of attendance.
Your certificate will also be available for download through your IMCAS account in the ‘Participations’ section here.
If CME credits are applicable for a given congress, the procedure to obtain your CME credits will be sent along with your certificate of attendance.
NOTA: please note that each congress has its own accreditation system.
It is necessary to login to your account and complete the 'online evaluation' form that will automatically become available once the congress ends. When the evaluation is completed, your speaker certificate will be available for download through your IMCAS account in the 'Participations’ section here.
IMCAS issues speaker certificates for scientific sessions only, therefore we do not issue speaker certificates for industry speakers. In this case, please contact your sponsoring company to obtain a certificate.
IMCAS conferences are commonly accredited at several levels according to the conference location. The number of CME credits that we offer varies according to the duration of the congress and the organism of accreditation, given that the evaluation differs from one country to another.
If the conference you have attended is accredited, the procedure to obtain the corresponding CME credits will be sent along with your certificate of attendance (refer to the above chapter).
Find more information regarding accreditation in the "Accreditation" tab found within the congress page of the congress you are interested in.
IMCAS insists on transparency in all
scientific courses, therefore each speaker
is required to disclose whether or not their
presentations contain any commercial bias or
financial support received.
The COI policy applies to anyone who is a
speaker during the congress; this includes all members of the Scientific
Board, all Faculty members as well as contributing and industry speakers.
If you are a Board member; we kindly ask that you to fill in and update your COI every year. Please refer to your speaker account dashboard under the chapter 'Scientific Board COI disclosure' to download the corresponding COI form and submit it.
All speakers must submit a speaker consent form for each lecture, either through their speaker account, or on-site at the Preview Room. If the answer submitted is "I approve", the speaker authorizes IMCAS to publish his/her presentations on IMCAS Academy platform. Presentations will be published online a few weeks after the congress ends.
More information about IMCAS Academy here.
If YOU cancel your participation due to personal reasons: our "Terms and Conditions of Sale" in our Attendees FAQ prevails. We shall assume no further obligation to refund any travel or accommodation expenses incurred in that case.
If YOU cancel your participation due to travel restrictions imposed by your (or the hosting) country government, please check with your travel agency or airline for cancellation terms:
> for "Contributing" or "Industry" speakers, we shall assume no further obligation to refund any travel or accommodation expenses incurred in that case
> for "Faculty" speakers, you will be entitled to submit your reimbursement request in strict respect with the Grant Policy applied
If WE cancel the conference because of a Force Majeure:
• For "Contributing" or "Industry" speakers:
> we shall assume no further obligation to refund any travel or accommodation expenses incurred in that case, and our "Limitation of Liability" chapter generally applies.
• For "Faculty" speakers:
• If cancellation occurs more than 60 days before the event:
> you will not be eligible for any reimbursement
• If cancellation occurs less than 60 days before the event and you have agreed with your Grant Policy through your speaker account:
> you will be entitled to submit your reimbursement request in strict respect with the Grant Policy applied
In case the congress needs to be rescheduled or postponed, the Grant Policy remains binding and all speakers will automatically be entitled to participate to the rescheduled congress without any further refund right.
In case the conference format switches from "presential" to "virtual", your participation will be automatically switched from physical to virtual.