Guidelines for Chairpersons

Speakers/authors may be nominated by the appropriate convener(s) or asked by the meeting organizer to act as chairperson of a particular sub-session of a scientific session. In order for the meeting organizer to maintain the quality of the scientific programmes, it is essential that the chairpersons carry out their functions properly. Below please find a brief description of these functions:

Recording

It is prohibited to take photos of and/or to copy electronically any scientific material both during oral and at poster sessions! Chairpersons and their technical assistants should be watchful that these rules are adhered to.

Conducting the Session

The chairperson is responsible for conducting the session. S/he is expected to open and close the session on time and to ensure that the speakers of the session are present and that they are able to make their presentations without disruption. All times allocated for presentations include also the time for discussions and change over!

Verification of Presenting Authors

Before each presentation the chairperson should verify that the person to speak is listed in the programme as one of the authors. If this is not the case and the person to speak is not sufficiently acquainted with the work in order to answer questions, only the title of the paper should be read.

Time Schedule

In view of the many parallel sessions, the time schedule of the session should be strictly kept. Any disruption is extremely annoying for those wishing to attend only selected presentations. Therefore, if a gap should occur in the time schedule and no stand by paper is available to fill in, discussions on the previous talks or short oral introductions of poster papers, if not foreseen in the programme, should be stimulated.

Programme Changes

Any programme changes received after the programme book has been compiled ready for print will be included in the "Daily or ON-SITE Programme": this revised session programme is shown outside of the corresponding lecture room well before the session starts. The Chairperson will receive her/his copy from the assistant, and s/he is kindly asked to return it after the session. Any last minute modifications should be noted in these programmes by the chairperson.

Poster Sessions

Chairpersons for poster sessions should gather and guide the audience from poster to poster in the order of their appearance, and they should invite the authors to present their posters for about 10–15 min. and stimulate discussions afterwards.