SwissMAP Annual General Meeting presentation slides & videos

7 Oct 2020

We would like to inform our readers that some of the SwissMAP Annual General Meeting presentation slides & videos from earlier last month, are now available online.

The aim of our Annual General Meeting is to provide a platform for interaction and exchange of ideas across the different SwissMAP projects and sites. In response to the current situation, the SwissMAP Annual General Meeting for the first time took on a hybrid format this year. We wanted to offer our members the possibility of both in-person and virtual participation in order to allow flexibility for those who, due to health or travel constraints, would otherwise not have been able to attend.

The event proved very successful and we take this opportunity to share some of the results as well as some of our members comments:

Online participation

• Increased total number of participants.

• Facilitated the creation the videos of some of the presentations which are now available online.

• Registered high attendance to the SwissMAP Annual General Meeting Professor’s meeting.

(We thank our member Beatriz Navarro (UNIGE) who was our zoom master for this event).

Onsite participation

We are glad to inform you that the number of participants from different SwissMAP partner institutions who attended the meeting onsite, was similar to that of previous years. The event took place in Gstaad and in accordance with the local Canton’s hygiene regulations.

We received very positive feedback from participants for the onsite and online conference experience and we wanted to take this opportunity to share some of the onsite & online impressions from our members regarding the 2020 SwissMAP Annual General Meeting:

Onsite experience:

“After a long period of virtual meetings, this meeting illustrated again that scientific exchanges are much more profound if they can be done in person.

So, with a very good mix of talks about the subjects of SwissMAP, participants good a refreshing overview, and the meals and other breaks allowed for ample discussion of any unclear points.

I like the format of 30/45/60 minutes talks. Talks should not be shorter than that.”

Jean-Pierre Eckmann (UNIGE)

“After several months of home working, it was nice to meet and discuss with the colleagues: it felt like belonging to a community again.”

Alba Grassi (Participant )

“I was very grateful to be able to attend the meeting, after so many months away from my colleagues ! It was a nice opportunity to reconnect with other people!”

Joana Mailler (UNIGE)

“The organization was great and I really enjoyed all the talks and colloquia. I got to talk to many people including PhD students and Postdocs and it was very interesting! It helped me with my studies and future plans! I am happy that I could participate.”

Imelda Romero (Masters student ETH Zurich)

“I fully appreciate a real in-person conference during these weird times. The challenge nowadays is to figure out how to keep the world spinning, in a safe and responsible way, and you managed - thanks!”

Kaloyan Slavov (ETH Zurich, Rahul Pandharipande)

Onsite & online experience

“I am very impressed that it was possible to hold the SwissMAP meeting in person. I think that for the healthy functioning of a network it is crucial to have face-to-face (or mask-to-mask) exchanges of ideas and informal discussions, of course with all the safety precautions of the case. The additional possibility of attending the seminars on Zoom made it the best of both worlds, and provided everyone a chance to take part in the meeting.”

Alessandro Sfondrini (ETH Zurich)

"The first two days, I was online, following the talks from Zurich, and I came in Gstaad to give my talk on the third day. It was a nice feeling to move from one side of the camera to the other!"

Vincent Tassion (ETH Zurich)

Online experience

“Sound was excellent, video was mostly good but made worse by poor connection.”

Nikita Nikolaev (UNIGE, A. Alekseev Group)

“This year I could not come in person to the meeting, so I was very pleased to have the opportunity to participate remotely. I attended online to some of the talks of this year SwissMAP Annual General Meeting, as well as the Professors meeting and Equal Opportunity Committee meeting.

The quality of the talk recordings was very good and it was possible to follow and enjoy the event. Of course there is the drawback that the 'social interaction' part of the meeting, especially the opportunity to meet colleagues and PhD and junior participants, which plays an important role and cannot be reproduced 'online'. On the other hand, the experience I had in taking part in the meetings (professors and EO) was very good: via the zoom hybrid meeting, moderated by SwissMAP staff, I could indeed take active part in the discussion, both asking questions and contributing to it. Overall, I do not think that an online meeting can in any way replace the actual physical gathering, but the available technology and a hybrid model can certainly greatly benefit the community, by allowing members who cannot be physically present to have an opportunity to take part in some parts of the event.”

Corinna Ulcigrai (UZH)

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