Three conference delegates listening to a presentation

At the in-person conference

What to expect at the in-person conference.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to the Annual Conference. This page provides more information about arrangements for those attending in-person. If you are attending the conference online, please see our guidance on planning to attend the virtual sessions and event.

At the following links you can also find out more about:

Information about getting to London, including travel, accommodation, and letters of invitation for visas, can be found in our guide to planning your attendance.

For all other questions, contact the organisers.

As part of our approach to delivering a more sustainable conference, we are again not providing single-use bottled water. Water will be available at the tea and coffee serving points and at lunchtime. There is a water fountain in the Ambulatory at the Society; there will also be refill points in the RGS-IBG building. Information about water refilling stations at Imperial College London can be found here. We encourage all delegates to bring and use refillable water bottles.

Lunch

Lunch is included in the in-person delegate fee. This will be served at the RGS-IBG in the Main Hall and Marquee from 12.30-14.00. Lunch is a grab-and-go lunchbox, which you exchange for one of the lunch tickets in your delegate badge.

To help cut down on food waste (by limiting the number of uncollected special diet boxes), all lunch menu options will be either vegetarian or vegan. If you have indicated additional dietary requirements during conference registration, the catering team will let you know which option is suitable each day, or where you can collect your named special diet lunch box.

Receptions and socials

Unless specifically marked 'invitation only', delegates are invited to join any advertised drinks receptions. We will ensure that non-alcoholic options are available at all receptions and encourage delegates to be responsible with their alcohol consumption. A list of planned receptions is can found here.

Recycling

We are committed to reducing the resources used at the conference by sourcing supplies and food locally where possible, using recycled and recyclable materials, and reducing, reusing and recycling conference materials to every extent possible. We urge all delegates to recycle discarded materials. Please do not contaminate the recycling by mixing food with recyclable materials!

At the end of the conference, please drop off your lanyard at Registration: we will wash them and use them again!

Joining online-only sessions at the in-person conference

We will have two ways for in-person attendees to participate in online-only sessions:

In our Members' Room (which has small pod rooms with tables and chairs), individuals will be able to sit with headphones and laptop to join an online session, using the Society’s Wi-Fi.
- If chairs or presenters are attending in person that day and need to participate in an online session, we recommend this route.
- We will have headsets available to borrow from the conference helpdesk, though we also encourage delegates to bring their own. Delegates must use headsets/headphones for joining sessions, to avoid disrupting other delegates.
- This will be first come, first served – delegates can just turn up to the Members' Room to take a space
- If there are no spaces available and you urgently need to join a session as chair or presenter, please come and see us at the conference helpdesk (if possible at least 20 minutes ahead of the session start time)
We will also have some ‘viewing rooms’ available, where people can gather to listen to/watch an online session from their own laptop.
- We don’t recommend this route for chairs or presenters
- We’ll have some desktop speakers available to borrow from the conference helpdesk
- To request a viewing room please come to the conference helpdesk at least 20 minutes before the start of a session. They will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Read our guide on navigating the online event space

Certificates of attendance

Certificates of attendance can be provided by the conference organisers upon request. These will be provided in digital copy after the conference.

Request your certificate of attendance

Quiet spaces at conference

During the conference, please ask at the conference Helpdesk if you would like a private space for prayer, for breastfeeding/baby changing, or for other reasons.

Health and safety at the conference

Only registered attendees will be allowed into the session rooms and social spaces at the conference. The Society retains the right to refuse entry and/or to ask anyone to leave. We ask that you wear your lanyard and name badge at all times.

In case of a medical incident, please contact the Registration Desk. Members of the RGS-IBG team are First Aid trained. In the case of an emergency please contact the emergency services by calling 999.

Please be aware of emergency fire exits and should alarms sounds, follow the evacuation policy.

The current threat level in the UK is Substantial meaning a terrorist attack is likely. Please remain vigilant and report any unattended or suspicious items to Imperial College London and RGS-IBG event staff or the conference organisers.

COVID-19

You should not come to the conference if you have been asked to self-isolate or if you, or someone you live with, has symptoms. We will not admit attendees if they present with symptoms. We encourage all delegates to test themselves before coming to the conference.

We ask all attendees to respect those who choose to wear masks. We will have additional masks at the conference helpdesk for those who wish to wear one.