3D tissue culture technology has come a long way in the past decade and is being embraced by more and more scientists and physicians. They are eagerly taking advantage of the tremendous potential of 3D tissue culture for drug development, patient care and basic science. To highlight new developments in 3D tissue biology, Mimetas organizes 3D-cember each year, a global event on… December 3, of course.
The question two years ago to SowiesoHelder was in what form to organize 3D-cember 2020 (which had taken place physically in 2019). Physical was not possible due to all the corona constraints. The target audience is scientists from pharma, biotech and academia. Global, so in terms of reach a challenge. The power of digital was chosen: a virtual event with a virtual venue, breakouts, etc. that at a stroke turned all those limitations into opportunities. In the end, it turned out to be a good first introduction to these digital options for a recurring virtual event. Although a live event was not possible this year either, this second time Mimetas switched to virtual with ease and confidence because 3D-cember 2020 had more than proven itself digitally.
Limitations? Not at all. The new reality offers opportunities. Mimetas embraces the fact that distance is no longer an obstacle to enjoying great science and has put together an interesting global livestream program for its target audience, together with SowiesoHelder: 3D-cember: Live! In your (home) office.
One event, two international science livestream programs:
From the comfort of their home, office or lab, interested scientists could enjoy a strong content program that covered 3D tissue culture from a broad perspective, with participation/lectures from international key opinion leaders from pharma, biotech and academia. Informative, inspiring and connecting.
The virtual venue was reopened after December 3 through December 31 for participants who were unable to attend the presentations and break outs, or who would like to revisit all the video recordings of 3D-cember.
The event was a great success, among other things in terms of its reach, which was many times greater. Not least because of the digital format, which boosted attendance by removing the barrier to travel. In addition, the event offered unique presentations and participants could witness inspiring scientific studies that were shared with them by key opinion leaders. Moreover, participants also received answers to their personal challenges (they could ask questions to the scientists who gave lectures via Slido – a platform that makes the livestream more interactive). Those answers, in turn, are useful for them to be able to apply in their own ‘local’ research. All together, this virtual edition of 3D-cember provided an important ‘glimpse’ of the applications of 3D tissue culture and the innovations in that field.
Elvira Prins – Van der Vijver (marketing specialist at Mimetas): ‘3D-cember’s first online edition produced by Sowieso Helder exceeded all our expectations. As the in-person version of the event in 2019 was a great success, we had to find out how we could get a similar experience but now online. Are we doing right by it? It felt like quite a challenge, but luckily SowiesoHelder showed us the art of online events and possibilities. 3D-cember’s online edition turned out to be a wonderful alternative of our in-person event. Also, it was nothing like the online events we were used to in the field. Gladly, we weren’t alone that enjoyed this online edition, also the participants appreciated it:
‘On another note 3D-cember yesterday was fantastic! By far in a way the best produced virtual conference meeting I have seen to date! I look forward to next year’s meeting’
Online or hybrid events are a good alternative to live meetings. A program for a live event has different starting points than a program for an online environment. We like to think along to successfully transform your event into a virtual variant. Read more about the numerous possibilities here.
