Stay Home, Stay Connected, Keep Growing - A free virtual conference for academic societies and publishers

Cactus Communications (CACTUS), a global scientific communications and technology solutions company, has announced that it will be hosting a virtual conference for academic societies and publishers on May 21-22, 2020.

The two-day free event, called “Stay Home, Stay Connected, Keep Growing,” will have KOLs and thought leaders from the scholarly publishing industry discussing wide-ranging topics like science communication strategies, advocacy and community, the research culture and mental health in academia, and AI and editorial workflows.

Donald Samulack, Head, Global Stakeholder Engagement at CACTUS, spoke on the motivation behind this event: "Over the years, the scholarly publishing community has thrived on coming together for key global annual conferences. The learning, relationships, and feeling of belonging these conferences bring are invaluable to industry stakeholders. In these difficult and unprecedented times, where many physical conferences have had to be cancelled, many global communities are turning to innovative virtual approaches to nurture that sense of belonging. We wanted to help academic publishers and societies come together despite the circumstances. This conference will offer attendees thought-provoking insights and discussions as well as much-needed interaction with their mentors and colleagues in the industry." 

CACTUS has so far conducted over 230 workshops and webinars for researchers across the world, and has pioneered a series of discussions called Science Talks in Japan and China, which brings together science policymakers, researchers, and university decision-makers. It has also conducted virtual panel discussions for industry events such as Peer Review Week and Open Access Week, and in March, it helped put together a virtual conference for academic societies.

Abhishek Goel, CACTUS Co-founder and CEO, adds, "I am hoping that this virtual event will make it possible for participants from across the world to join. Maybe there will emerge a silver lining with a more connected world that allows for greater participation, irrespective of country, availability of funds, time to travel, and so on."

More details on the event are available here. Registration for the conference is free.