Virtual Platform Information

Getting Online

Access to the IMC 2023 virtual platform Confex will be available to all registered delegates. You can access the virtual platform via your desktop computer (PC/Mac), or mobile or tablet device.

If you are presenting or otherwise actively involved in a session, you must access that session via a desktop device (e.g. PC or Mac) as some functionality within Zoom is not available from a mobile or tablet device.

Details of how to access the virtual platform will be sent out to all registered delegates before the Congress.

Layout & Navigation

Finding what you want to attend either in-person or virtually is straightforward thanks to Confex, our virtual event platform provider who are hosting all IMC sessions and content.

On PCs and larger devices, the main navigation is located down the left hand side, and for mobile devices, via the ‘main menu’ icon at the top right of the screen. From here, you can navigate to any aspect of IMC 2023.

If you are actively involved in a session at the IMC as a speaker, moderator, organiser, respondent, round table participant or any other active role, this will be pre-populated into your ‘My Agenda’. We are unable to prepopulate attendance at IMC events/excursions/performances this year.

Agenda & Personal Agenda

You can view the programme by clicking ‘Meeting Calendar’ on the main menu. Your personalised agenda can be viewed by clicking on the calendar icon at the top of the screen on both desktop and mobile devices.

The Agenda contains all academic sessions, as well as the full programme of events, excursions, performances, and workshops.

You can browse the Agenda via various calendars – allowing you to easily see all standard academic sessions, all keynote speakers, all round table sessions, and all events/excursions/performances going on at any time during the IMC. You can browse between these via the ‘Program Calendar’ button on the main menu.  Print options are available, but we don’t recommend printing the full agenda though as it’s a very large document!

Each session appears with its number and name, grouped by timeslot. To add a session to your personal agenda, just click the ‘+’ icon either on the list view on on the Session Details page.

Each session has its own listing page which can be viewed by clicking on the session title from either the full Agenda or ‘My Agenda’.

On the session listing page, you can view the speakers, paper titles, and abstracts as well as all the other information you’d expect to find in the IMC programme book. You can click on any speaker to see other sessions featuring that person. Sessions can also be browsed by Strand/Index Term using the relevant options on the main menu.

Files shared by the speaker(s) in advance of the session will also be visible on the session listing page.

There is also a note-taking feature (paperclip icon) which allows you to make private notes during a session. When you click on the icon, this opens a simple text editor built-in to the platform which you can use to jot down your thoughts during the presentations. Your notes are private to you and can be copied to Word or another tool after the session is over either from the session listing itself or from the ‘My Notes’ option on the main menu of the mobile interface only.

Priority Access for Speakers

Speakers, moderators, and organisers will also see a ‘Manage’ button which allows you to access the session up to 30 minutes prior to the start, and upload files for attendees to see. We recommend all speakers upload a short summary of their key arguments to allow delegates who join late or experience connection issues to follow along. You can also use this space to upload other relevant materials, including discussion points for round tables, primary sources, or other materials which attendees may wish to familiarise themselves with prior to your paper.

Finding Sessions

The ‘Agenda’ module has a powerful built-in search function which can be found via the magnifying glass icon on the top right. You can simply search by typing the session number, name, or speaker name, or part of any of these in the box and clicking ‘Go’. You can also filter by strand, type of session (‘Program’), or index terms.

The desktop version of the page contains additional guidance on how to perform more advanced searches.

Finding Colleagues & Friends

You can view all attendees by clicking ‘People’ on the main menu. As with the Schedule/Agenda pages, you can find individuals at the top of the page.

You can view an individual profile by clicking on their name. You can see the academic sessions which a speaker is involved in further down the page beneath their profile description and weblinks.

You can manage your own profile at any time by clicking your name in the top right on a desktop device or the left hand menu on mobile, then ‘Personal information’. From here, you can also manage your personal privacy settings for the information on your own profile.

Via the profile page, you can also contact individual attendees who have enabled this option. You can choose between sending an email or a message via the virtual platform. Email addresses are never shared, unless you have indicated yours can be publicly viewable on your profile. This can be done by marking it as either visible to ‘Connected’ delegates – i.e. those colleagues you have accepted their connection requests from or ‘Public’, which is visible to all users via your profile page.

We expect all delegates to comply with our Policy on Dignity & Mutual Respect. If you have concerns about your personal privacy, or wish your profile to be hidden, please contact the IMC team by emailing imc@leeds.ac.uk.

Networking

The platform allows delegates to share a variety of web and social media profiles in order to facilitate networking through the IMC and beyond. This can be a great way to connect with existing colleagues and friends and make new ones, as well as giving you the chance to follow up with a speaker after their paper to find out more about their research.

If you are both attending in person, then you may also choose to meet in one of the many public areas around campus. Due to the scale and complexity of the IMC, as well as other events taking place during Congress week, it is not possible for individual delegates to book on-campus space for private meetings.

Messaging & Conversations

You can customise your notification settings via your initials/name in the top left corner. Dependent on these settings, you will receive in-app notifications or email notifications. You can keep track of your connections via the ‘People’ icon at the top right which allows you to see your connections and pending connections.

You will receive a notification via the ‘people’ icon at the top right when someone messages you, or requests a connection.

Please note that chat messages within IMC sessions on Zoom will not be retained and will not be accessible anywhere on the platform after the session has finished.

Updating Your Profile

We encourage all attendees to review and update their profiles when they first log in to the system. This ensures that your communication and notification preferences are correct and that you can configure correctly which modes of communication (e.g. email, social media) that you wish to share with others.

As mentioned above, you can manage your profile at any time by clicking on your name/initials in the top left. Exhibitors can also manage their listings from this menu.

Your Personal Profile

Your profile page is where you can tell other attendees more about yourself and your research. We encourage all attendees to add a short biography, a link to your personal web profile, or professional social media to your profile. You will be able to do this both when you register or using the ‘Edit Profile’ tool at any point during the Congress.

We encourage delegates who wish to do so to add a profile picture to their profile, either of themselves or of something relevant to their research. Profile pictures will be displayed alongside your messages on the platform. In Zoom sessions, your Zoom display picture and name attached to the Zoom account on your device may be utilised. This can be customised within any Zoom session but changes may not persist on shared devices.

The virtual platform also has privacy controls and the IMC will be happy to discuss any privacy concerns you may have and put relevant controls in place where possible. Please email imc@leeds.ac.uk to discuss your individual circumstances.

Help & Support

Support and guidance for accessing the Confex hybrid event platform will be available closer to the IMC. During the Congress, please utilise the Support and On Campus pages to find answers to commonly-asked questions, or contact the IMC team by emailing imc@leeds.ac.uk or visiting the Information & Payments Desk in the Refectory.

Technical support from Confex will be available throughout the IMC and can be accessed by clicking ‘Technical Support’ in the main menu.