How the Canadian Society of Microbiologists Amplified Their Event Planning

Challenges Before Fourwaves

Dr. Denice Bay is an Associate Professor at the Max Rady College of Medicine and Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Manitoba. She is also the Meetings Secretary for the Canadian Society of Microbiologists. In this role, Dr. Bay is responsible for organizing multiple academic conferences annually, including:

• The Microbiology Student Research Joint Symposium (virtual, 200+ attendees)
• The Canadian Society of Microbiology Annual Conference (CSMAC) (in-person, 500+ attendees)

Before implementing Fourwaves, managing these events was a major challenge. 

The organizing team struggled with many things, including:

• Clunky, manual abstract submissions and management – PDFs were manually collected without proper labeling, creating a disorganized review process.
• No centralized registration system – The CSMAC had no structured registration or payment process, leading to administrative complexity and room for human errors.
• Multiple tools made event management inefficient – Organizers had to juggle various platforms for abstract management, communication, and event promotion.
• University IT systems were outdated – Limited internal resources added extra hurdles, making conference organization even more difficult.

Fourwaves streamlined everything from abstract management to registration — saving us time and improving the participant experience.

Dr. Denice Bay

Associate Professor, University of Manitoba and the Canadian Society of Microbiologists

Why Fourwaves

Dr. Bay and her team chose Fourwaves after experiencing frustration with fragmented tools and outdated systems. 

Their decision was based on several factors, including:

• Effortless abstract management – A single platform for submission, review, and organization.
• Structured registration and payments – Eliminating the need for manual processing and reducing the likelihood of errors.
• User-friendly interface – Easy adoption for organizers, students, and faculty.
• Better conference experience – Participants could access the conference program, posters, and networking opportunities.
• Proven success – Dr. Bay had a previous positive experiences with Fourwaves at a Sherbrooke event, which reinforced its reliability.

Comparison to Alternatives

Dr. Bay’s team explored other platforms but found Fourwaves offered the best functionality. The other tools they assessed didn’t support abstract organization or optional attachments, their rigid website designs felt outdated, and they required extensive setup, while Fourwaves’ out-of-the-box functionality made it a more efficient choice.

How the Canadian Society of Microbiologists Used Fourwaves

Dr. Bay and her team implemented Fourwaves to overcome the inefficiencies they previously faced. These are the features they adopted:

• Abstract management – Fourwaves provided streamlined system for submission and program generation for more than 430 submissions.
• Registration and payment processing – The automated registration system offered a simple process and secure payment options, making the system easy for more than 600 participants to register.
• Event website builder – Fourwaves empowered Dr. Bay and team to create a professional, modern, user-friendly event site to showcase conference details.
• Email communication tools – Fourwaves made attendee outreach and networking simple and impactful.

By integrating these features, the team improved efficiency and reduced the administrative burden on faculty and event organizers.

Measurable Results and Real Impact

Fourwaves provided significant benefits, including:

• Time saved – Thanks to Fourwaves’ automation functions, abstract management and event setup now take a fraction of the time.
• Increased participant satisfaction – Attendees found the system easy to use and navigate.
• Better organization – Moving to an all-in-one solution reduced administrative burden on faculty and event organizers.
• Future scalability – With event growth in mind, the Canadian Society of Microbiologists is interested in using the platform for other smaller meetings.

Without Fourwaves, we would face increased manual workloads, and frustration from participants.

Dr. Denice Bay

Associate Professor, University of Manitoba and the Canadian Society of Microbiologists

Continuing to Use Fourwaves

Given the improvements Fourwaves has brought to their event planning process, Dr. Bay and her team plan to continue using the platform for future conferences. Their reasons include:

• Ongoing improvements – The platform continuously evolves to meet the needs of academic event organizers.
• Exceptional support – The customer service team is responsive and provides hands-on assistance.
• Scalability for future growth – With five events annually, Fourwaves provides a consistent, reliable solution.
• Potential for long-term adoption – The team is exploring multi-year licenses to secure Fourwaves for future conferences.

About the Canadian Society of Microbiologists

The Canadian Society of Microbiologists (CSM) seeks to advance microbiology in all its aspects and to facilitate the interchange of ideas between microbiologists.

The CSM is a non-profit organization with hundreds of members who don’t just benefit from exclusive, members-only discounts, registration fees and awards, but also gain access to a strong microbiologist network.