Why McGill's Neuro chose Fourwaves for ISCM2026
Published on 26 Jun 2026
The team behind the 18th International Symposium on Cholinergic Mechanisms (ISCM2026), organized from the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro) at McGill, had relied on Eventbrite for free events and ConfTool for paid ones. For ISCM2026, they switched to Fourwaves for a modern, customizable platform that connects to McGill's Moneris payment gateway.
International scientific symposium (ISCM2026)
Research hospital and institute (The Neuro, McGill University)
Replace Eventbrite and ConfTool with one customizable platform that handles registration and payments and connects to McGill's approved Moneris gateway.
The 18th International Symposium on Cholinergic Mechanisms (ISCM2026) website, built on Fourwaves and open for in-person and virtual attendance.
When the organizing team behind the 18th International Symposium on Cholinergic Mechanisms (ISCM2026) set out to plan their event, they were carrying years of experience with tools that no longer fit how they wanted to work.
About the event
ISCM2026 is the 18th International Symposium on Cholinergic Mechanisms. Since 1970, ISCM has brought researchers from around the world together to explore the cholinergic system, from molecules to medicine. The 2026 edition runs June 21 to 25, 2026, at the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro), on the McGill University campus, and welcomes its international community both in person and online.
Justin Martinez-Rosler, Communication Associate for Events at The Neuro, helped bring the symposium online. He also organizes the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Neuroscience (S4SN), held August 23 to 26, 2026, at the Centre Mont-Royal in downtown Montreal, on the same platform.
The Neuro hosts and supports a range of scientific events, from small free gatherings to larger paid symposia with international speakers and attendees. Each format comes with its own registration, payment, and communication needs.
Justin also runs the 2026 Society for Social Neuroscience (S4SN) annual meeting on Fourwaves, held in downtown Montreal.
The challenge: outdated tools and disconnected systems
For most of their events, which were free to attend, the team relied on Eventbrite. It worked, but it was never the best fit for academic events, and it lacked many of the tools they needed once an event charged registration fees.
For paid events, the only other option they used was ConfTool. The main reason was practical: it could be connected to McGill’s backend funds. Beyond that, the experience left a lot to be desired.
ConfTool was a super old system. It was really ugly and not user friendly, for the organizers or the attendees. The only reason we used it was that it let us link our McGill funds.
Communication Associate, Events, The Neuro
In short, ConfTool was an outdated system that felt complicated for both organizers and attendees, while Eventbrite was fine for free events but came up short for paid ones. Looking across the conference management systems and event registration platforms on the market, the team wanted something modern, flexible, and capable of handling both registration and payments in one place.
The solution: a flexible, all-in-one platform connected to McGill
The team chose Fourwaves for ISCM2026.
One of the deciding factors was how the platform connects to McGill’s finances. Through Fourwaves’ partnership with McGill Financial Services, organizers can collect payments using the Moneris gateway already approved at McGill, without giving up the modern registration experience they wanted.
Just as important was the flexibility of the Fourwaves team. As the symposium’s needs shifted, the platform and the people behind it adapted.
I really value the flexibility of the team. You're very flexible when we change things up, including with payments. One of our events was due in December, we needed more time, and you extended it to February without any issue.
Communication Associate, Events, The Neuro
A website organizing committees actually like
Beyond logistics, the look and feel of the event made an impression internally.
Many academic societies build their event sites on general-purpose tools like WordPress or Squarespace. Those can work, but they rarely feel tailored to a scientific event, and they often require someone with technical skills to maintain.
With Fourwaves, the team could build a polished, professional event website without that overhead.
All the organizing committees love the look of the websites. Compared to WordPress or Squarespace, you can customize a lot, but it's also easy. Anyone could do it. You don't need any expertise.
Communication Associate, Events, The Neuro
The result
For ISCM2026, the team moved from a patchwork of Eventbrite for free events and ConfTool for paid ones to a single platform that handles abstract submissions, registration, payments, and the event website, while staying connected to McGill’s approved payment infrastructure.
For organizers at McGill and The Neuro who need a modern, customizable, and well-supported way to run their events, Fourwaves offers a clear alternative to the tools many academic teams have outgrown. You can learn more about how Fourwaves supports event management at McGill University.
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