How a Student-Led Symposium Leveraged Fourwaves to Bring Researchers Together
This student-led symposium on biological sciences at the Université de Montréal has been using Fourwaves for many years to showcase research through oral and poster presentations for over 250 participants
The event is organized by student volunteers, undergraduate and graduate students.
Biological Sciences
Celebrate research, increase communication among researchers and spark collaborations
Since the early 90s, the Symposium of the Department of Biological Sciences at the Université de Montréal has been a cornerstone event for students, faculty, and researchers. Organized by the Association of Graduate and Undergraduate Biology Students, the event attracts over 250 participants, providing a platform for students to showcase their research through poster sessions and oral presentations.
It is a highly anticipated academic gathering, fostering knowledge exchange and networking within the department and beyond.
As the symposium grew, so did the complexity of organizing it.
Challenges Before Fourwaves
Before using Fourwaves, the Symposium organizing team which is composed exclusively of student volunteers was relying on disconnected tools. Managing participant registration, abstract submissions, on-site planning required significant manual effort, leading to inefficiencies. The lack of digital tools restricted its impact and reach.
These are the key challenges the committee faced:
- Disjointed systems: Managing registration, abstract submissions, and event communications across multiple tools created unnecessary complexity.
- Manual processes: A lack of automation made tasks like meal planning and updating event details time-consuming and prone to mistakes.
- Limited flexibility: With their previous website tool, adjusting event pages after publication was cumbersome.
- Lost effort: Every year the committee had to start over from scratch.
- Limited reach: by not leveraging digital tools, the content of the conference and the research itself was not shared outside the in-person event, limiting it's reach to outside contributors.
It was clear the organizing committee needed a solution that could bring structure, efficiency, and professionalism to their event.
Why Fourwaves Was the Right Fit
The organizing committee began searching for an all-in-one platform that could eliminate inefficiencies, centralize operations, and deliver a professional experience for both organizers and attendees.
These were the key factors in their decision:
- All-in-one integration: Fourwaves eliminated the need for multiple platforms, bringing registration, abstract submission, and event announcements under one roof.
- Flexibility and control: Fourwaves enabled organizers to update event pages instantly, including sponsor information and schedule changes.
- Polished and professional design: The easy-to-build, professionally designed event web pages provided by Fourwaves strengthened the symposium’s visual identity, reinforcing the Université de Montréal’s strong reputation.
- Partnership: Because the event is led by student volunteers in the field of Biology (the same topic of expertise as the Fourwaves founder Matthieu), Fourwaves decided to partner and offer the platform for free in exchange of being listed as an official sponsor.
How the Université de Montréal Optimized Their Symposium with Fourwaves
The committee leveraged Fourwaves’ comprehensive suite of event management tools to ensure a frictionless experience for organizers and participants alike.
Here are the platform functions they used, and how they helped elevate the event:
- Streamlined participant registration: Simplified registrations, reducing administrative burdens.
- Optimized abstract submission: Allowed for structured and organized research presentation submissions.
- Built a dynamic event website: Fourwaves website templates made the event look professional, and allowed the organizing committee to provide real-time updates and clear schedules for attendees.
Fourwaves has been indispensable for managing key aspects of our symposium. It’s intuitive, adaptable, and has transformed the way we organize this event, making everything more efficient and seamless.
Noah BoodhooUniversité de Montréal
Measurable Results and Tangible Impact
By implementing Fourwaves, the symposium transformed its operational efficiency, improved the experience for both organizers and attendees and allowed students and researchers to access the content of the event before, during and after. This increased the event's impact by allowing other researchers to easily access to the projects of others and sparking collaborations and discussions.
Many areas were improved, including:
- Reduced administrative workload: Automated processes freed up valuable time for the student volunteers who could reuse the same event setup year after year.
- Higher participant satisfaction: Attendees consistently praised the seamless experience.
- Stronger professional image: A polished, well-structured event reflected positively on the university.
Without Fourwaves, this event would have been far more challenging to organize. The platform has made a huge difference in keeping things running smoothly.
Université de Montréal
Why the Université de Montréal Will Keep Using Fourwaves
The Association of Graduate and Undergraduate Biology Students plans to continue using Fourwaves for future symposiums because of its unmatched efficiency, adaptability, and ongoing support.
About the Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM) is a top French-speaking public research university in Montreal, Canada, with over 67,000 students and 600+ programs across 13 faculties. With its roots in Montreal and its eyes on the international horizon, UdeM is one of the world’s leading research universities.