1. Events on OWL
Groups and individual researchers can list conferences, symposia, workshops, seminars, webinars and other events. Each one appears in the events directory, on the page of the group that posted it, and on the pages of the groups above it.
- Research areas: events are filed under research areas, so people browsing a field find them.
- Format: in person, online, or hybrid with both a venue and a joining link.
- Speakers: each with a title, an affiliation and a profile link.
- Time zone: times are entered and shown in the event’s own time zone.
- Add to calendar: an .ics file for Apple Calendar, Outlook and others, or a link straight into Google Calendar.
- Roll-up: a lab’s events also appear on its department’s and university’s pages.
2. Event Types
Every event has one of eight types. The descriptions are guidance on which to pick:
| Event Type | Usual Format | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Conference | In-person / Hybrid | Formal academic gathering featuring peer-reviewed paper presentations, plenary addresses, poster sessions, and disciplinary networking. |
| Symposium | In-person / Hybrid | Focused academic or industry conference centered on a specific scientific theme, interdisciplinary problem, or emerging research challenge. |
| Workshop | In-person / Hybrid / Online | Interactive, hands-on instructional or collaborative working session focused on skill acquisition, software tooling, or active problem solving. |
| Seminar | In-person / Hybrid / Online | Departmental lecture or research talk by an invited speaker, visiting faculty member, or laboratory member presenting recent research. |
| Webinar | Online | Virtual presentation, panel discussion, or technical demonstration conducted over the web with live audience participation and Q&A. |
| Hackathon | In-person / Hybrid / Online | Time-bound collaborative sprint where researchers, engineers, and students develop open-source scientific software, models, or data solutions. |
| Meetup | In-person / Online | Informal grassroots gathering for regional researchers, journal clubs, student chapters, or community scientific discussion. |
| Other | Flexible | Academic ceremonies, thesis defenses, inaugural lectures, science outreach fairs, or commemorative academic events. |
3. Delivery Formats & Venues
Each event has one of three formats, which decides what location details it needs:
In-Person Gathering
Held at physical venues such as university lecture theatres, laboratory auditoriums, or conference centers.
Specify venue name (e.g. Clarendon Laboratory, Lecture Theatre A)
Include street address and country for international visitors
The address goes into the calendar file
Virtual / Online Event
Broadcast entirely online using platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, YouTube Live, or custom stream servers.
Direct online joining URL provided to attendees
No physical address required
Suits webinars, online conferences and remote journal clubs
Hybrid Experience
Combines an on-site physical venue with live virtual access, accommodating both local attendees and remote international researchers.
Both physical venue and online joining stream supported
Marked as hybrid on event cards
4. Registration, Ticketing & Pricing
Choose how people sign up, if they need to:
- Free vs Paid Admissions: Mark events as free or provide clear pricing ranges (minimum and maximum admission fees) with multi-currency support (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.).
- Capacity Limits: Specify maximum venue or stream capacity to communicate room constraints to prospective attendees.
- Registration deadline: set a cut-off date and time. The event page shows it, and says when it has passed.
Open Attendance (No Registration)
Best for public lectures, regular lab seminars, and open webinars. Attendees can simply walk in or click the stream link with no pre-registration required.
External Registration Portal
Directs attendees to your official ticketing platform or university portal (such as Eventbrite, Indico, ConfTool, or institutional registration pages).
Email RSVP & Direct Contact
Attendees email the organiser to register or to get joining details. Suits small or capacity-limited sessions.
5. Keynote Speakers & Presenters
List the people speaking at your event. Each speaker can have:
- Name & Academic Title: Enter full name and title (e.g. Prof. Maria Rodriguez or Dr. Chen Wei).
- Institutional Affiliation: Attribute speakers to their university, research institute, or corporate laboratory.
- A profile link: one link, to their OpenWorldLab profile, lab website or Google Scholar page.
- Order: speakers are shown in the order you list them.
6. Event Statuses
An event’s status comes from its start and end times, so it never needs updating by hand. Only cancelling is a manual step:
Upcoming
The start time has not arrived yet.
Happening Now
Between the start and end times. Shown as happening now.
Completed
The end time has passed. The event moves to past events.
Cancelled
Cancelled by the organiser. Marked as cancelled wherever the event is listed.
7. How to Announce & Manage Events
How to list an event
- 1 To list it under a group, you need that group’s Announce Events privilege (held by Owners, Admins and Moderators by default; see Group Roles & Privileges). You can also list an event under your own name.
- 2 Navigate to your group page, open the Events tab, and click Announce New Event (or click Create > Event in the navigation header).
- 3 Enter a title (e.g. International Symposium on Quantum Nanomaterials 2026) and choose the Event Type.
- 4 Choose your Delivery Format (In-person, Online, or Hybrid).
- 5 Select the Time Zone and set the exact start and end date and time in your local wall-clock time.
- 6 Provide physical venue address details (for on-site/hybrid) or the virtual meeting link (for online/hybrid).
- 7 Choose the Registration Method (none, external URL, or email), and set the price and capacity if they apply.
- 8 Add Speakers with their titles, affiliations and profile links.
- 9 Write the description and agenda, choose its research areas, and publish.
events.manage) can edit event details, update stream links, reschedule times, or cancel the listing at any time. Like job listings, events published by a lab automatically roll up into parent department and university group tabs.8. Discovering Events & Calendar Integration
Find events in the events directory or on the Events tab of any group:
- By research area: open a research area (e.g. Computer Science / AI) to see only its events.
- Filters: event type, format (in person, online, hybrid), country or distance from a place, organiser, and free events only.
- Upcoming or past: switch between what is coming up and what has already happened.
- Add to Calendar: Click the Add to Calendar button on any event page to download a standard
.icsfile or add the event directly to Google Calendar.