Abstract Submission

Submission of Symposia and Individual Presentations

Papers and posters may be submitted as individual presentations or as part of a symposium.

The Scientific Committee will decide upon the final mode of presentation for all contribution types

Individual contributions

Participants who wish to submit an individual contribution may choose between oral presentation and poster. Both oral presentations and posters submitted individually and accepted by the Scientific Committee will be grouped by category topics into thematic sessions in order to promote communication among the presenters and participants and to allow for inspiring discussions. As the distinction between oral presentation and poster is only a matter of presentation mode, submissions in both categories will be assessed by the same criteria of scientific merit. The Scientific Committee will decide upon the final mode of presentation.

Paper presentations: Paper sessions last 90 minutes and will be comprised of 5 individual oral presentations. Each paper lasts approximately 18 minutes (12 to 13 minute presentation, followed by 5 minute discussion). Each session will be chaired by a person appointed by the Scientific Committee.

Poster presentations: Posters should be in A0 format (841x1188 mm) (portrait) and will be presented on stands.

Symposia

Please note that symposium contributors must wait for the symposium submission by the chairperson before submitting their own contribution.

Symposia consist of several oral presentations or posters organized around a theme and provide different perspectives on it. They feature a chairperson (responsible for inviting participants and submitting a symposium proposal) and, often, a discussant. Symposia participants come from at least two different research groups or universities.

Chairpersons considering submission of a symposium should suggest either a poster or paper symposium.

Paper symposia: Paper symposia are scheduled to last 90 minutes and include 4 to 5 oral presentations. The format includes a short introduction to the topic by the chairperson, presentations by the participants, and a summary statement by the chairperson or a discussant. The chairperson and the discussant do not give separate presentations, but highlight the essential issues raised by participants and integrate and interpret them.

Poster symposia: Poster symposia will take place simultaneously in adjacent rooms so that participants can circulate between symposia. Each poster symposium will last 90 minutes and include 6 to 8 posters. The first 60 minutes of the symposium provide the possibility for an informal exchange with author(s) present. The last 30 minutes are organized by the Chair and feature a brief overview over the topic covered in the symposium and a discussion. These last 30 minutes will be described as "Overview and discussion of the poster symposia" in the program so that conference participants may take their time to view all posters presented within the same time slot and can plan ahead to attend the overviews.

Important Dates

March 20, 2009: Deadline for abstract submission.
Submissions received after this date will not be taken into consideration.

May 15, 2009: Authors will be informed about the status of their contribution. In case of an abstract withdrawal, the contact author must inform the Congress Office two weeks after receipt of acceptance at the latest.

Beginning of July 2009: The conference program with the exact date and time of every presentation will be available on the homepage.

Submission Procedure

To submit a proposal, potential contributors must first complete the Online Registration Form on the website of SSP 2009. They then receive a confirmation e-mail with a link they must follow to finalize the registration. Afterwards they receive a second e-mail containing a password enabling them to access a personal profile they can use to submit proposals. Proposals may only be submitted electronically after potential contributors have received their password for their profile access.

There are four types of proposals: Individual paper, individual poster, paper as part of a symposium, and poster as part of a symposium. Each proposal must be characterized by one to three topics from a Topic List.

For symposia, the chairperson decides whether it is a paper or poster symposium and informs the individual contributors accordingly. The chairperson has to submit the symposium proposal before the individual proposals can be submitted by the responsible authors. The chairperson submits the symposium under "Your symposia". Individual contributors must wait for their chairperson to submit the symposium proposal in order to submit their individual proposal. During submission they first choose the corresponding symposium type. This opens a drop-down menu in which the symposium title can be chosen.