Maintaining scientific engagement within the automation technology community, during the pandemic: ELRIG, a conference organiser, goes digital to promote scientific collaboration, despite the need to stay-in-place.

The European Laboratory Research & Innovation Group (ELRIG) is renowned for organizing open access, face-to-face scientific conferences for the drug discovery community in the UK, which anecdotally have such a high science impact factor, that they are must-attend events. With the onset of the pandemic, ELRIG pivoted to organising digital events using a bespoke virtual convention center, where scientists could attend talks, network, and visit exhibition booths. This ensured that researchers and vendors alike could continue scientific collaboration and organisations could progress their drug discovery programmes, whilst safely working from home.  The poster discusses the successes and challenges of a virtual meeting environment and how learnings will be applied to future events. We will share data that demonstrates how high levels of engagement were achieved, including connections made through our digital booths and an increase in our geographical reach, with delegates from as far as SE Asia and the US.