2025 Collab Sessions

In addition to the traditional oral and poster scientific session blocks, we are introducing new Collab Sessions. These are concurrent sessions built into the conference schedule to allow for dynamic, informal interactions among attendees. There will be three Collab Sessions:

Please see the schedule-at-a-glance for a broader view of times. There are a range of formats, such as panel discussions, facilitated breakout discussions, brainstorming sessions, networking events, trainings, and other activities that don’t fit neatly into a standard presentation. The Collab Sessions will facilitate networking and collaboration, increase discussion and idea exchange, and provide more flexibility and inclusivity for attendees to engage in their preferred ways. Each session will be 90-minutes long with only six or seven concurrent Collab Sessions at a time.

Request a Spontaneous Collab Session

In addition to the above scheduled Collab Sessions, you can also propose your own Spontaneous Collab Session! This allows you to organize a meeting on a topic you're interested in and invite anyone from the conference to join. Do you have an idea for a new large-scale project and you're looking for collaborators? Do you want to meet other people with similar interests, whether it be work or personal? Are you looking for advice and to build community around challenges you're facing, such as work-life balance or finding a job? Propose a spontaneous collab!

Reserved Collab Sessions will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Space requests are due no later than 5:00 PM the day before your requested session time. Reserved Sessions will appear in the conference app and will list the time and location of the assigned room. We encourage you to share the information in the app feed and on social media (#CERF2025) so that others with similar interests can attend. These sessions will be visible to all participants. All rooms will have a standard A/V set-up (laptop, projector, screen, Wi-Fi) and will be set theatre style to accommodate the maximum number of attendees.

If you do not require a breakout room for your collab session, we ask you to consider hosting a Pop-up Collab Session. Look for tables marked with a “Pop-Up Collaboration Session” sign. These are open and prioritized for pop-up meetings—no need to book in advance.

Reserve a Collab Session

Collab Session Details

Collab Session A
Collab Session B
Collab Session C