What is Sciforum?
Sciforum is a platform for scholarly exchange and collaboration developed and maintained by MDPI in beautiful Basel, Switzerland. With Sciforum you can:
- Participate in online conferences
- Share scholarly papers and other files
- Create or join discussion groups
- Collaboratively manage bibliographies
Conferences
Electronic Conferences / Virtual Conferences
Electronic conferences (or e-conferences) are scholarly events that are hold online on this platform during a limited period of time. As they are online, anyone can attend from virtually anywhere. During the time of the conference, participants can discuss online on the conference pages. Proceedings papers and discussions are directly archived on Sciforum for posterity. Typically the electronic conferences on Sciforum are free to participate for both, presenters and attendees.
Traditional Conferences
Sciforum is also the home of a few traditional ("real life") conferences. For those events, Sciforum will typically serve as the platform for registering with the conference, and for the submission of abstracts and manuscripts. Depending on the conference, presentations and proceedings papers will be made available on Sciforum after the event.
Discussion and Collaboration Groups
In Fall 2014 we launched our discussion and collaboration groups. Anyone with a registered account can create a new group. Groups can be either closed access (private groups, members are moderated by the group owner) or open access groups (anyone can join and participate with the groups). Each group is linked to a mailing list, meaning that the messages posted online on Sciforum will be distributed to the group members by e-mail on a regular basis.
Our discussion groups offer a few handy tools for scholars, such as a shared bibliography management tool, export of citations in different formats, sharing and exchanged of files in private groups or directly amongst members of the platform, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Regarding E-Conferences
How do I submit my abstract?
Please register an user account with Sciforum.net. A confirmation message will be sent to the e-mail address specified in the registration process. Please click on the link in the message to validate your user account. After completing the validation, you will be able to login to Sciforum.net. You can initiate a new abstract submission by choosing Submit New Abstract from the user menu. Note that you need to submit and have your abstract approved before that you can submit the full manuscript.
What length should my abstract be?
If not stated otherwise on the conference page under Instructions for Authors, abstracts should not exceed 300 words. The abstract should clarify what the proceedings paper will cover.
How shall I prepare my paper?
Please prepare your paper as concise as possible. Please note that the paper should not be as detailed as a researchn piece for a journal, but rather cover the main points of your presented research. While there is no limit on paper length, we recommend papers to be no longer than six pages (if not stated otherwise on the conference page under Instructions for Authors).
Are there any formatting requirements?
The abstract should be submitted online following the four steps of submission. Please provide all data needed as per the fields (choose the conference, topical section/session, enter the planned title of your paper and the abstract, optionally add a few keywords, each author (first and family names), affiliations, and email addresses). Once your abstract has been approved for the conference, please prepare your manuscript according to the conference template, which is typically available as a download from the conference's Instructions for Authors page.
How can I be sure that my submission was successfully received by the conference administration?
To submit your abstract you need to follow the four steps of submission. After you have entered your abstract,
you will be asked to enter the author(s) and affiliation. Once you have entered all this, you must hit the ‘submit’
button to finalize your submission. You will then receive a notification and confirmation email which confirms successful
submission of your abstract. A submission manual is available here [authors’ manual as download]. Please note that we
will not accept any abstract submitted after the conference deadlines.
How can I attend a conference?
You can attend a conference on the internet at any time convenient to you. You don’t have to follow a schedule,
but can access the conference proceedings whenever you have time. Participation in the discussion is also according
to your own availability and initiative. Note that the dicsussions are open only during the time of the conference.
Discussions will be archived on the conference page and can still be access after the event.
Do I need to travel to attending the conference?
In order to ‘attend’ the conference you only need internet access. You can access the conference proceedings
from anywhere and do not need to travel to any conference venue.
Do I have to attend the e-conference all the time?
No, the attendance of the e-conference can be fitted around your own availability and you can access and read the
papers at your convenience. Since there will not be any live sessions, there’s no need to strictly follow a schedule.
All papers and presentations will be available online once the conference is opened.
Can anyone participate in the e-conferences?
Anyone who is interested in the different scientific subjects is welcome to submit an abstract. The conference attracts
renowned scientists from all over the world, to guarantee a high quality of the conference proceedings.
How can I interact and exchange with the scientific community during the conference?
Sciforum.net offers options of commenting on and rating conference papers directly on the conference website.
In this way, one can share critical comments, feedback, and one’s own research findings with peers, while
receiving feedback on one’s own papers. Authors are encouraged to prepare presentation slides and voice or
video recordings of their presentation.
Find here an overview of all new functions available on sciforum.
Will there be any live sessions?
No, there will not be any live sessions during the e-conference. Due to the international participation, live sessions
are not possible and the conference proceedings are presented in recorded video and PDF presentations.
How can I present my work?
If the abstract is approved, you will be invited to prepare and submit the conference paper, along with a few presentation
slides. Papers are published on the conference website on acceptance. Please prepare your paper according to the conference
formatting template, available on each conference page under ‘Instruction for Authors’. There is no set formatting requirements
for the presentation.
The abstract will usually be reviewed by the conference organizers to assess suitability for the conference.
If the abstract is approved, you will be invited to prepare and submit the conference paper.
Depending on the conference organizers’ arrangements, the paper will be peer-reviewed by the conference or section
chair, by a member of the scientific committee or by external experts. A revised version of the paper may need to
be prepared before the manuscript is accepted for a conference. Papers are published on the conference website on acceptance.
Do I have to pay a fee to submit my abstract or present my manuscript at the e-conference?
Participation in the e-conferences on sciforum.net is free of charge - for both authors to submit
and publish a manuscript, and readers to attend the e-conference and access the proceedings papers.
Who retains the copyright of the published paper?
MDPI AG, the publisher of the Sciforum.net platform, is an open access publisher. We believe that authors should
retain the copyright to their scholarly works. Hence, by submitting a paper to this conference, you retain the copyright,
but you grant MDPI AG the non-exclusive and un-revocable license right to publish this paper online on the Sciforum.net platform.
This means you can easily submit your paper to any scientific journal at a later stage and transfer the copyright to its
publisher (if required by that publisher).
Will published papers be indexed within the conference proceedings?
The proceedings published on Sciforum.net are generally not submitted for indexing in abstracting databases. However, papers accepted
in the supporting journal's Special Issue subsequent to the e-conference, will be indexed by the databases where the journal is listed.
Will my proceedings paper automatically be published in the conference Special Issue of the journal?
No, your proceedings paper, if presented within an e-conference, will only be presented online at this platform (sciforum.net).
If you wish to further publish your paper in the conference-related Special Issue, you have to submit it separately as a normal submission.
Once you have prepared the proceedings paper in a more comprehensive manner, you can submit it to the journal.
The editorial office will handle your submission according to the usual procedures, including the peer-review process.
If accepted for publication, the usual production steps will also be followed. Furthermore, an APC, albeit with a discount,
is still required. Please note that only papers previously presented at the e-conference proceedings can be considered for
both the Special Issue and its discount APC. All authors will be invited to submit their papers to the Special Issue
(but with no guarantees of publication).
Please note here is no obligation to publish your paper with MDPI, and you are free to further submit it to another
publisher’s journal (see our copyright disclaimer on the Instructions for Authors page).
For any further information, please contact the conference administrative secretary at [email protected].
