Terms and conditions

Regulations of the 10th Intercollegiate Biotechnology Symposium “Symbioza”

1. The full name of the conference is as follows: the Xth Intercollegiate Biotechnology Symposium “Symbioza,” referred to in these regulations as the Conference.
2. The Conference is organized by the Warsaw Society for Biotechnology “Symbioza” (abbreviated as WSB “Symbioza”), referred to in these regulations as the Organizer.
3. The Conference will take place between the 12th and 14th of May 2023 in a hybrid form, at the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw, with the possibility of online passive participation.
4. During the Conference, there will be oral presentations, poster sessions, and keynote speakers’ lectures.
5. Possible forms of participation include:
a) Active participation – authors and co-authors of oral and poster presentations;
b) Passive participation – in-person or online;
c) Participation of guests, especially keynote speakers, honorary guests, conference sponsors, organizers of workshops, and other people approved by the Organizer;
d) Media – persons accredited by the Organizer;
e) Active and passive participants are collectively referred to in this document as The Participants.
6. The conference will be held in English. Active participants are expected to prepare their presentations or posters in English. The keynote lectures will also be held in English.
7. Translation to Polish will not be provided during any lectures.
8. The conference fee is 35 euros (150 PLN) for in-person participants and 12 euros (50 PLN) for online participants. This fee may be reduced if additional funding is provided. The Conference is a non-profit event, and all funds provided by the Participants will be spent to cover the costs of organizing the Conference. Organizers, keynote speakers, and media representatives are exempt from the conference fee.
9.No refunds are available, particularly if the participant resigns after the conference materials are printed
10. The organizers will provide an invoice upon demand. If the participant wishes to receive an invoice, they are obliged to fill in the appropriate fields in the registration form. The Organizer does not take any responsibility for the consequence of providing incorrect data in the registration form.
11. In-Person Participants are entitled to:
a) Attend all oral presentations;
b) Attend all poster sessions;
c) Attend all keynote lectures;
d) Attend the integrational event;
e) Receive the conference materials;
f) Receive the certificate of attendance;
g) Take part in coffee breaks;
h) Receive two hot meals, one on Saturday, and the other on Sunday.
12. Online Participants are entitled to:
a) Attend live transmission of oral presentations;
b) Attend live transmission of all keynote lectures;
c) Receive a certificate of online attendance.
13. All participants will be provided with a certificate of attendance:
a) The certificate will be provided in English;
b) The certificate will include the conference name, date, and place, the Participant’s name and surname, type of participation (active or passive), and, in the case of active participants, the title of the presentation;
c) The certificate will be provided in accordance with the data provided in the registration form;
d) If the active participant is a co-author of multiple presentations, they will be asked to select one of them that will appear on the certificate;
e) The Organizer does not take any responsibility for the consequence of providing incorrect data in the registration form;
f) In the case of online passive participation, the certificate will include this information.
14. The main ways the Organizer communicates with the Participants are the conference webpage, conference mailing list, or, in case of an emergency, the phone number provided by the Participants during registration.
15. Only posters and oral presentations presenting original research will be accepted for the Conference.
16. The selection of active Participants will take place based on the abstracts provided by the authors in the registration form:
a) Each Participant is allowed to be the main author of only one submitted abstract.
b) Each participant is allowed to be a co-author of any number of submitted abstracts.
c) The main author of the submitted abstract must be a student or a Ph.D. student or hold an equivalent degree (completed European Qualifications Framework level below 8). In case of doubt, the Organizer makes the final decision.
d) The main author is not allowed to hold a Ph.D., an equivalent, or a higher degree (European Qualifications Framework level 8).
e) The co-authors of the submitted abstracts may hold a Ph.D. or higher degree, but the majority of the work must be done by students or Ph.D. students. In case of doubt, the co-authors will be required to provide a written declaration regarding their contribution.
f) There is no limit on the number of co-authors, but the organizers ask the participants to use common sense.
g) Acceptance of the main author for the Conference does not automatically provide acceptance of all co-authors.
h) Members of the WSB Symbioza may take part in the conference as participants.
17. Abstracts are evaluated by the Evaluation Committee appointed by the Chair of the Scientific Division of the WSB Symbioza:
a) Personal details about the Evaluation Committee are not provided to the Participants.
b) The Chair of the Scientific Division of the WSB Symbioza appoints the Chairman of the Evaluation Committee, who is tasked to supervise the committee’s work. The Chairman of the Evaluation Committee is allowed to be a reviewer. The Chairman of the Evaluation Committee is not subject to paragraph 17, point a, and paragraph 17, point e of these Regulations.
c) Members of the Evaluation Committee are selected according to their scientific knowledge and expertise regarding each submitted abstract.
d) Each submitted abstract is evaluated by 2 reviewers. If their assessment is divergent, a third reviewer is appointed.
e) Information about the Participant’s name, surname, affiliation, and level of education is not provided to the reviewers. They receive only the title and content of the abstract.
f) In case of any conflict of interest, a new reviewer is appointed to evaluate the provided abstract.
g) Any attempts to put pressure on or otherwise influence the Evaluation Committee will cause automatic disqualification of the provided abstract.
h) The Chairman of the Evaluation Committee, after consulting the Chair of the Scientific Division, may decide to disqualify an abstract without review when its scientific level is abnormally low, or the formal requirements are not met.
i) The Organizer is not obliged to inform the Participant about the basis on which his abstract was not accepted or provide him with reviews. If there is no risk concerning revealing the personality of reviewers, the organizer may grant the participant access to the reviews of his abstract, after a written request.
j) Research submitted to the Conference must not be presented before at other conferences. If such a situation occurs, the author is automatically disqualified.
k) The final decision about accepting an abstract is made by the Chairman of the Evaluation Committee, after consulting it with the Chair of the Scientific Division.
18. During the oral sessions the authors are expected to present a 10-minute speech. There are 5 minutes provided for discussion after each presentation:
a) All presentations should be uploaded to the computer from which they will be presented before the beginning of the oral session,
b) The Participants are not allowed to present using their computers,
c) Only one of the co-authors may present the results during the presentation, preferably the main author,
d) All co-authors are encouraged to participate in the discussion after the presentation.
19. During the poster session, the Organizer provides space for a poster up to the size A0 (84×119 cm) in vertical alignment. The Organizer does not guarantee space for posters exceeding this size. The poster may not be allowed if its dimensions may cause discomfort for other participants.
20. During the Conference, a Contest for the Best Lecture and Poster is held:
a) The evaluation is conducted by the Contest Evaluation Committee and the Participants (audience award),
b) The Contest Evaluation Committee assesses separately
students and master students (or equivalent)
Ph.D. students (or equivalent).

21. Teams including members, supporting members, and former members of the WSB “Symbioza” may not be awarded prizes for the best presentation or posters except the Audience Award. Their posters and oral presentations are not assessed by the Contest Evaluation Committee. Their posters and oral presentations should be clearly marked.
22. Detailed rules for the assessment of the presentations and posters are included in the Regulations for Conducting the Contest for the Best Lecture and Poster.
23. Authors of the awarded works are required to sign the acceptance protocol of the prizes. The prizes are not exchangeable for their cash equivalent.
24. In the event of detection of plagiarism at any stage of the conference (from submitting an abstract to the presentation of results), the work is disqualified, the Participant’s delegating unit is informed, and relevant authorities provided by Polish law are notified.
25. By sending the registration form, the Participant agrees to:
a) Processing of the Participant’s data by the Organizer to the extent necessary to conduct the Conference. The Participant’s personal data is administered by WSB Symbioza in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union. The data collected are as follows: the Participant’s name and surname, e-mail, telephone number, and billing address. The Participant may withdraw his consent at any moment by contacting WSB Symbioza by mail at kontakt@symbioza.edu.pl,
b) Publication of name, surname, affiliation, and e-mail address in the book of abstracts, and possibly other conference materials,
c) Submitting information about other WSB “Symbioza” projects by the Organizer, in particular subsequent editions of the Conference, to the e-mail address provided during registration,
d) To use the Participant’s image on photos, videos and other promotional materials of the conference, including placing them on the Organizer’s websites and social media platforms. The organizers undertake not to transfer personal data of the Participant to third parties without the consent of the Participant.
26. These regulations have been prepared in two language versions (English and Polish). In the event of discrepancies between translations, the Polish language version applies.
27. In all disputable issues not included in these Regulations, the final decision belongs to the Organizer.