PCMA’s newly released report provides in-depth analysis of the trends, market dynamics, innovation priorities, and stakeholder perspectives shaping one of the world’s fastest-evolving sectors. Combining sector intelligence, community insights, and practical implementation tools, the report equips event professionals, destinations, and suppliers with actionable strategies to make more informed business and event decisions.
David Adler takes a critical look at the threat to scientific and medical meetings should US federal regulation OMB-2026-0034 go ahead, prohibiting grant recipients from attending conferences not named in the original grant proposal (in practice, an impossibility!). David also brilliantly articulates the processes by which face-to-face meetings generate scientific insights and progress.
In August, the Louder Together “congrestival” will take place in Antwerp, combining a conference and festival where children, young people and teaching artists from around the world convene in a lively mix of theatre festival and scientific conference, with a clear ambition to create societal impact. From Flanders Convention Bureau…
Copenhagen’s life science congresses are being asked to do more than convene international specialists. Through Valuable Meetings, a MeetDenmark project supported by the Danish Board of Business Development, the city is exploring how congresses can become active platforms for sector development, connecting global associations with Danish research, healthcare, companies and innovation networks. From Boardroom…
The recent unveiling of Hongqiao Tech Week is the latest sign that the global technology events landscape is becoming closer tied to the Chinese market. Taking place in Shanghai in November, the event will bring together enterprises, startups, investors and leaders across sectors including AI, future mobility, digital infrastructure, and life sciences. From M&C/ASIA…
Destination Canada’s three-year Legacy & Impact Study highlights the long-term economic, social and environmental benefits of major events hosted in Canada. This case study examines how the 11th International Conference on Isotopes (ICI) leveraged Saskatoon’s nuclear expertise to respond to instability in global isotope supply, vital to healthcare and food security worldwide. The…
The MACRO World Polymer Congress 2022 brought together the global polymer science community for the first time in Canada. The goal of the gathering was to advance international research collaborations, strengthen the profile of Canadian polymer science, and create valuable career development opportunities for graduate students and early career researchers.
Lena Miranda, CEO of Linköping Science Park in Sweden and board member of the International Association of Science Parks & Areas of Innovation makes the case for events that bring together professionals from life sciences, technology, academia, healthcare and investment, and why destinations need to strategically partner with science parks in their cities and regions.
From 3 to 4 March 2026, Amsterdam hosted the first edition of the Amsterdam Space Symposium at Beurs van Berlage, bringing together over 500 participants and 100+ speakers from across the global space sector. Organised by SpaceNed in collaboration with the Amsterdam Convention Bureau (ACB), the event combined high-level dialogue with a strong focus on…
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) has announced a new 30th Birthday initiative in partnership with Life Sciences Queensland (LSQ) to support Queensland and Australia’s research and commercial uptake in across health, biomedical and agritech bio-innovation. LSQ is the Queensland peak body for medical and agricultural science and investment attraction in one of Australia’s fastest…
The Government of Canada will invest up to $1.7 billion over 12 years to attract and support more than 1,000 leading international and expatriate researchers, including Francophone researchers. Recruitment will target individuals who are advancing world-leading research in critical fields that will deliver direct economic, societal and health benefits for Canadians.
Slovakia’s two largest cities, Bratislava and Košice, are taking advantage of their networks of universities, research institutes, innovation centres and start-up clusters serving Automotive, IT, Energy, Life Sciences and Creative industries, to carefully target international events that will gain from interacting with these local centres of intellectual excellence. From AMI…
Atti Soenarso argues that behind every breakthrough in physiology or medicine, chemistry or physics, literature and peace, lies not just genius but conversation, debate and collaboration, often in the corridors of meeting venues: Every December, the Nobel Prize award ceremonies in Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway, remind the world that brilliance rarely blooms in solitude…
On 15–16 October 2025, the counter-disinformation community will reunite at Cankarjev Dom in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to continue exchanging ideas, learning, and collaborating. The importance of face-to-face conferences as a counterweight to disinformation has never been more essential. Check out their conference programme to understand some of the key issues. From EU DisinfoLab…
The editors at Nature Mircobiology outline why they attended 27 scientific conferences last year. In short, it’s for virtually the same reasons as the researchers, students, speakers, technologists and professors who make up the rest of their attendee ecosystem! A great summary of why conferences are so vital for everyone in the scientific community.
Despite cuts to US research grants and visa challenges, these innovative international scientific conferences are proving that it’s possible to attract international delegates to the US. One key lesson: bring different knowledge communities together to stimulate new collaborations and fresh thinking. From PCMA…
From Carolin Lenehan, BESydney: If there was ever a single graph to demonstrate a knowledge economy benefit of global conferences this is it. The International Astronautical Federation‘s Annual Congress returns to Australia this September. The last time it visited our shores in 2017, the Australian Space Agency was born. On the announcement Sydney was to…
This innovative event brought together scientists, local, national and EU-level policymakers, and citizen activists, and ensured policy debates heard from all relevant voices, including those directly affected by this environmental problem. The European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) hosted the first ever joint Congress on 10th to 13th…
From Northstar Meetings Group: The Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s 2025 BIO International Convention brought more than 20,000 biotech and life sciences professionals to Boston on June 16-19. More than four in 10 of the registrants (43 percent) were international, with Korea, Canada, the U.K., Japan and China representing the top five countries in attendance, respectively.
Three major legacy-related goals were achieved at this event: inspiring young people to consider careers in one of the growth industries of the future, encouraging informed multi-level discussion of the key issues from families to governments, and influencing policy at the European level. ENERGY & WATER, an innovative environmental education centre in Copenhagen, organised an…
Dubai’s Business Events leaders share strategic insights into how our sector supports broader knowledge economy goals, with ideas that can be adopted by many other destinations worldwide. As Dubai works to transform itself into a continents-connecting knowledge economy powerhouse, business events are playing a critical role, especially during these times of global geopolitical disruption. Karina…
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