From abstract to agenda: How integrated event platforms simplify scientific conference planning

Academic, scientific, and technical conferences are among the most complex events to organise.

Unlike a single-track corporate meeting or seminar, these events are built around vast quantities of peer-reviewed content – hundreds of accepted papers, each with multiple authors, keywords, and affiliations.

The result is a logistical puzzle: how to turn all that information into a structured, publishable event agenda that attendees can easily navigate on both web and mobile.

For Professional Conference Organisers (PCOs), learned societies and universities, this process can quickly become overwhelming. The peer-review process might be handled through a dedicated abstract management tool such as Oxford Abstracts, Ex Ordo, ConfTool, or OpenWater, while the final event programme needs to be built out in a separate event technology platform – the one used to manage the website, attendee app and registration process.

Unless those systems communicate effectively, organisers are left bridging the gap manually. Typically, this means downloading spreadsheets, copying information, reformatting authors and affiliations, and repeatedly updating agendas as session allocations evolve. This is time-consuming, error-prone, and simply unsustainable at scale.

A modern event technology platform solves this by integrating directly with abstract management tools, allowing accepted paper content to flow automatically into the event management platform’s agenda builder. Sounds easy enough! But in our experience, very few providers get this right – presumably because they have no direct experience of running scientific and technical conferences.

So, in this post, we’re going to explore the technical and practical details of how that works – and why it’s transforming the way academic events are managed.

The scale and complexity of scientific agendas

To appreciate the value of a really good integration, it helps to understand just how intricate the agenda of a large academic conference can be.

A major scientific congress might feature:

• Up to 1,000 accepted abstracts, across 20 or more thematic tracks
• Multiple presentation formats (oral, poster, symposium, workshop)
• Hundreds of authors, each with different institutional affiliations
• Parallel sessions scheduled across multiple days and venues
• Late changes, including withdrawn papers, updated presenter names, or reallocated sessions

The volume of information alone is considerable – and it’s not just the number of records, but critically the relationships between them. A single accepted paper may have:

One track (eg ‘Renewable Energy Systems’)

One session (eg ‘Solar Photovoltaics: Emerging Materials’)

One presentation type (eg ‘Oral Presentation’)

Multiple authors and affiliations (eg ‘University of Edinburgh’, ‘MIT’)

Managing this relational data manually in spreadsheets is cumbersome. Each change has ripple effects – if an author withdraws or a session time changes, organisers must cross-check dozens of interlinked entries.

That’s where an integration pipeline between the abstract management system and the event platform delivers enormous value.

How integration works: from abstract to agenda

1 Data extraction via API or CSV

Most abstract management systems allow export of accepted paper data via an API (Application Programming Interface) or CSV/Excel exports. But the problem with using a CSV export is that it becomes difficult to accurately and consistently communicate the depth of relational data described above. Using an API allows for a much richer and less ambiguous import later in the process.

Typical data fields include:

• paper title and abstract text
• authors, including which authors are presenting
• affiliations and countries
• keywords or topic areas
• presentation type (oral, poster, etc)
• session or track allocation
• a URL for attendees to explore further information about a paper

The integration is configured to only extract accepted submissions, ensuring the event platform imports the final programme data rather than early drafts or rejected abstracts.

2 Data mapping and normalisation

Here’s where things get interesting.

Abstract systems and event platforms often structure their data differently. For example, one system may store authors in a single comma separated field; while another stores each author as a distinct record linked via an author ID.

The integration layer handles this by mapping data, preserving its hierarchy – ensuring that Session → Paper → Author relationships remain intact.

This process ensures that imported data fits seamlessly into the event platform’s data model – ready for scheduling, publishing, and use by attendees, eg searches.

3 Automated session population

Once data is imported, the platform automatically generates or populates sessions within the agenda builder.

Each accepted paper can be placed into a pre-defined session based on its track or session ID.

If a new session ID is encountered, the platform can automatically create a new session container and assign it to the appropriate track.

Presentation durations, start times, and venues can then be refined using a drag-and-drop scheduler, enabling organisers to make final adjustments visually, rather than having to edit raw data.

For organisers handling multi-track programmes, this automation can save dozens of hours of manual setup time.

4 Synchronisation and version control

In the weeks leading up to a conference, programmes change frequently. Papers may be withdrawn, sessions rearranged, or presenter details updated.

An integrated system allows organisers to easily and safely re-sync data at any time. These updates are then reflected instantly in both the event website and attendee app, ensuring delegates always see the latest version

This eliminates the painful ‘last-minute update’ problem that plagues many conferences.

From data to experience: publishing and discovery

Once imported and verified, your data transforms into an interactive digital experience for conference delegates.

On the event website, attendees can browse sessions, read abstracts, and explore author information in an intuitive agenda layout.

Within the attendee app, users can:

• search by keyword, author, or institution
• filter by track, presentation type, or date
• build personalised itineraries and bookmark sessions
• view full abstracts offline

Each paper’s metadata becomes a rich discovery layer – turning what was once a static PDF programme into a searchable, dynamic content hub.

For hybrid or fully virtual events, the same framework can also link each session to a live stream or on-demand recording, maintaining consistent metadata across formats.

Case example: a multi-track scientific congress

Consider a three-day scientific congress featuring:

1,200 accepted abstracts
24 thematic tracks
9 parallel streams running simultaneously

Without integration, organisers would manually copy data from an abstract management system into a spreadsheet template, create sessions, and upload content to the website – a process easily requiring two to three weeks of concentrated effort.

But with an integration in place:

• the organiser connects the event platform to the abstract management tool via API and triggers an import
• tracks, streams and sessions are created in bulk – already populated with paper titles, abstracts, authors, session chairs, locations and session descriptions
• additional session information (session sponsors etc) is added in the platform’s agenda builder
• updates can be re-imported as necessary without undoing any enhancements added in the agenda builder

Result: the complete digital programme is ready in under 48 hours, with significantly fewer errors, and a live connection ensures updates remain accurate right up to the event launch.

Security, accuracy, and data governance

Given the academic context, data security and accuracy are critical. A professional-grade event platform must:

• provide role-based access control so only authorised users can trigger imports
• log all data transactions for audit purposes
• store imported content in compliance with GDPR and other data privacy regulations

In addition, integrations should never overwrite data blindly – every import or sync should include a confirmation and publication process, ensuring organisers remain in control of published content.

Why integration matters for the future of academic events

Scientific and scholarly meetings are evolving. Delegates expect real-time updates, searchable digital programmes, and seamless navigation between papers, presenters, and sessions. Meanwhile, organisers are expected to deliver increasingly sophisticated experiences on tighter timelines and budgets.

Integration between abstract management systems and event technology platforms is no longer a convenience – it’s an operational necessity. It:

• eliminates duplication and human error
• shortens the timeline between acceptance and publication
• improves data accuracy and author visibility
• enables richer attendee engagement through searchable, personalised content

By creating a direct data bridge from peer review through to publication, integration ensures the scientific record presented at your conference is both accurate and discoverable – and that your organising team spends less time wrangling spreadsheets, and more time curating meaningful experiences.

For PCOs and academic societies managing large-scale scientific or technical events, the difference between a smooth and a stressful programme build often comes down to one thing: data integration.

By connecting your abstract management tool directly to your event technology platform, you eliminate manual imports, reduce risk, and gain confidence that every author, paper, and session detail is exactly where it should be – across web, app, and print outputs alike.

In an era where information is the core of every academic event, the ability to automate, synchronise, and publish complex content accurately is more than just a technical advantage – it’s a professional one.