Frequently asked questions

Who is eligible to participate?
Anyone who has obtained a degree (Bachelor's or Masters) less than 10 years ago (i.e. 1998 onwards).
The aim of our symposium is to bring together young researchers who are either currently working on their PhD, or have recently obtained their degree and are going to start their PhD in the future. Young postdoctoral researchers are also welcome. Preference will be given to applicants who have obtained their degree less than 4 years ago (i.e. 2004 onwards) and to applicants submitting abstracts for a poster or short talk.

Registration

How does the registration process work?
After applying online, your application will be reviewed by the symposium committee. After the registration deadline is closed, you will be notified if your application is accepted. You must then confirm your attendance and pay the registration fee.

1. In order to apply to the symposium, you must follow the Registration link and enter your personal details. Please indicate whether you want to present a poster and/or give a short talk or not; you can already submit an abstract. After submission of your application, you will be sent an automatic confirmation e-mail with your registration number. Record it, as it will be needed for subsequent registration steps.
2. After closure of the registration deadline, all applications will be reviewed by the symposium committee and evaluated. The application might be rejected, accepted, or put on the waiting list. In any case, the applicant will be notified by September 7th.
3. If accepted, you must confirm your attendance by September 17st, 2008 for the latest. In urgent cases, registration can be withdrawn without loss of the registration fee until September 29, 2008.
4. Upon confirmation of attendance, you will receive a link via e-mail for online payment of the registration fee (see reimbursement section). The fee must be paid before September 30, 2008. Due to technical reasons, your credit card will not be charged immediately.

How will I know if I have been accepted?
We will notify you by e-mail.

If I submit an abstract, do I have to present a poster/give a short talk?
Yes.
The aim of the symposium is to facilitate scientific communication between researchers. Posters and short talks are a great way to present your research.

Will I be selected to give a short talk?
Due to time limitations, only a limited number of participants will be selected to give short talks. We will select the speakers after closing the application deadline. We will notify you whether you have been selected shortly afterwards.

I registered but did not receive a confirmation e-mail. What should I do?
Please contact us. Chances are that there was a temporary problem with the website.

How are the 1500 characters of the abstract submission counted?
The application counts each entered character according to HTML conventions.
SPACE is counted as 1 character.
RETURN counts as four characters (RETURN in HTML is expressed as <br>).
Symbols might count for more than 1 character (e.g. "é" counts for 8 characters) . Try to use standard english characters if possible.

Reimbursement

The symposium has sponsorship from several sources. Therefore, most expenses, including travel (fixed maximal amount depending on distance), accommodation and meals for up to 150 participants can be partly covered. Travel expenses are refunded during or after the symposium. In case the registrant does not attend the symposium, neither the registration fee of €100 nor travel expenses will be reimbursed. In case there is money left after reimbursement of refundable travel expenses, the registration fee will be partly refunded for selected participants. Participants presenting a short talk or poster have a better chance of being selected for registration fee reimbursement.

When will I be reimbursed?
You will be reimbursed during or after the symposium.
We need you to hand in or send (by post) ALL your receipts during or immediately after the symposium. All receipts should be handed in together. We will transfer money to an account of your choice.

Are travel expenses reimbursed?
Yes, provided that you choose the cheapest method of transportation , and up to a fixed maximal amount depending on distance..
Thanks to a generous grant by Marie Curie Actions, we will be able to reimburse all travel expenses to all the accepted participants, provided that they choose the cheapest means of transportation (see below).

• Flight: we will be able to reimburse the cheapest flight and public transportation to and from the airport.
• Train: provided the cost is less than or equal to that of a flight, we will reimburse 2nd class train tickets plus public transportation to and from the train stations.
• Car: reimbursement is also possible for participants who wish to drive here, up to the cost of the cheapest equivalent public transportation.
• Taxis are not reimbursed.

What do you mean by "cheapest means of transportation"?
Shortly put, book your travel as if you were paying for it yourself.
Wherever you come from, we require that you book your travel AS SOON AS POSSIBLE after you have been accepted in order to keep the price down. If you book late and get a very expensive flight/train because of that, we will reimburse you only up to what the ticket would have cost had you booked at a reasonable time. Don't wait! For general advice about getting to Heidelberg and to EMBL, see Travel Information.
We do not reimburse taxis.

Will my travel be reimbursed if I stay in Heidelberg longer than the duration of the symposium?
Yes, subject to conditions.
We will reimburse your travel costs regardless of when you actually arrive in and leave from Heidelberg, provided that we do not incur costs that are higher than those of a trip lasting the duration of the symposium, i.e. arriving on the 22^nd and leaving on the 26^th. If your differently-timed travel arrangements are more expensive than they would be for the indicated time period, we would only reimburse you up to the cost of the latter.

Do I have to pay for accommodation?
No.
We will provide FREE accommodation in twin shared rooms to all participants on the nights of the 23^rd to the 26^th inclusive. If you wish to stay longer, you will have to book the extra nights and pay for them yourself. See the previous question about travel reimbursement.

Nevertheless, we encourage you to stay with friends in Heidelberg, if possible. This will greatly increase the chance for you (in particular) and all the other particicpants that we have funds left to reimburse the registration fee.

Will meals be provided?
Yes.
All meals will be provided free of charge either at EMBL or at the hotel from the morning of the 23^rd to the evening of the 25^th. Outside this time frame, meals will be paid by the participants. We will obviously not reimburse you if you decide to eat in a restaurant.

Schedule

When does the symposium start?
We have scheduled the first talks on the morning of October 23.

When does the symposium end?
The last talks will be in the late afternoon of October 25. However, the symposium itself will end with the party on the night of October 25.