Research sessions provide an opportunity for individual scientists to present recent findings of relevance to the conference themes. These sessions are 1.5 hours and will generally consist of five 15-minute presentations (12 minute talks + 3 minutes for Q&A) on related topics.

Session proposers should identify and confirm no more than three presenters in the proposal and ensure that, when abstract submission is open, these presenters submit their abstract. All abstract submissions are subject to review by the Science Committee.

The remaining slots will be allocated by the Science Committee based on submitted abstracts. Special consideration will be given to early career research contributions.

Ten minutes of each session should be reserved for a general introduction, synthesis or overall discussion led by the session chair or an invited stakeholder.

Based on the number of sessions and abstract submissions, some sessions may be requested to accommodate more than five talks with shorter time allotted to each presenter (i.e., “flash talk” sessions).

We encourage ideas for creative, innovative and experimental sessions during the conference lasting 1.5 to 2 hours. Innovative sessions are nontraditional conference sessions such as roundtable discussions with stakeholder participation (including policy-makers, non-governmental organizations, private sector representatives); panel presentations with opportunities for audience participation; World Café or other forms of open, interactive discussions; video, documentaries, photo, music and creative research communication formats; and games and crowdsourcing exercises.

The session proposal should include the scientific rationales for the session as well as a description of the proposed format.

Other formats are welcome - be creative and do not feel limited by these examples!

Poster sessions will take place daily throughout #OSM5. Submit an abstract for your proposed poster as per abstract guidelines. Specific guidelines on poster presentation and formats as well as schedules will be announced with the meeting program.

Short training and workshop sessions of 1.5 hours or more can be proposed to provide an educational opportunity on a specific topic such as a model, research approach and methods, or policy tool.

Half or all-day post-conference workshop proposals may be submitted to be held on Friday, November 8, 2024.