An app for your conference: When does it add value?

An Event App is an app where participants can find the program, practical information, their personal session schedule, and their e-ticket all in one place, both before and during the event.

An annual conference with four rounds, six parallel sessions per round, and 300 participants, each following a different schedule. That’s exactly the type of event where a printed program booklet falls short: it becomes outdated as soon as a single speaker is canceled. Activo has been supporting conferences since 1997, including medical and scientific events.

Where a conference app makes a difference

With a full program offering plenty of choices. Each participant has their own schedule, which is listed in the Event App with e-ticket next to the room information and the time. They don't have to search through a booklet to remember which session they chose.

At the Amsterdam UMC conference, the participant experience was organized in this way, combined with an online poster platform and a hybrid broadcast via the Congres Online Platform.

When it's better to not use

For a compact knowledge day with a single room and a linear program, an e-ticket with a QR code plus a clear confirmation email is sufficient. An app that no one opens will cost you credibility with your participants.

So the decision isn't technical but programmatic: how much choice does your participant have, and how often do things change?

Changes during the conference day

A speaker drops out, a session is moved to a different room. With an app, you can send a push notification, and the participants involved will see the updated schedule. Without an app, you’re standing at the room door with a sheet of A4 paper and a marker.

The session selection itself comes from the event registration system, where participants select their sessions during registration, with capacity management and waitlists. At the VIP Conference, conference registration—including workshop selection and access control—was handled as a single process.

Abstracts, posters, and exhibitors

If your conference relies on submitted contributions, this is handled through the abstract-review-module; at LIMSC, it is used for the world’s largest biennial student conference. The medical conference platform brings together registration, abstracts, accreditation, and payment.

If you have exhibitors, they use the leadscanner to capture contact information by scanning attendees’ QR codes. At the entrance, the e-ticket is scanned, followed by badge issuance; see access control at event venues. Participant data is processed in compliance with the GDPR.

Frequently asked questions about congres-app