Difference between scientific events

One question that may arise in the minds of scholars, students, and professors who want to submit papers for different scientific events, including a conference, seminar, gathering, workshop, symposium, is how these events differ from each other.

There are lots of different types of academic and scientific events that you might want to attend, such as conferences, seminars, workshops and symposiums. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks, and generally they have a different slant.

Conference

A conference is a formal meeting organized by members of an organization, group or people to discuss a topic that members have a common interest in. A conference is typically a consultative forum where participants give their opinion on the subject

Conference is a series of gatherings in a variety of fields, but often refer to congresses with a formal agenda for discussion, negotiation, consultation, or exchange of information, to find solutions, solve specific problems, and get guidance or making decision. Attendees in a conference are people with similar interests, education or training and seek answers to a specific question on the issues of their organization, community or board and group. The conference does not have a definite definition or limitation, but typically, in comparison with a congress, has smaller dimensions, shorter time, and more limited goals. Conferences usually include a variety of limited convention centers, including a “roundtable session”, a “panel”, a “public lecture” or a “group discussion” on a single topic.

Conferences tend to be the largest events vs. smaller workshops and seminars. They can number anywhere between fifty attendees to thousands of attendees, and the largest may host even more visitors than that. You’ll come across both national and international conferences – national conferences are typically attended primarily by people living within the country which is hosting the event, while international conferences can attract visitors from all over the world.

Seminar

Seminar is a type of conference for small group discussions; one or more of them are speakers and the rest are audience. It is a lecture or presentation delivered to an audience on a particular topic or set of topics that are educational in nature. It is usually held for groups of10-50 individuals. A seminar is frequently held at a hotel meeting space or within an office conference room.

This type of event may include group sessions of senior students led by a professor, participating in a serious research or study on a specific subject, or attending an advanced course. In this type of event, the results are expected.

Seminars are a great place to test out some new ideas or theories that you’ve been thinking about but aren’t 100% confident with yet.

A seminar is a formal academic forum that brings together a small group of participants who are taught about a specific subject. In a seminar, experts provide knowledge and training to the participants.

Congress

Congress is large formal meeting where people of a particular profession, culture, religion, or any particular group come together on a regularly scheduled basis to discuss and make decisions on a specific issue. This event has several prominent features:

Congress is a repeated event held for several days at specific intervals and includes a large number of participants and smaller meetings in the form of workshops, panels, conferences, etc.

Congress can be held in two public and non-public ways. Congress is generally a scientific or political assembly where the members of the congregation convene a meeting and may hold it in public or in private. The word congress is rooted in French, which means Persian, meaning a community of scholars, scholars, and scholars.

Workshop

Workshop is a gathering at that a gaggle of individuals interact in robust discussion and activity on a selected topic or subject.

Workshops are generally smaller than conferences, and are usually only a day or two long and are dedicated to discussing a specific topic. Although these events are held as part of a department, you will often find outside visitors who attend them too.

Workshops are meetings where the exchange of ideas, free discussion and presenting practical ways to apply a skill is ongoing. Workshops usually involve a limited number of people who deeply discuss a particular topic in order to familiarize themselves with the process of creativity and production such as a particular policy or solution. Workshops host a specific group and the program manager presents fewer lectures, and participants, in turn, have a serious stake in the topic. The workshop is more than just a knowledge transfer, and a place where experiences are shared and skills are developed.

The terms “workshop” and “seminar” are used interchangeably. While both are education focused events, workshops generally have more hands-on and group activities. Workshops are better for teaching skills that require interactivity and individual participation to learn.

Symposium

Symposium is a kind of conference where people with high expertise in a particular field come together to discuss a highly specialized topic and come up with new ideas and suggestions. The specific topic may include designating or formulating a specific program for future implementation or collective agreement. Each participant, while being a listener, also present lectures on the subject. The symposium, like a specialized journal, has a single subject. At the symposium, professionals try to share experience and insights with the latest developments in their field, so they usually focus on one aspect of their career. The symposium is similar to a seminar, with the majority of listeners being lecturers. All seminars and symposiums are conferences but not every conference is a seminar or symposium.

Convention

A convention is a large gathering of people with a shared interest (usually professional or fandom related). These events are often recurring, and are usually scheduled at a specific time each year. Conventions usually have keynote speakers, as well as presentations that familiarize attendees with advancements or trends within their particular field of interest.

This event is usually regarded as the beginning of an important program. For example, a national convention could be held to approve the Constitution. A convention usually refers to political events, such as large meetings of political parties, trade unions, presidential elections, and the like. International agreements are also called conventions.