PeerJ Awards at the 3rd Palaeontological Virtual Congress

PeerJ are excited to announce that we are sponsoring two awards – Best Presentation and Best Poster – at the upcoming 3rd Palaeontological Virtual Congress in December.

We recently talked to organiser Humberto G. Ferrón who gave us an insight into the meeting

“The increasing use of virtual platforms to communicate science encouraged us to create the 1st Palaeontological Virtual Congress in 2018, followed by the second edition in May 2020. The first two editions were a success, so we are glad to present the third edition of the Palaeontological Virtual Congress in December this year. Our purpose is to spread worldwide the most recent scientific advances in palaeontology in a fast, easy and economical way.

Our initiative was pioneering in palaeontology, being the first exclusively virtually developed conference in our field. In these challenging times, online platforms have gained great relevance and are key to keep up the drive for science communication among peers and enthusiasts. This year we didn’t want to miss the opportunity of offering this platform so researchers can share their amazing research with the world, either by oral communications or slides presentations.

Even when online meetings are the norm, our main aim is still the same: to give international projection to the palaeontological research carried out by groups with limited economic resources, as well as to promote the participation of palaeontologists from developing countries around the world. And this is reflected in our low-cost registration fees.

What’s new?

In order to reach out as widely as possible to researchers with fewer resources, this year we have created a social fund for participants from low and lower-middle income countries listed as such on The World Bank’s list. Additionally, to increase the range and diversity of nationalities and areas of expertise, this year we are introducing “Ambassador” roles for those participants who wish to advertise the congress among their colleagues in their country and/or speciality.

We have also set up a Discord server with multiple text and voice channels so you can give and receive feedback to and from your peers. We all miss seeing each other as we used to in conventional meetings, here you will be able to develop your networking skills and talk to other people face to face even if it’s through a screen. We know that some of us might have developed a bit of ‘zoom fatigue’, but we believe that participants will enjoy engaging in fruitful conversations, a taste of what scientific meetings used to be.

To sum up…

The 3rd Palaeontological Virtual Congress combines the benefits of traditional meetings (i.e., providing a forum for discussion, including guest lectures, and the production of an abstract book, among other features) with the advantages of online platforms, which allow a wider reach around the world. We would love to have you here sharing your research, engaging in exciting discussions, and enjoying other peers’ works.”

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The PeerJ Awards program aims to support researchers by highlighting their work, as well as bringing continued awareness to the benefits that open access has in keeping science open and available to all. If you are organizing a conference or workshop and would like to offer a PeerJ Award at your event, please let us know – communities@peerj.com