The 9th–13th of November saw our first-ever Virtual EU Connect. Over the 4 days we brought a series of live events to attendees, in addition to 150 pre-recorded on-demand presentations.
View the full EU Connect summary, written by Connect Chair Anne-Sophie Bekx, here and watch the EU Connect 2020 Summary Video to get a feel for the PHUSE spirit and the great work that took place at this year’s Connect.
We welcomed over 800 delegates from around the world to our virtual event, one of which was Angelo Tinazzi, Cytel, who shared his first-hand experiences as a virtual event attendee below:
The PHUSE EU Connect 2020 is the 13th EU Connect I have attended. It was really special, not only because for the first time we went virtual but because it was the most enjoyable conference I have ever joined, at least in this new millennium. Actually, it has not yet ended, given the fact I am still accessing the recorded material from workshops or sessions I was not able to participate in or on-demand presentations from the 16 Connect Streams. This is all thanks to the ON24 platform, its set-up and the support provided by the PHUSE Office.
I, of course, missed the “fun” part of the event: travelling, being away from my “numerous” family and seeing friends and Cytel colleagues from the USA, India and Europe. However, everything PHUSE put in place to overcome this lack made me forget about the “drawbacks” of being virtual.
All the social events were of great quality: the virtual toast on Sunday Night with a numerologist show (see here my personal cocktail recommendation: LinkedIn PHUSE EU Kick-off post) and the live band on Monday night, an event I shared with my entire family. (Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the quiz on Tuesday night.) I also can’t forget the virtual exercise challenge on Strava that kicked off my mornings during the week – PHUSE Strava Club.
With virtual conferences, compared to in-person, there is a risk attendees will not be able to stay focused and, because you are at your desk, you will be distracted (and disrupted!) by your daily work activities. However, this time, the set-up of the agenda and the split into four days made me feel as though I was not at my desk, and I literally devoured the entire “menu” including the appetiser keynote presentations.
Content-wise, the PHUSE Connect confirmed itself as the place to be if you want to continue your career development and stay up-to-date with technology development in our industry. Faster and better should continue to be the leitmotif in our industry, in particular during this delicate moment, with the entire world looking at us and waiting to see the solutions to this pandemic. Streamlining the data process is of vital importance to accelerate drug development –and all the PHUSE initiatives have this goal in mind (in particular, those in collaboration with CDISC).
In 15 or 20 years, when I am retired and hopefully able to remember what I did in 2020, if I’m asked about the PHUSE EU Connect 2020, I will for sure remember the presentation from Emma Moore (Roche). “Identifying and Overcoming Feelings and Impostor Syndrome” was one of the most useful presentations I’ve ever attended; a great source of learning from your behaviours and far more useful than anything on the same topic I’ve had to undergo at every company I’ve worked for.
I cannot wait to contribute to and attend the next PHUSE Connect event – wherever and in whatever format that will be.
–Angelo Tinazzi, Cytel
2021 Events
In case you missed the PHUSE State of the Union webcast, Stephen Bamford, PHUSE Founder and Chairman of the Board, announced all PHUSE 2021 events will be virtual – a decision that is the most prudent and safest for our community.
Data Transparency Winter Meeting: 19th-21st January 2021
US Connect: 14th–18th June 2021 – Call for Papers is OPEN! Closing 8th January.
Further details and 2021 event sponsorship information will be available shortly. Please contact events@phuse.global with any enquiries.
