Asset 2 Conferences

FAQ

Registration

If you're interested in attending a conference please follow the next steps:

  1. Please go to the homepage and choose the conference you would like to attend
    1. On the specific conference page scroll down until you pass the images and you see the orange button which reads 'Register for this event'.
    2. This will scroll you down to the ticket selection, please select your ticket and press 'add to cart'
    3. The 'Overview tickets' screen will display the cost of your current purchase, you can choose to add tickets if you like, once you're done please click 'checkout' at the bottom
    4. You will then have to select if you're a 'VIB Collaborator' or a 'Visitor'.
      1. If you're a VIB Collaborator please log in with your SPOC account, you will be redirected to the ticket overview page and press 'checkout' at the bottom to continue. 
      2. If you're a Visitor and have an account please log in, you will be redirected to the ticket overview page and press 'checkout' at the bottom to continue. 
      3. If you do not yet have an account, please select 'Create a New Account'
        1. Once you’ve filled in the form, you will be sent a confirmation e-mail
        2. Click the link in this e-mail and you will be taken back to the account page; please click continue to go back to the ticket overview window and press 'checkout' at the bottom
    5. Please fill in the personal info of the person attending the conference and if you want to add a conference dinner to the shopping cart
      1. add coupon codes if you have received one
      2. click 'next' at the bottom
    6. You will be asked for some additional info: 
      1. how you heard about the meeting
      2. if you agree with the terms conditions & privacy policy
      3. click next
    7. Please check your customer info
      1. If incorrect, please edit it
      2. click next
    8. Please fill in the Billing info
      1. if you require an invoice, please check the mark and fill in the VAT number 
      2. add an external reference if needed
      3. press next
    9. Select your preferred payment method
      1. you will be redirected to the payment window; please fill in your card details and press continue
    10. Your registration is now complete


If you experience any problems during this process, please contact us at conferences@vib.be.

If you want to register for a VIB Conference, you will need a project code and job allocation. This will be used to process the payment for the meeting. Please ask either your group leader or administrative assistant for more information regarding these codes. 

  1. Choose 'Log in' in the top right corner
  2. Click 'Visitor' or 'VIB collaborator' depending on your profile
  3. Fill in your details and log in
  4. Click on 'My account' in the top right corner

The VAT rules in Belgium for events:

  1. The conference takes place in Belgium => Belgian VAT will be charged to each participant (21% on the registration price).
  2. The conference takes place online = there is no place marking:
    • Belgian participants: Belgian VAT will be charged (21%).
    • Foreign participants in Europe:
      • European people without VAT number pay Belgian VAT (21%).
      • For European people with VAT numbers, a reverse charge of VAT applies (no Belgian VAT).
        • they must pay VAT in the country where they are registered = there is a VAT shift – intra-community.
    • Foreign participants outside Europe:
      • People from outside the EU do not pay Belgian VAT.

The charging of VAT depends on the place where the conference takes place.

Yes! We would like to stay in touch with our former colleagues; therefore, VIB Alumni will receive a discount for attending a VIB Conference. 

Send us an e-mail at conferences@vib.be to receive your coupon. Make sure to mention the meeting you would like to visit and which lab you worked at during your time at VIB.

New account

Not receiving a confirmation e-mail is often linked to two causes:

  1. The e-mail got delivered to your spam folder; if that folder is empty or you didn’t receive it, please send an e-mail to conferences@vib.be, and we'll contact you as soon as possible.
    1. to prevent this in the future, please add team@vibconferences.be to your safe sender list. 
  2. The e-mail address you entered might be incorrect. As a result, the confirmation e-mail will bounce, and you will never receive it; if so please send an e-mail to conferences@vib.be, and we'll contact you as soon as possible.
  1. Choose 'Log in' in the top right corner
  2. Click 'Visitor'
  3. Click 'Forgot?'
  4. Enter your email address and press 'Submit'
  5. If you don't receive any mail from our platform, please check your spam folder
  1. Choose 'Log in' in the top right corner
  2. After you are logged in, click 'My account' in the same corner
  3. Choose 'Edit account
  4. When you see 'Edit User profile' click in the left top corner 'Services'.
  5. You can reset your password via the button 'Reset Password' (below your portrait picture).

Payment

A failed/ declined payment can occur due to different causes.

  • Credit card - declined reasons:
    • (insufficient funds)
    • (Suspected Fraud)
    • (Expired Card)
    • (3DS Authentication Failed / Card Authentication Failed)
      • 3D Secure - Since 2021 there have been extra security measures set up for credit card payments to prevent internet fraud. This is called the 3DS or 3D Secure feature. This means you will be prompted for a confirmation code, which you will receive via e-mail or phone. If the payment has failed and you did not receive a prompt for a confirmation code, make sure to try a different browser to solve this. Or empty your cache/cookies of your browser and try again. 
    • (3DS Authentication Failed / Transaction Not Permitted To Cardholder)
      • The solution is to contact your bank to activate the 3D security authentication on your card. In short, 3D Secure is a secure online payment system developed by Visa and MasterCard. This payment system offers maximum protection against online bank fraud. It requires you to verify your identity as the owner of your card and is only available for Visa and MasterCard accounts. You find more info on the respective Visa and MasterCard websites.

    • (Declined, Not Verified)

 

  • You should also be aware that some banks have certain suppliers on a blacklist. As a consequence, your bank does not allow you to pay the supplier. To prevent this, we advise you to get in contact with your bank and ask them to check if our domain is recognized as a trusted supplier.
  • Browser - The problem can be linked to the browser you use or even the browser version. Make sure to try another browser to see if that’s the case.
  • Firewall - If this doesn’t help, we suggest trying to do the registration on another computer in another place. Some firewall settings don’t allow people to make payments to unknown suppliers. In some companies, that is the case, and this blocks the user from finalizing a payment.


If these suggestions don’t make a difference, we suggest you send an e-mail to conferences@vib.be and we will look for a solution.

The registration fee includes:

  1. access to the conference sessions
  2. all conference materials
  3. reception (if there is one in the program)
  4. welcome coffee and coffee breaks 
  5. lunches

 

It does not include:

  1. conference dinners
  2. hotels costs
  3. travel costs

All participants automatically receive a payment confirmation after registering for a conference. If you need an invoice, please tick the corresponding box ‘I need an invoice’ during the registration process and add your VAT number.

You will receive the invoice after payment. When you select the payment method BankTransfer, you will receive a pro forma invoice after confirming the registration process. When the registration fee amount is paid, you will receive the final invoice. (This can take up to 4 or 5 days).

Invoices can be requested up to 2 weeks after an event. After this period, requests will no longer be answered.

In case you would like to register with a Purchase Order (PO), please follow these steps:

  1. Put the number of tickets & sub-products in your basket on the event page 
  2. Create an account if you don’t have one and log in.
  3. Complete the ticket info & follow the steps until you arrive at the billing section
  4. Click ‘I need an invoice’ and insert the billing address & VAT number of your institute or company. (Add your PO number or reference)
  5. Choose bank transfer as a payment option.
  6. Finish your order – you will receive a pro forma invoice that contains all necessary information to perform your payment (No official invoices in advance).
  7. Make sure you use the correct 16-digit payment reference when you transfer the registration fee. Never combine references (One order = one payment). Your order can contain multiple tickets and/or sub-products. (If you use an incorrect reference, the registration fee cannot be connected to your order and will be refunded, with no registration as a result). 
  8. Once the registration fee arrives in our bank account with the correct payment reference, your order will close, and you will receive the original invoice automatically. (this can take up to 4 or 5 days).

 

When you work for VIB, you can log in to the website at the top right corner, using the button VIB collaborator.

For VIB employees, we work with internal transfers, so after the check-out, you can choose your VIB center code to complete the order. Once you have received an email with your order confirmation, your payment is complete.

BankTransfer is not automatically wired from your bank account. You will need to manually pay the amount. Please follow the steps as follows:

  1. Start the registration process.
  2. In the payment segment:
    • Select the payment method ‘Bank Transfer’
  3. Follow the steps until finished
  4. You will receive a separate email from the system with the details to transfer the money for the registration via Bank Transfer. You can forward this email to your institute’s administration if needed.
  5. Please use the correct payment reference (16-digit code) stated in the email for your wire transfer. Otherwise, your order won’t be linked, and when the latter happens, the system will automatically transfer the money back to your account, and your order won’t be completed. Don’t use a name or order number, just the 16-digit code.
  6. When the payment is done, you will receive an email with your confirmation of registration and your final invoice.


As long as the amount is not received on our account, your registration is not complete, meaning you are not registered for the conference. From the moment we receive the amount, you will receive a confirmation of your inscription, and you will be added to the list of registrations.

Please keep in mind that the BankTransfer link will be open until 30 days after initialization. After that, it will expire, and you will have to start over. 

Travel grants

To apply for a grant, submit your motivation by clicking on the 'Apply here' button on the website of the conference of your choice. The organizing committee will notify you of your travel grant acceptance before the abstract submission deadline. No registration is needed before submitting a travel grant proposal. When you’re awarded a travel grant, you will receive a practical email containing the next steps. Note that being awarded a travel grant does not mean being registered for the conference.

The events that are part of the VIB Conference series will offer travel grants. For VIB Science events, this option might not be available, so make sure to check the conference website of your interest.

Yes, there are quite a few of them. We've tried to compile a list for you and will keep expanding this. If we're missing one that you know of, make sure to let us know. 


Make sure to also check your own research institute or university as there maybe options there as well. 

Cancellation policy

In case you want to cancel your registration, please send a request to conferences@vib.be 

  • All notifications received 2 months before the start of the event get refunded for 100% minus an administrative fee of 50 euros.
  • All notifications received between 1 and 2 months before the start of the event get refunded for 50% minus an administrative fee of 50 euros.
  • Cancellation requests received less than 1 month before the start of the event won’t be refunded.

VIB Conferences will follow the rules set up by the Belgian government.

If VIB needs to cancel a live event due to pandemic restrictions, you will have the chance to join the event virtually or get reimbursed for your ticket. Should VIB cancel the event entirely due to pandemic restrictions, you will get reimbursed.

You can read all the details regarding attending a VIB Conference here.

E-mail notifications

Once you are registered for one of our conferences, you will receive e-mail updates. In case you don’t receive any updates, this means the e-mails don’t find their way to your inbox. This can be caused by different factors:

  • Check your spam folder: It is possible you did receive your e-mails, but they got stuck in your spam folder. This means your e-mail client doesn’t see our conferences@vib.be account as thrust-worthy. 
  • Confirm our e-mail account in your e-mail clients’ white list: A white list is a record of the e-mail accounts that are valuable and thrust-worthy. To prevent problems in receiving e-mails, it is important to add our e-mail account to your client’s white list.

 

More info

  • Your organization’s server settings: In case our e-mails don’t get to you, it is plausible that they got blocked by your organization’s e-mail server firewall. To prevent this, you can ask your IT admin to check if the domain of your e-mail account is not on the server’s blacklist.     

Abstract information

  • Title: the length of the title should not exceed 15 words.
  • Authors & affiliations: Limit the number of authors as much as possible & don’t add addresses in the affiliations.
  • Abstract body text: The body text is limited to 1750 characters.
    • If you copy-paste your text, please make sure the text isn’t cut off when you submit your abstract.
    • If you use special symbols in your abstract, please use Unicode characters; otherwise, these characters will not be recognized.
    • please don’t use these characters in your body text ">" and "<" as they cause errors in the website platform.
  • Review of your abstract: The selected talks are chosen in the 1 or 2 weeks after the abstract deadline.

 

The format for your poster should be as follows:

  • A0 (841 x 1189 mm / 33.1 x 46.8 in)
  • Portrait orientation

How do you create a poster that attracts attention and says it all without making it look like an explosion of information? Here are a few tips to design a powerful poster.

Submitting an abstract does not guarantee a spot at the conference. A paid and confirmed registration ticket is needed. Spots at the conference are on a first-come, first-served basis. If you want to be sure of a spot when you have submitted an abstract, please register via the website at your earliest convenience.