Abstract Submission & Covid-19

Abstract Submission & Covid-19

UPDATE Thursday, 5 November 2020

LuWQ2021, abstract submission is possible from 9 November. We need your abstract.
Submitting an abstract is not a commitment to attend LuWQ2021.

Dear All,
including those of you who attended the four previous LuWQ-conferences.

We would like to encourage you to submit an abstract to the LuWQ2021 conference.

1… Abstract submission open FROM 9 November

The webpage Abstract Submission was activated on Monday 9 November 2020.

We encourage you to submit your abstract as soon as possible. The deadline for abstract submission is Monday 22 February 2021.

2… UNCERTAINTIES/HEALTH ISSUES POTENTIALLY HINDERING ATTENDANCE

We are fully aware of the Covid-19 related uncertainties in the period between now and the planned conference period 27-30 September 2021, for example:
(a).. would it be safe to travel to LuWQ2021?
(b).. would it be safe to stay in a hotel in Maastricht during LuWQ2021?
(c).. would it be safe to be around in conference rooms to present my work (oral, poster)?
(d).. would it be safe to take part in lunches and social events, like the conference dinner?
(e).. would my employer provide financial means for my travel to and stay at LuWQ2021?

Still, we would like to encourage you to submit an abstract.  We would like to point out that due to the Covid-19 related uncertainties the submission of an abstract does not entail for you any obligation to attend the conference in person. For that reason we also provide a time frame when we make follow-up decisions.

3… When do you have to decide to attend or to not attend

By submitting an abstract you only indicate that you are interested in presenting a paper at the LuWQ2021 conference. You only have to decide whether or not to attend the conference (a) after our decision on acceptance of your abstract for presentation (oral, poster) by 23 April 2021 and (b) before activation of the webpage Registration for Conference on 30 April 2021.

LuWQ2021, abstract submission is possible from 9 November. We need your abstract.
Submitting an abstract is not a commitment to attend LuWQ2021.

You are not entering into any obligation with the submission of an abstract. There is no charge for submitting an abstract. You decide later in spring 2021 (latest 30 April 2021) whether or not to attend LuWQ2021.

However, after the registration and fee payment, the usual cancellation conditions (yet to include in the website) will apply, implying cancellation costs for return of the registration fee.

4DECISION to CONTINUE LuWQ2021 or STOP LuWQ2021

Despite the already 4.5 months postponement – from 13-16 May 2021 to 27-30 September 2021 – it may become obvious that this postponement still does not allow to successfully hold LuWQ2021 in September 2021. As we have to take into account the latter possibility seriously, we prepared a plan how to proceed in case we have to postpone LuWQ2021 again.

According to the prevailing Covid-19 situation and travel restrictions on the one hand and the number of submitted abstracts on the other hand, we will decide before 30 April 2021 whether:

  • we can CONTINUE with the preparation of LuWQ2021 in the period 27-30 September 2021, or
  • we have to STOP LuWQ2021 preparations, and postpone LuWQ2021 to 2022 (probably September 2022).

Information about cancellation of the conference
If we have to decide to stop the preparation of LuWQ2021 (27-30 September 2021), we will inform you about this decision before Friday 30 April 2021. Please follow our website. We would like to reconfirm that cancelling and postponing the LuWQ2021 conference will not imply any consequences (e.g. financial commitments) for the abstract submitters.

Last but not least, if we have to stop the preparation of LuWQ2021, then the webpage Registration for Conference, planned to be activated on Friday 30 April 2021, will NOT be activated at all. Cancellation of LuWQ2021 before Friday 30 April 2021 – i.e. no possibility yet to pay the registration fee – is just the reason why the abstract submitters will not experience any difficulties (financial etc.).

5… SUBMIT ABSTRACT

Against this background, please submit your abstract as soon as possible, but at the latest Monday 22 February 2021. Please note that you can withdraw your abstract any time without any consequences.

We encourage everyone to submit an abstract. We hope, of course, that the LuWQ2021 conference can proceed without any problems. However, should it be necessary to reschedule the conference to 2022 (probably September 2022), then the number of abstracts we receive for LuWQ2021 will be a proxy for the interest we may expect for the 2022 LUWQ conference.

Organising Committee LuWQ2021
(Dico Fraters, Karel Kovar, Brian Kronvang, Frank Wendland, Esther Wattel)