{"id":416,"date":"2026-07-07T16:48:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/?page_id=416"},"modified":"2026-07-17T19:45:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:45:36","slug":"session-types","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/program\/session-types\/","title":{"rendered":"Session Types"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/span>Descriptions of our sessions<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A special note about deadlines<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Submission & Acceptance Notification Deadlines<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Each session has a specific due date in the afternoon at 5pm (Eastern Standard Time). Read the disclaimer about late or incomplete proposals at the top of each submission page.
Select the preceding link for deadlines or select from the following links to get more details about each session type.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Symposia (SYMP)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Symposia (SYMP)<\/strong> are the scientific centerpiece of the meeting. These sessions consist of 4 invited talks, each 20 minutes long. Together these talks provide an integrated synthesis of a topic with broad appeal. Each session ends with a 10-minute discussion period.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Inspire Sessions (INS)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Inspire Sessions (INS) <\/strong>are fast paced and engaging sessions that consist of 6-10 invited talks, each 5 minutes long and accompanied by slides that automatically advance. These sessions are meant to stimulate dialogue on the subjects presented. Each session ends with a discussion period once talks are completed, typically at least 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Workshops (WK)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Workshops (WK) <\/strong>offer participants an opportunity to learn new skills through interactive instruction and hands-on training in a short (typically 90 minute) format. Workshops are scheduled on weekdays throughout the week, including on Friday morning. No advance signup is required to attend workshops.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Special Sessions (SS)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Special Sessions (SS) <\/strong>are similar to workshops but are more flexible in their approach to a topic and tend to emphasize discussion in a short (typically 90 minute) format. A special session may include, for example, a panel discussion, open discussion, a series of informal talks, or a film screening. Special sessions can permit more extended dialogue than other session types. Special sessions are scheduled on weekdays throughout the week. No advance signup is required to attend special sessions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Short Courses (SC)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Short Courses (SC) <\/strong>offer participants an opportunity to learn new skills through interactive instruction and hands-on training in a long (3 or 6 hour) format. Short courses are scheduled on Sundays and Fridays as half-day (3 hours of instruction time) sessions and on Sunday as full-day (6 hours of instruction time) sessions. Short courses require advance registration and an additional fee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Contributed Oral Sessions (COS)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Contributed Oral Sessions (COS) <\/strong>consist of 6 individually submitted abstracts that have been sorted into thematic sessions based on topics ranked by each speaker during abstract submission. Each talk is 15 minutes long. These sessions do not include a discussion period.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Organized Oral Sessions (OOS)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Organized Oral Sessions (OOS) <\/strong>consist of 6 invited talks, each 15 minute long, that focus on a common theme. Compared to symposia, there is less emphasis on synthesis and breadth of appeal. These sessions do not include a discussion period.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Career Central Sessions (CC)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Career Central Sessions (CC) <\/strong>are 60-minute panels that take place in the Career Central area inside the Exhibit Hall. These sessions should help attendees learn how career pathways work in general and at various stages. An ideal session is highly interactive with a majority of the time spent in Q&A. Career Central is structured for smaller audiences (up to 50 attendees) and a small panel (1-5 panelists).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Contributed Poster Sessions (PS)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Contributed Poster Sessions (PS) <\/strong>consist of individually submitted abstracts that have been sorted into thematic sessions based on topics ranked by each speaker during abstract submission. Poster sessions are 90 minutes long to provide an opportunity for extended discussion. Light refreshments are available during poster sessions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Latebreaking Poster Sessions (LB)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Latebreaking Poster Sessions (LB) <\/strong>consist of individually submitted abstracts that have been sorted into thematic sessions based on topics ranked by each speaker during abstract submission. Poster sessions are 90 minutes long to provide an opportunity for extended discussion. Light refreshments are available during poster sessions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Project Proposed (PP)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Project Proposed Posters (PP)<\/strong> are an opportunity for those who are in the early stages of a project to present and receive constructive feedback from attendees at a formative stage of project development. These posters will be appropriate for presenters who do not have results ready to share at the time of abstract submission, including presenters who have not collected any data yet or are in the early stages of collecting data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Field Trips (FT)<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Field Trips (FT)<\/strong> offer participants an opportunity to explore ecological attractions local to the meeting city and region. Trips may last part of a day or an entire day. Field trips require advance registration and an additional fee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Social Events<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Social Events<\/strong> include mixers and business meetings for ESA\u2019s committees, sections, and chapters as well as social functions organized by other groups. Some social events may be held at outside venues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over 10 diverse session types ensure your findings are presented in the appropriate style. Below are those session types. We encourage you to explore them and decide what method is best for you to present. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":533,"parent":662,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-416","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":695,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/416\/revisions\/695"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/662"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/toronto2027\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}