Frequently Asked Questions
Proceedings
Will there be Conference Proceedings?
Yes, after the conference we collect the contributions as extended abstracts and will publish conference proceedings
Change – The transformative power of citizen science (pensoft.net)
How can I contribute?
The proceedings will be published via the Arpha-System of Pensoft.
First you need an account
Then you can submit according to the authors guidelines of Pensoft.
Please consider, the maximum length for the extended abstracts is 1500 words including titles, authors and citations. Please limit yourself to a maximum of 2 illustrations.
How is the quality management?
Your extended abstract is reviewed by other authors. That means by submitting an extended abstract you agree to review other proceeding contributions, too.
What are the publishing fees?
The costs for the publication of the first 44 extended abstracts in the order they are received will be covered by ECSA. This number is reached. Further abstracts can also be included in the proceedings at the discounted price of 60 € per extended abstract. The authors receive an invoice from Pensoft once the contributions are accepted which can be paid online (by card or PayPal) or via bank transfer.
What is the time line?
30.04.2024 – Submission (extended 5.5.204)
21.05.2024 – Review deadline
30.06.2024 – Final submission
5.10.2024 - Publication
Will the proceedings be open access?
YES!
And as Conference Paper they are indexed in various platforms (ARPHA Proceedings (pensoft.net))
Will the proceedings being printed?
No, the proceedings are available only online.
Whom can I ask for technical issues?
Boriana Ovcharova is the key contact with regard to technical issues (
Whom can I ask regarding the content?
We have a large editorial board, but you may start with Katrin Vohland as lead editor (
How can I receive my ticket?
Please check in at our welcome desk immediately upon your arrival at the event venue. Here, you will receive your name badge, which serves as your ticket, granting you access to the programme activities. Therefore, please keep your name badge with you at all times, including for the Citizen Science Day on Saturday 6 April.
Opening hours of the welcome desk:
April 2, 2024: 12:00-13:30 and 14:30-16:00 at Ilse-Wallentin-Haus (ILWA, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna)
April 3, 2024: 7:30-9:30 at Türkenwirt (TÜWI, Peter-Jordan-Straße 76, 1190 Vienna) and 9:30-17:00 at Schwackhöfer Haus (SCHW, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna)
April 4, 2024: 8:00-9:30 at Türkenwirt (TÜWI, Peter-Jordan-Straße 76, 1190 Vienna) and 9:30-17:00 at Schwackhöfer Haus (SCHW, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna)
April 5, 2024: 9:30-17:00 at Schwackhöfer Haus (SCHW, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna)
FAQs for remote participation
I have an accepted oral presentation. Can I present my presentation with a remote participation ticket?
Yes, if you register for a remote participation ticket, you will be able to present your presentation over Zoom to the on-site and online audience. You will also have the possibility to answer questions from both the on-site and online audience.
Can I participate in the workshops/short trainings/open formats or focus sessions with a remote ticket? Can workshops/short trainings/open formats or focus sessions be convened remotely?
Unfortunately, the remote ticket does not allow for participation or convening of the workshops/short trainings/open formats or focus sessions. Workshops/short trainings/open formats and focus sessions are an interactive format that need active participation from all people attending.
Can I participate remotely in the poster sessions or present my poster online?
Posters will be presented only on-site in the break area of the conference. This area has no technical equipment to allow remote participation.
I have registered for a remote participation ticket. When will I get the link to participate in the conference?
Personalised links for remote participation will be sent out in the week prior to the conference. Please note: the links are personalised and cannot be shared with other people.
General information
How much is the registration fee for ECSA 2024?
The registration fees can be found here.
What is the timeline of ECSA 2024?
- July2023: Call for proposals opens
- September 30, 2023: Submission deadline (without extension)
- December 1, 2023: Registration is open
- December 2023: Proposal notifications sent
- March 2024: Conference programme is online
- March 15, 2024: Registration closes*
- April 3, 2024: Opening of the conference
*You can register for the event until 15 March 2024. Please note that after 8 March, you will only be able to pay via credit card or PayPal. Payment via billing will no longer be available.
Is ECSA 2024 only for researchers?
No, ECSA 2024 does not require research training or affiliation with a research institution. Individuals of all ages and backgrounds who are interested are welcome to participate in the conference, including:
- People who (want to) carry out their own citizen science projects or do research on citizen science
- People working at the interface between science and society (e. g. schools, museums, libraries, adult education centres)
- People who conduct research themselves in their free time (alone or in groups) or who are already actively involved in citizen science projects
- People who want to learn about citizen science
Is single-day registration available?
No, you will need to register for the entire event.
What is included in the registration fee?
Access to all presentation formats, snacks, refreshments, and lunches during the first three days of the conference, as well as social events. Hotel and travel expenses are NOT included in the registration fee.
How is payment possible and what are the methods of payment?
Payment is made exclusively in advance via the online platform. We accept payment via bank transfer, credit card (Visa/Mastercard), and PayPal.
Please note the following deadlines:
Payment by bank transfer is possible until 8 March 2024.
Payment by credit card and PayPal is possible until 15 March 2024.
After that, registration is no longer possible. Registration opens on 1 December 2023.
Is it possible to pay the fee on-site?
No, all attendees have to register for the conference in advance. This allows us to plan accordingly for the appropriate number of attendees.
After completing the registration, will I receive an email confirmation?
Yes. If you do not receive your email confirmation within 24 hours, please check your email spam folder and then contact our team by mail:
How can I get an invoice for the conference registration(s)?
The invoice will be sent to the email you provide us at registration. Please also check your spam folder.
How can I cancel my registration?
Please contact our team at
If my proposal is accepted, do I have to pay the full registration fee?
Yes, all participants of ECSA 2024 have to register for the conference and pay the registration fee. This includes oral presenters, poster presenters, workshop and training facilitators, and session conveners. The registration fees only cover all organisational costs.
Do I need to sign up for individual sessions or workshops after I register for the conference?
No, you don't need to sign up for individual sessions.
Will I receive a fee if my contribution has been accepted?
No, there is no payment for conference speakers.
Will Wi-Fi access be available in the conference venues?
Yes, there is Wi-Fi coverage in all buildings, including coffee and lunch areas. You will receive the access data at the event venue.
Are there parking spaces on site?
Neither the BOKU nor the NHMW can provide parking. There are short-term parking zones in all districts of Vienna. This means that motor vehicles may only be parked in these zones for a restricted period of time, and vehicle holders are required to pay a parking fee. For more information see: https://www.wien.gv.at/english/transportation/parking/
A public barrier-free parking space is located in Dänenstraße at the cab stand next to the Oskar Simony House.
Information about the formats
My abstract was accepted. How do I need to prepare for the conference?
First: congratulations on getting your abstract accepted! We received significantly more abstract submissions than we had slots to fill, so we unfortunately had to decline many good abstracts in the review process.
Now that your abstract is accepted, there are a few steps you need to take:
- Read your acceptance mail carefully. The acceptance mail contains a lot of important information.
- Register for the conference. Registration is open until the 15th of March 2024; early bird fees are valid until the 22nd of January. Please do not forget to register for the conference at https://2024.ecsa.ngo/info/registration. A valid registration is mandatory for presenting at the conference.
- Prepare your contribution according to the following guidelines:
- General information: There is Wi-Fi coverage in all buildings, including coffee and lunch areas. You will receive the access data at the event venue. Austria uses two plug types, types C and F. The standard electrical supply is 230 V, 50 Hz. Around the venue there are public parks that you can use for outdoor sessions. Check out our gallery for more information on the outdoor spaces (https://converia.ecsa.ngo/frontend/index.php?page_id=31031).
- Oral presentation: The oral presentations take place in the lecture halls of the Wilhelm-Exner-Haus (EXNH, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna). An oral presentation is a short talk (with or without slides) given by one or two persons in one of the lecture halls. Each talk is 10 minutes long, followed by 5 minutes of discussion. The oral presentations will be located in lecture halls (appr. 200 persons) equipped with two blackboards, a laptop, a beamer (HDMI, USB-C) and a projection screen. Please prepare your presentation in PowerPoint or pdf and send it to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. until the 27th of March 2024. Please note that we are not allowed to connect USB sticks or external hard drives to the laptops in the lecture hall, so you will have to send the presentation by e-mail.
- Poster: A poster combines visual and written elements, printed in a DIN A0 portrait format. Posters must be brought to the conference in printed form. Printing on-site is not possible. There will be two poster sessions: poster session A is scheduled on the 3rd of April, and session B on the 4th of April. Each poster can be set up on the morning of the day the poster is scheduled to be presented during the poster session at the assigned location. Please note that your poster will be hung up with either adhesive strips or pins, which are available on site. During the poster session, the poster authors are expected to be at their poster and answer participants' questions. At the end of the poster session, the presenters must take down their posters themselves. All posters still hanging on Friday, 5th of April, will be disposed of.
Please note: We encourage poster presenters to upload their poster on Zenodo (https://zenodo.org/communities/ecsa2024) and share it with the ECSA community until March 27. Please make sure that all licences for all graphic elements (e.g. images, icons) used in your poster are correctly indicated and fit with the licences available in Zenodo.
We also offer all poster presenters to send us a 30 second video-pitch until March 1, 2024, that will be shared with all conference participants previous to the conference. Here you can find all the details about the format of the video as well as the form to upload it.
- Short training: Short trainings take place in the seminar rooms of the Illse-Wallentin-Haus (ILWA, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna). A short training is an interactive format where participants learn something new. The trainers use interactive methods to teach new methods or techniques to the participants. A combination of interactive and non-interactive methods is possible if the interactive methods prevail. The short training sessions will be located in seminar rooms (30-50 people capacity), equipped with a beamer (HDMI, VGA), a projection screen, as well as chairs and tables that can be set up freely by the trainers in the break before. Please bring your own laptop if you need one (for Apple users: please bring along adapters to connect your Apple device to the beamer), as well as any additional material that you need for your short training. Each training session will be 90 minutes long. Please note: If you plan to invite specific trainers to facilitate your short training, they, too, have to register for the conference and pay the registration fees.
- Workshop: The workshops take place in the seminar rooms of the Illse-Wallentin-Haus (ILWA, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna). A workshop is an interactive format where the participants will collaboratively (further) develop something new. The workshop conveners will use interactive methods to facilitate this development. A combination of interactive and non-interactive methods is possible if the interactive methods prevail. The workshops will be located in seminar rooms (30-50 people capacity), equipped with a beamer (HDMI, VGA), a projection screen, as well as chairs and tables that can be set up freely by the trainers themselves in the break before. Please bring your own laptop if you need one (for Apple users: please bring along adapters to connect your Apple device to the beamer), as well as any additional material that you need for your workshop. Each workshop will be 90 minutes long. Please note: If you plan to invite specific conveners or speakers to facilitate your workshop, they, too, have to register for the conference and pay the registration fees.
- Open format: Open formats take place in the seminar rooms of the Illse-Wallentin-Haus (ILWA, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna). The open format gives space for focused exploration of topics - surprise us with something new. The open format sessions will be located in seminar rooms (30-50 people capacity), equipped with a beamer (HDMI, VGA), a projection screen, as well as chairs and tables that can be set up freely by the conveners in the break before. Please bring your own laptop if you need one (for Apple users: please bring along adapters to connect your Apple device to the beamer), as well as any additional material that you need for your open format. Each open format session will be 90 minutes long.
- Focus session: The focus sessions take place in the seminar rooms of the Illse-Wallentin-Haus (ILWA, Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna). A focus session is a 4.5-hour format (divided by 2 breaks after 1.5 hours each) dedicated to one specific topic proposed by the focus session conveners. The focus sessions will be located in a seminar room (50 people capacity), equipped with a beamer (HDMI, VGA), a projection screen, as well as chairs and tables that can be set up freely by the conveners themselves in the break before. Please bring your own laptop if you need one (for Apple users: please bring along adapters to connect your Apple device to the beamer), as well as any additional material that you need for your focus session. Please note: If you plan to invite specific conveners or speakers to facilitate your focus session, they, too, have to register for the conference and pay the registration fees.
- Marketplace info booth: ECSA 2024 offers the possibility to be part of the Citizen Science Day to be held at the Natural History Museum Vienna on April 6, 2024, from 10 am (10:00) to 5 pm (17:00). Each project will be assigned to an info booth. The standard equipment consists of a table (140 x 70 cm), 2 chairs, and a pinboard (148 x 120 cm). Socket and Wi-Fi are available. Please bring your own laptop if you need one, as well as any additional material that you need for your info booth.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us via
Information about the marketplace info booth during the Citizen Science Day
Do I have a contact person on site?
Your contact persons are: Severin Bachmayer (+43 664 6216193) and Iris Ott (+43 664 6216108).
As a festival attendee, please direct any questions to the general info desk located in the lower dome hall of the museum.
What equipment will be provided to me on site?
The standard equipment of an 'action zone' consists of a table (140 x 70 cm), 2 chairs/stools, and a pinboard (148 x 120 cm). Sockets and Wi-Fi are also available.
When can I start preparing my info booth?
Info booths can be set up from 9 a.m. on April 6, 2024.
