For all sessions, chairs are asked to do two key things. Firstly, the chair acts as the Master of Ceremonies for the session, ensuring everyone keeps to the allotted time. Please be very strict about timing so that everyone has an equal opportunity to present their work. Secondly, the Chair is an enabler of interaction and discussion – this is one of the most important aspects of a research conference, so please foster discussion actively. Specific details for different session types is outlined below:

Invited and short talks (Paper Presentations)

Your role is to manage the timing of the presentations and check all runs smoothly. Please introduce yourself to the presenters and encourage them to upload their presentations before the session begins. Remind them of the timing: each invited talk has 25 minutes; each short talk has 15 minutes including 5 minutes for questions.
You will be given three coloured cards with 5 minutes, 2 minutes and TIME’S UP written on them so that you can give the presenters a clear indication of the time left.

Poster Presentations

Your role is very important in making each poster sessions a vibrant opportunity for exchanging research. If presenters have not already done so, encourage them to put up their posters on the boards. There will be up to 28 presenters for the session I (Sunday) and up to 32 for the session II (Monday).
Each presenter has enough time to present their poster to the audience. Please allow one or two clarifying questions after that. When all posters have been presented, there is time for an in-depth discussion between presenters and the audience. This might be as a whole group but is more likely to be one to one conversations. As Chair, you will need to explain how the session runs as it may be unfamiliar to some delegates and then manage the timing.