Joining instructions and FAQs

Joining instructions

On the first morning you arrive at the conference (whether this is Wednesday, Thursday or Friday), you will need to go straight to the registration desk in the Europa Hotel, Great Victoria Street, to collect your name badge. Name badges will be required for entry to some of the conference venues, so it is essential that your wear your lanyard with the name badge attached at all times. This includes the conference reception at Titanic on Wednesday 18 June, as the staff there will not admit anyone without a name badge. The registration desk will be open from 8am to 6pm on Wednesday and 8.30am to 6pm on Thursday and Friday.

Should you wish to avoid the inevitable first morning queues, we are also offering a Tuesday night registration slot on Tuesday 17 June from 7.30-9.30pm at the Europa.

Timings and locations of all panels, roundtables and other sessions can be found in the conference programme. There will also be QR codes linking to the programme located near the registration desk.  If you have any questions, please ask the registration desk team or help desk. We will have several conference ambassadors located around the conference venues wearing light purple t-shirts who will be able to help.

Maps and rooms

This year’s conference is located across three venues – Europa hotel, Grand Central hotel and Assembly Buildings Conference Centre. These venues are within five minutes walk of each other. To help you find the right building and room please download the area map and list of rooms/locations below.

Accommodation and travel

All information about accommodation and travel can be found on our travel and accommodation page.

What else is there to do in Belfast? Where can I get my morning coffee? Which restaurants would you recommend?

Our conference team from Queen's University Belfast have put together a short Belfast guide covering all these questions and more.

FAQs

Where can I find the conference programme?

Click through to view the programme. You can also generate and save or print your own personalised schedule.

How long will it take to move between conference venues?

The three conference venues – Europa Hotel, Grand Central Hotel and Assembly Buildings Conference Centre - are located within five minutes walk from each other, however you should also leave time to find the correct room at the next venue if you are unfamiliar with the layout. There are downloadable maps/room information further up this page. 

There are a few events located outside of the main venues - for example the conference reception at Titanic Belfast. Should you have any questions about finding venues please go to the conference help desk at Europa.

I'm presenting or speaking at a panel, roundtable or other conference session, do I need to arrive early?

If you’re an active participant in a conference session, please try to arrive a minimum of 10 minutes before the advertised start time. This will allow you time to meet the other participants and the chair, and to ensure your equipment is working, such as any PowerPoint slides you wish to use.

Can I use PowerPoint slides, video, music etc?

Each room at the conference will be equipped with a screen, projector and HDMI cable. You will need your own laptop or similar, and we advise that you speak to fellow panellists beforehand to arrange using one laptop between you. There will be wifi throughout the venues, but for peace of mind, you may wish to bring any files or PowerPoint slides on a memory stick in case of disruption to the internet connection, since this cannot be guaranteed. This is particularly important for any videos as the bandwidth may not be good enough for streaming.

Please note that in most venues the facilities provided for connecting to laptops are limited to HDMI cables. If your laptop doesn’t have a HDMI port, or you are using a Mac, then you will either need to provide your own cable, or arrange to share with another panellist. The Assembly Buildings Conference Centre provides adapter cables.

If you wish to play music or a video you will be limited to your computer’s own speakers in most conference rooms, unless arranged in advance.

Will there be anyone who can help me if I have technical issues while presenting?

Speak to one of the volunteers in light purple t-shirts should you require help and they will direct you to the correct person. However, we recommend you set up and test your PowerPoint slides or other materials prior to your panel session to make sure they work.

Do the conference venues have wifi?

Yes, all conference venues have wifi. The details are as follows:

Europa Hotel – Delegates can connect to the hotel wifi without the need for a password.

Grand Central Hotel – Please connect to ‘Grand Central Public Wifi’. There is no password required to connect.

Assembly Buildings Conference Centre – Please connect to ‘BISA Belfast’. The password will be Belfast2025.

Is there an area where I can sit and work whilst I’m not attending panels?

Yes, in the Europa there will be several tables and chairs in the exhibition hall, as well as seating in the Piano Bar (first floor) and Lobby Bar (ground floor). The Causery (ground floor) may also be used outside of the hotel’s breakfast service and the conference lunch break.

Where will lunch be served?

Lunch will available at the Europa hotel at 12.15pm each day of the conference. There will be serving stations in the exhibition hall, the Library Bar and the Causery to keep wait times down.

Where can I network or meet people?

On the evening of Tuesday 17 June there will be a meet up for postgraduates and first-time conference attendees at The Sunflower pub (see conference programme). Delegates will be able to purchase drinks and pizza whilst meeting fellow delegates. 

There are scheduled refreshment and lunch breaks each day (see conference programme for times). The refreshment breaks will be in and around the exhibition hall at the Europa. The conference reception at Titanic Belfast on Wednesday evening is also a good place to meet other delegates. If you are part of a working group, they may be holding a meeting or AGM (see our featured events page for more details).

I want to see a particular speaker, how do I find out when/where are they speaking?

The easiest way to find a particular speaker is to find them on our speaker list which is alphabetical. Alternatively, you can go to the conference programme and use ‘Ctrl’ plus ‘f’ to open a search box where you can type a name or other keyword.

Is a prayer room available?

Yes, the ‘Conference Room’ located on the ground floor of the Assembly Buildings Conference Centre will have an area cordoned off for prayer on all three days of the conference.

Is a nursing area available?

Yes, the ‘Conference Room’ located on the ground floor of the Assembly Buildings Conference Centre will have an area cordoned off for nursing on all three days of the conference.

Is there a cloakroom, or somewhere I can leave bags, coats and other items during the conference?

There are coat rails with hangers available in the Assembly Buildings Conference Centre for your use. This area can also be used for luggage, however please note that it is un-manned. The Europa have un-manned coat rails but no luggage storage.

Alternatively, many hotels and B&Bs allow guests to store bags the day they check in or check out. There are also left luggage facilities at The Visit Belfast Welcome Centre, located opposite Belfast City Hall. Please note the closing times.

Conference roles

Please download our handy guide to conference roles, particularly if you are chairing a session.

Extra information for conference chairs

Extra information for conference chairs

If you’ve chaired panels and roundtables before, you’ll know that one of the key responsibilities of the chair is time management. It’s essential that all sessions finish on time at BISA 2025 to avoid disruption to the next block of panels and roundtables and to ensure there is sufficient time to travel between locations. Please download and read the guide to conference roles above before chairing your first session.

If you’ve not chaired a panel or roundtable previously, you may wish to find out more about the role. We recommend the following blog posts.

• European Society for Prevention Research (EUSPR) - How to chair a scientific conference session (and not look like a fool!)
• ECPR - The Role of Panel Chairs and Discussants
• Ten Simple Rules for Chairing a Scientific Session - PMC.

Should I get in touch with the speakers for the event I’m chairing in advance?

Please do! On a practical level, this allows for speaking time limits and order of appearance to be decided ahead of time, while also facilitating introductions before the conference, which helps panel participants when they prepare their presentations in advance.

Do I need to say anything specific to kick off the event?

Please let everyone know the title of the panel/roundtable so that people are sure they are in the correct room.

Withdrawal and refunds

I want to withdraw from the conference and have not registered/paid to attend. How can I do this?

If you can no longer attend the conference, please email conferences@bisa.ac.uk putting 'Withdraw' clearly in the subject of the email. We ask that you notify the conference programme chair as early as possible so we can make adjustments to the programme as necessary.

I want to withdraw from the conference but have already registered/paid to attend. Can I have a refund?

You will still need to let us know as per the previous question, however whether you are able to claim a refund is dependent on when you registered. Our policy, as stated at the point of sale, is that you may claim a full refund for 14 days following payment. Please email our office: office@bisa.ac.uk. After this period no refunds can be processed.