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Terms and Conditions

I. GENERAL TERMS

The Romanian Student Society of Surgery (RSSS) is a Romanian-based and registered non-governmental organisation established in 2004, with the purpose of developing practical training methods for medical students. RSSS is the organiser of SURGICON 2023.

SURGICON is an international surgical-driven congress, where medical students and young practitioners around the world have the chance to discuss with world-renowned speakers about life as a surgeon, discover the depths of surgical fields, and get accustomed to surgical procedures through hands-on workshops, conferences, and the student scientific competition alongside with other types of events. SURGICON is the perfect hub for passionate future surgical residents to be guided, informed, and inspired by the most successful surgeons around the globe.

The official website of SURGICON 2023 is www.surgicon.ro. The owner of the official website is the RSSS (Romanian Student Society of Surgery). By accessing or using the official website, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by all the terms and conditions of this agreement (set out below), the Privacy Policy, and the Cancellations and Refunds Policy.

To participate in the congress, it is mandatory to register on the official website and to create a personal account. The accuracy of the provided data is the participant's responsibility. The data entered by the participant during the registration procedure will be used to generate the Certificate of Attendance, the personal congress badge, and any other printed or electronic material needed for the congress, as well as for contacting the participant. See more in our Privacy Policy. By registering to the congress, you give your consent for RSSS and its affiliates and/or subsidiaries to collect, process, and use your personal data for all of the purposes of your attendance at the congress (see also Privacy Policy). This agreement is made in and shall be governed and construed by Romanian laws.

The official language of the Congress is English. All the events will be held in English only, if not specifically stated otherwise. All communication with the participants will be made in English only, if not specifically stated otherwise. By accepting these Terms & Conditions, the participant fully assumes that he/she has a good understanding and command of English. SURGICON organisers are not liable for any problems, misunderstandings, losses, or damages that may appear due to participant’s lack of English skills, nor are they accountable for any problems, misunderstandings, losses, or damages that may occur due to the lecturers’ and/or trainers’ lack of English skills. SURGICON will not issue any refund in this situation.

Access to all the venues and events (scientific and social) of the congress can be made only with the congress badge (in physical or digital form). Should the participant fail to present a valid official congress badge (regardless of the reason), he/she will not be granted access to the respective venue and/or event (scientific or social). Refunds will not be given in this situation. In case of a lost or stolen official congress badge, the participant has to immediately send an e-mail to registrations@surgicon.ro.

Any verbal or physical abuse, antisocial behaviour, or unlawful conduct towards a member of the SURGICON staff, a trainer, a speaker, other participants, partners’ or sponsors' staff will result in immediate eviction from congress premises, a permanent ban from future SURGICON events, the cancellation of the participant’s website account and of any booking that he/she previously made. No refunds can be claimed in these situations. SURGICON 2023 organisers can and will collaborate with accredited authorities should such situations arise.

The Terms & Conditions may suffer partial changes at any time, which will be announced by e-mail to each registered participant. If the participant does not agree with the changes made to the Terms & Conditions, he/she can send a request in no more than 48 hours (from the time he/she received the email about the changes that were made) at registrations@surgicon.ro, demanding the termination of his/her registration at the congress. In this case, the participant will be entitled to a refund (minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period, and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations), only if he/she can objectively prove that the change negatively impacts his/her participation at the congress. Continued use of the website after the revision of the Terms & Conditions indicates that the participant has read, understood, and agreed to the revised Terms & Conditions.

Both passive participants and presenting authors are required to respect the deadlines shown on the official website. Any changes to the deadlines will be announced on our website, on our official social media pages, and by e-mail to the participants who have registered up to that moment. SURGICON 2023 organisers are entitled, at their discretion and without prior notice, to modify any deadlines, without being considered a change of the Terms & Conditions.

Romanian laws apply. To the extent allowed by law, Romania is the place of performance and jurisdiction for all claims. The organisers are only liable for claims arising from physical injuries or property damages due to the intent or gross negligence of the organisers. Any further claims are not considered. SURGICON 2023 organisers are striving to select only the best partners. However, the organisers are not liable for claims arising from physical injuries, disease, adverse reactions, or deaths caused by a third-party action (including but not restricted to demonstrations, serving of food and/or beverages, special activities, workshops, tours, presentations, etc.). This shall not affect further claims against third parties. The organiser is not liable for claims arising from physical injuries due to the venues of the congress. The organiser is not liable for the loss or theft of objects or motor vehicles brought along, except in cases of intent or grossly negligent causation. This shall not affect further claims against people and/or companies charged with the excursions/events related to the congress.

II. ELIGIBILITY OF REGISTRATION

You can register at SURGICON as:

1. The Active Participant

  • is the participant who is scheduled to have an Oral Presentation (during the Oral Presentation Competition), a Poster Presentation (during the Poster Presentation Competition), or a participant taking part in the Debate Competition within SURGICON congress;
  • can be a medical or biomedical student;
  • cannot be a graduate who is no longer enrolled in a medical/biomedical university;
  • is entitled to access the congress premises and to participate in all scientific and social events for the entire duration of the congress, as long as the access regulations are respected (see III. Events);
  • receives a Certificate of Attendance (digital/printed copy depending on the type of registration and selected extras of each participant) that acknowledges their participation at the Student Scientific Competition, as long as the required criteria are met.

Any participant planning to submit an abstract and/or that submits an abstract is considered to be an Active participant and has the same rights and obligations arising from these Terms & Conditions until we announce the list of accepted abstracts. His/her status can change if:

a) he/she chooses to switch his/her account to a Passive one by accessing the Extra section of their account and paying the price difference between the Active and Passive pack of his/her selected choice;

b) his/her abstract is not selected as an Oral, Poster, or Debate Presentation. He/she can still participate at the congress by paying the price difference between the Active and the corresponding purchased Passive pack before the general payment deadline mentioned on the official website (www.surgicon.ro) or he/she can ask for a full refund by contacting our team at treasurer@surgicon.ro (see Cancellations and Refunds Policy);

c) he/she fails to submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline stated on the official website - in this case, his/her account will be converted to a Passive participant account and he/she will be required to pay the price difference (according to the late period of registrations) between the Active and Passive pack in no more than 48 hours after the abstract submission deadline stated on the website. If the participant fails to do so, their account will become inactive and the fee is non-refundable.

To qualify as an Active participant it is necessary to:

  • register on the official SURGICON website (www.surgicon.ro);
  • pay the participation fees before the payment deadlines stated on the official website;
  • write and submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline (by accessing the “Submit your abstract” section from the personal SURGICON account);
  • have the abstract accepted either as an Oral, Poster Presentation or in the Debate Session, upon evaluation.

2. The Passive Participant:

  • can be a medical or biomedical student;
  • can be a resident physician or an attending physician;
  • can be a researcher in biomedical and biotechnology fields;
  • can be representatives of the medical industry;
  • can be members of the press;
  • is entitled to access the congress premises and to participate in all scientific and social events for the entire duration of the congress, as long as the access regulations are respected (see III. Events);
  • receives a Certificate of Attendance (digital/ printed copy depending on the type of registration and selected extras of each participant), as long as the required criteria are met.

To register as a passive participant it is necessary to:

  • register on the official SURGICON website (www.surgicon.com);
  • pay the participation fee for passive participants before the payment deadlines.

3. The maximum participant capacity for SURGICON 2023 will be set at 650. The organisers will have the right to end the registrations before the deadline if the limit has been reached. Furthermore, registrations may reopen at any time if available places remain after processing refunds. The pricing of the packs will be in accordance with the late fee structure.

III. EVENTS

The congress includes two types of events:

A. Scientific Events

SURGICON 2023 includes the following types of scientific events, all of them being held in an ON-SITE format:

  1. Conferences & Keynotes & Live in a Box;
  2. Panel Discussions;
  3. Scientific Competition: Oral Presentations, Poster Presentations and the Debate Competition;
  4. The Surgical Trivia Competition;
  5. Workshops;

To attend any of the scientific events, both active and passive participants must have a personal account on the official website and must have previously paid the participation fee before the payment deadlines as stated on the official website. The following attendance rules apply:

1. Conferences & Live in a Box & Keynotes – both presenting authors and passive participants are entitled to participate without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee), only after booking a seat from the personal account on the official website and after receiving the confirmation email. Please note that Keynotes are open-entry scientific events: participants might book a seat from their account to an unlimited number of keynotes regardless of their selected pack, but participation in any Keynote does not count as a Certificate of Attendance criterion.

2. Panel Discussions - both presenting authors and passive participants are entitled to participate without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee), only after booking a seat from the personal account on the official website and after receiving the confirmation email.

This event is a discussion between 3-5 surgeons specialised in the same field, but with different experiences. The purpose of the event is for each one of them to share their expertise and advice for students to showcase a multifaceted perspective on the same surgical field. The structure of the event will be presented by a moderator who will also ensure a balanced discussion and at the end will be addressing the questions from the participants. Each doctor will have a presentation of 20-25 minutes and at the end, 10-15 minutes will be reserved for questions and remarks between the panellists and from the audience. The duration of this event is 90-150 minutes.

3. Scientific Competition – both active and passive participants are entitled to participate without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee), only after booking a seat from the personal account on the official website and after receiving the acceptance email.

The Scientific Competition comprises of:

  • 2 Oral Presentation Competition sessions;
  • 1 Poster Presentation Competition session;
  • 1 Debate Competition;

Regarding the Scientific Competition and the Surgical Trivia, to receive the Certificate of Attendance, it is mandatory to participate either as a:

  • Presenting Author in the Oral Presentation Competition, Poster Presentation Competition, or the Debate Competition;
  • Passive Participant in the Oral Presentation Competition, Debate Competition, or the Surgical Trivia;

Additionally, the posters will be displayed in a separate section on our website. Please note that both presenting authors and passive participants must vote for their favourite poster on the website to receive the Certificate of Attendance.

4. The Surgical Trivia Competition - The Surgical Trivia is a brand-new scientific event aimed to enrich the surgical knowledge of the participants through various surgery-oriented questions, in a setting different from the conventional competitional one. Both presenting authors and passive participants are entitled to participate without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee), only after booking a seat from the personal account on the official website and after receiving the confirmation email. There are two positions from which the presenting authors and the passive participants can sign up for The Surgical Trivia experience:

  1. Viewer - both presenting authors and passive participants are entitled to participate as viewers without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee), only after booking a seat from the personal account on the official website and after receiving the confirmation email. Keep in mind that only for the Presenting Authors, the Surgical Trivia Competition is a free-entry scientific event and it does not count as a criterion for receiving the Certificate of Attendance, while the Passive Participants can participate either as Viewers in The Surgical Trivia Competition or Passive Participants in the Oral/Debate Competition to complete the CA criteria.
  2. Participant - both presenting authors and passive participants are entitled to sign up as participants in The Surgical Trivia Competition without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee), only after booking a seat from the personal account on the official website and after receiving the confirmation email. To participate in the Surgical Trivia, participants must sign-up on the official website in pairs of 2 members when the registrations will be opened for this event. There are 8 available places for this competition, which will be distributed according to the priority of the booking.

5.  Workshops – both active and passive participants can participate without paying any additional fee for the number of workshops included in their participation pack. Participating in a workshop is possible only after booking a seat from the personal account on the official website and after receiving the acceptance email. The maximum number of workshops that a participant can attend is three.

It is the participant’s responsibility to check for the starting hours and the location of the workshop and to make sure he/she can be present at the time and place indicated by the organisers within 30 minutes before the scheduled starting time of the workshop. Access to workshops is strictly prohibited after the workshop has started.

SURGICON 2023 has a “pay before you book any workshop” policy and all the participants must comply with the workshop booking procedure (see chapter IV).

B. Social Events

SURGICON 2023 may include, according to the epidemiological and socio-political context, the following types of social events:

  1. SURGICON 2023 Anniversary Celebration;
  2. Closing Ceremony;
  3. Other events (parties, city tours, escape rooms, murder mystery parties, scavenger hunts, pub crawling, game nights, personal development workshops, meditation, yoga, etc.)

Both passive participants and presenting authors are entitled to access to all the social events (if not specifically stated otherwise), based on prior registration. There may be events with a limited number of seats available. If this is the case, these events and the exact number of seats will be announced on the official website and the seats will be occupied according to the chronological order of the reservations, taking into account the limited number of seats available. After the reservation, participants will be asked to confirm their participation one day before the event. The organisers reserve their right to cancel or change the time of some social events on short notice due to the small number of participants or unforeseen or exceptional situations. Entrance conditions to social events are subject to change according to Romanian laws and regulations in place.

The SURGICON 2023 Anniversary Celebration is a social event where speakers, organisers, partners and a limited number of participants have the opportunity to network and socialise under an art themed environment. The participants who can attend the event are those who purchase Premium packs and those who extra-book the event from their account. The number of participants is to be decided taking into account Romanian laws and regulations in place.

Participation in social events is optional and is not included in the criteria that need to be met to receive the Certificate of Attendance.

IV. BOOKING PROCEDURE

Registered participants will be notified when it is time to book their events from the list of choices provided by the organisers of SURGICON 2023. The events will be presented on the official SURGICON website (www.surgicon.ro) with a short description, the date, time, and location for each event. The specific details will be available approximately three weeks before the beginning of the congress.

The scientific events included in the booking procedure are Conferences & Live in a Box & Keynotes, Panel Discussions, Scientific Competitions (Oral presentations, Debate competitions), The Surgical Trivia Competition, and workshops.

Workshops are grouped into 3 levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced. Students in the first year of study only have access to basic and intermediate workshops, due to the level of knowledge and practical skills required in advanced workshops, unless they previously participated in a basic surgical workshop (e.g: Knots and Sutures, Basic Skills in Surgery organised by RSSS). The participants will be required to fill in a column where they will confirm and specify their previous participation in such basic surgical workshops. The participants assume the responsibility for the veracity of the answer in the specified column. Based on the affirmative answer, 1st-year students can choose workshops belonging to all 3 categories: basic, intermediate, and advanced. Students in higher years of study (2nd to 6th) have access to all 3 levels without prior experience in any basic surgical workshops.

The booking procedure will last for 3 consecutive days. During the first day, the booking will be opened only for participants with Premium Packs, to book their events priorly. We mention that only 2 out of 3 workshops in the Premium pack have priority. During the second and third days, all participants will be able to book scientific events according to the packs they have chosen. At the end of the third day of booking, in a specific time slot which we will previously announce by email and on our social media platforms, all participants will be able to book one additional event from the remaining places available at each event, regardless of their purchased packs: Conferences, Live in a Box, Scientific Competitions, Panel Discussions, Workshops, and The Surgical Trivia Competition.

Please consider that Premium Packs include priority over the other packs, and not over the other participants with Premium.

The program will be announced on our official website and social media platforms at least three days before the Congress. The number of participants that can attend an event is limited and preestablished, therefore the distribution is based on the order of booking the preferred events.

Please pay attention not to book two events which take place at the same time. Please allow enough time between the booked events. It is in the participant’s responsibility to make sure that his/her scientific events do not overlap and that he/she can be on time for all the events (taking into consideration the time needed for transport between locations and that he/she must be present at the location 30 minutes before the start of the event). We do not take any liability for the participant’s failure to schedule his/her events properly and do not offer any refunds in this case.

Once the participant has booked a scientific event, he/she cannot change it. Should the participant fail to attend the booked events, the required criteria needed for the Certificate of Attendance will not be met.

In the unlikely possibility of schedule modifications (i.e. starting hour) for one of the already booked scientific events, thus overlapping with another SURGICON event and resulting in the participant no longer being able to attend the respective scientific event, organisers will contact the participant and give him/her the possibility of attending another available scientific event, excluding workshops. Regarding workshops, in the unlikely possibility of schedule modifications (i.e. starting hour) for one of the already booked workshops with more than 2 hours, thus overlapping with another SURGICON event and resulting in the participant no longer being able to attend the respective workshop, organisers will contact the participant and give him/her the possibility of attending another workshop to not overlap with the previously booked events of each participant. Should he/she not be interested in any other available workshops, the participant will be entitled to a partial refund, as stated in the Refund Policy (see chapter XI).

In the unlikely event of web server failure during the booking procedure, the organisers reserve the right to cancel the procedure and reschedule a new time for the scientific event booking process.

In case of forgetting to book the scientific events, the participants will be distributed in the places left available, taking into consideration not overlapping the events and the academic year of the participant. No refunds will be entitled if the participant is not interested in the scientific events he/she was distributed to in this situation.

It is the participant’s responsibility to check for the starting hours and the location of the scientific events and to make sure he/she can be present at the time and place indicated by the organisers within 30 minutes before the scheduled starting time of the event. Access is strictly prohibited after the event has started.

Please note that participation in any scientific event is considered an accomplished Certificate of Attendance criterion only if it exceeds 80% of the total duration of the respective event.

It is the participant’s responsibility to schedule his/her events properly according to their program and we do not take any liability for the participant’s failure to attend the priorly booked events. In this situation, we do not offer any refunds and we reserve the right to refuse any event exchange requested by the participant.

Please note that participation in the Keynotes does not count as an eligibility criterion for the Certificate of Attendance.

SURGICON 2023 has a “pay before you book any event” policy and all the participants must comply with the above scientific event booking procedure.

V. ABSTRACTS

To submit an abstract, the participant must comply with the already stated conditions (as mentioned in II. Eligibility of registration). First of all, one must register and create a personal account on the official website of SURGICON 2023. The author who submits the abstract must be the one who plans to present it and must send it before the Abstract Submission deadline as listed on our website. Any abstract received after the deadline will not be taken into consideration.

The abstracts will be submitted using the abstract submission form on the SURGICON 2023 website. Any personal data of people involved in the scientific process (co-authors, scientific coordinators, etc.), if collected, will be used by the organising committee and any third party involved in the organisation of SURGICON only to facilitate the events of the congress, according to our Privacy Policy. If the abstract is accepted, the names of the presenting author and co-authors will be listed in the congress abstract book and congress program in the exact form and order in which they were registered in the aforementioned form. The scientific coordinator of the study will be listed last in the congress abstract book and congress program.

The name of the presenting author (as it was entered by the participant in the registration form) will also be written on the Certificate of Attendance. The participants are responsible for entering the correct data in the abstract submission form. SURGICON is not responsible for any inaccuracies that may arise from the wrongful completion of the abstract submission form and will not issue another Certificate of Attendance in this case.

There can only be one presenting author for each submitted abstract. There can be only one scientific coordinator for each submitted abstract. Any other doctors, university and medical staff, and/or researchers that had any contribution to the abstract can be enlisted as co-authors. There is a limit of 4 co-authors for any submitted abstract.

A presenting author may submit a maximum number of two abstracts (one for the Oral/ Poster Competitions and one for the Debate Competition). A presenting author may deliver a maximum number of two Presentations as follows:

  • one Oral Presentation and one Debate Presentation;
  • one Poster Presentation and one Debate Presentation;
  • one Poster Presentation;
  • one Oral Presentation;
  • one Debate Presentation.

A presenting author CANNOT present two Poster Presentations/ two Oral Presentations/ Oral and Poster Presentations. There is no limit to the number of abstracts in which a person can be mentioned as a co-author.

Abstracts can be presented either in an Oral/Poster Competition or a Debate Competition. The presentation type should be selected during the submission process. The Scientific Department reserves the right to change the Oral Presentations to Poster Presentations, with prior notification of the presenting author according to the availability of the scientific program, taking into consideration the evaluation of the abstract, made by an external scientific committee (see Section V.3. Abstract Evaluation).

The abstract must be an original work of the author and co-authors (if they exist). It is strictly forbidden for two or more presenting authors and/or co-authors to submit the same or similar abstracts. In case the same/a similar abstract is submitted by different presenting authors or there is a reasonable suspicion of such a practice, the organiser reserves its right to reject the abstract/s after its investigation into the matter. In this case, no refund will be offered.

SURGICON 2023 organisers have the right to disqualify abstracts if they believe that the participants are not acting in conformity with the Terms & Conditions or if the participant is otherwise unfairly influencing the development of the competition. It is strictly forbidden for a member of the SURGICON 2023 Organising Committee, as well as any volunteers directly involved in the organisation of the Scientific Competition, to submit an abstract as a presenting author or to be a co-author or a scientific coordinator for a submitted abstract. It is strictly forbidden for a presenting author to submit an abstract that has a member of the aforementioned categories as a co-author or scientific coordinator. In all of the above mentioned situations the respective abstract will be disqualified and no refund of any previously paid fees will be offered.

V.1. Abstract Guidelines

Being a surgical congress, each scientific paper must be related to the surgical field, and be included in one of the 3 main scientific categories listed below. To submit a scientific paper, you should be registered as an active participant, send your abstract before the deadline, and wait for the accepted abstracts to be announced. Each abstract can be submitted once per category (Oral/Poster or Debate) and only by one author who will register as an active participant and will be the presenting author. If the registered presenting author will not be able to present during the Congress, one of his co-authors can present the paper, as long as he/she meets the eligibility criteria for active participation. It is not allowed for 2 or more participants to send the same abstract.

All accepted abstracts will be included in the Abstract Book. Scientific papers already presented during previous conferences or congresses will not be accepted. Each participant can send a maximum of 2 abstracts, one for the Debate Competition and the other one for the Oral/Poster Presentation Competition.

Types of studies that are considered eligible:

  • Original research/Cohort study/Clinical study
  • Review/Meta-analysis
  • Case report

ORIGINAL RESEARCH: it answers a wide variety of questions regarding the body's response to current or potential health problems. The purpose of this qualitative research is to describe, explore and explain the health phenomena studied. In this particular type of presentation, the introduction should explain the reason for performing this study. The Materials & Methods should present how the data about the population involved in the study (human or animal test) was obtained. In the results section, you should include the outcome and the conclusions should emphasise the particularity of this original study.

COHORT STUDY: it involves identifying a group that is already under a particular treatment or subject to certain factors, tracking them over time, and then comparing the results with those of a similar group that was not affected by the treatment or exposure during the study (control group).

CLINICAL STUDY: it is a collection of reports regarding the treatment of individual patients, thus a control group is not used, resulting in a study with little statistical availability.

REVIEW: it focuses on a clinical topic and answers a targeted question. An extensive search in the literature is directed at identifying articles that address the topic concerned. The studies are to be examined and evaluated based on their quality which includes or excludes them from the review, and the results summarised in accordance with the initial hypothesis. For a review to be eligible as a scientific paper in SURGICON 2023 you must provide the references that you used (at least 10 articles published in peer-reviewed journals included in the data).

META-ANALYSIS: it is a statistical analysis that mathematically combines the results of multiple valid scientific studies on the same subject and reports their findings with a higher statistical power. For a meta-analysis to be eligible as a scientific paper in SURGICON 2023 you must provide the raw data and proof of the statistical work behind your paper.

CASE REPORT: it is a descriptive study where the observation of one or more patients allows the discussion of some interesting aspects of pathogenesis, diagnosis, or treatment. The objective of the presentation is not to test a hypothesis, but to assert the qualities of clinical research and to provide some useful data to peers. It should describe a particular case that encourages further research on the matter discussed and should include a short introduction, patient data, symptoms and diagnosis (both presumptive and definitive), treatment plans (components, administration, results/prognosis), and a conclusion.

V.2. Abstract Structure

All abstracts must have up to 300 words (the only exception being the abstracts for the Debate Competition, which have a limit of 600 words) and respect one of the following structures:

CASE REPORT

  • Introduction:โ€ฏ this includes the purpose of the presentation and general data about the patient's pathology: informative data aiming at reminding the notions of embryology, anatomy, and physiology;
  • Case Presentation: case presentation, differential diagnosis, presumptive and definitive diagnosis, pathophysiology, treatment/ management, and the patient’s evolution;
  • Conclusion:โ€ฏ the conclusion should emphasise the learning points and particularities of the case;
  • Keywords;

ORIGINAL STUDY/COHORT STUDY/CLINICAL STUDY

  • Introduction:โ€ฏit should present the background of the work that has been carried out and should lead to a clearly stated hypothesis or set of objectives;
  • Materials & Methods: the researcher should specify exactly what was done experimentally and what experimental techniques were used;
  • Results:โ€ฏauthors should consider how to present their data. There should be sufficient information for the reader to understand the obtained results, but they should be summarised;
  • Limitations: in this section, you should present the eventual shortcomings of your study and how they can be improved in the future;
  • Conclusion:โ€ฏhas to be based on the presented facts and should be limited to minimal speculation about the significance of the work;
  • Keywords;

REVIEW/META-ANALYSIS

  • Introduction: a brief presentation of what is known about the subject under discussion and what is the primary aim of the review/meta-analysis;
  • Materials & Methods:
    • Review: you should specify information related to the sources you used, search terms, inclusion criteria for articles, the period from the oldest study to the most recent one, and other information related to data selection; present the assessment of the risk of bias for each included study.
    • Meta-analysis: you should specify information related to the sources you used, inclusion/ exclusion criteria for patients, distribution in subgroups, the period from the oldest study to the most recent one, variables taken into account, and how the raw data was processed and interpreted;
  • Results: include the number of articles analysed in the paper and the number of articles selected. Each of the ideas presented in the "Results" section must be consistent with those in "Materials and Methods". The actual real data collected from the articles that are linked to the conclusions are summarised here. Also, this section of the abstract should not contain tables or diagrams;
  • Conclusion: the conclusions have to be based on the presented facts and should be limited to minimal speculation about the significance of the work;
  • Keywords;
  • References (only for reviews): for a review to be eligible as a scientific paper in SURGICON 2023 Congress you must provide the references that you used (at least 10 articles published in peer-reviewed journals included in the data).

For the SCIENTIFIC DEBATE

The abstract should comprise no more than 600 words, describing the arguments and ideas you are going to present. In the abstract submission form, both teammates must be mentioned by their full name, e-mail, and in the order in which they will be presenting. In the abstract, you must present the technique you chose and the 2 arguments that will be the basis of your presentation. Your abstract must respect the following structure:

  • Introduction: A general presentation of the subject of debate and stating the 2 arguments of your team and the methods you used to research them;
  • Arguments 1 and 2: You must present each argument, outlining the most important points, and the details remaining to be discussed during your presentation;
  • Conclusion: A summary of the most important point in both arguments and your general view on the technique that you are trying to convey as a team;
  • Keywords;

The Abstract title must be written in English, with capital letters, without a limit as to the number of words or characters. The presenting author must be first in order within the abstract submission form and the scientific coordinator is mentioned last. The order in which the authors are listed in the abstract submission form will be exactly transferred in the congress abstract book and congress program.

The above rules will result in the rejection of the abstract irrespective of its scientific content. The presenting author is the only one responsible for the content of the abstract and must read and agree with the terms and conditions of this congress before submitting it. SURGICON 2023 organisers are not liable for any copyright infringement due to the presenting author’s fault. All penalties that may result are entirely the presenting author’s responsibility. Each abstract can only be submitted once.

V.3. Abstract Evaluation

Upon submitting an abstract, all authors will receive an appropriate confirmation email. The acceptance or rejection of the abstract will be announced on the official website and an email will be sent only to the presenting author. Therefore, it is his/her responsibility to announce the co-authors. The privacy policy applies.

The abstracts will be evaluated by a scientific committee, corresponding to each of the listed categories by using a blind review method. The evaluation will be made based on the registration number and the name of the authors will be revealed only after the completion of the evaluation. Upon evaluation, the submitted abstract may be considered:

  • Accepted:
    • As Oral Presentation
    • As Poster Presentation
    • As Debate Competition
  • Rejected

The decision will be communicated to each presenting author at the email address provided in the abstract submission form. We are not liable for any losses or damages that may occur for the presenting author and/or any co-authors in case the provided presenting author’s email is not correct or is not working. If accepted, the email will also inform about the form of delivery (Oral or Poster or Debate Presentation) for the submitted abstract, based upon the decision of the scientific committee, according to the results of the anonymous evaluation of the abstract. If a participant wants to get feedback for their abstract, according to the criteria on which the selection was made, he/she can send an email to scientific.surgicon@gmail.com and he/she will receive the points obtained on every criterion. Please note that a participant can only receive the results of the abstract they submitted in their account. SURGICON organisers will not accept any request made by the presenting author and/ or co-authors to change the form of delivery that was already decided by the scientific committee.

VI. ORAL, POSTER, AND DEBATE PRESENTATIONS

1) For Oral Presentations:

The oral presentation should be: clear, concise, coherent (following a logical line of presentation), non-redundant, and non-contradictory. Each session has a jury, consisting of acknowledged physicians in the specific field.

Rules:

  • Presenting time: 7 minutes with 3 minutes of questions and discussions; any extension beyond this time limit will result in a subtraction of points from the final score;
  • Compatibility: The presentation must be compatible with at least Microsoft PowerPoint 2007.
  • Template: All active participants are required to use the template given by the SURGICON Scientific Department via email.
  • Labelling: Images and graphs have to be clear, with labels explaining each item in the graph. Each image and graph will have a number and title, centred and placed below that figure.
  • Tables: If used they should have a centred title placed either above or below the table.
  • Personal data protection: It is widely accepted that the identity of the patient or the information that allows his/her identification should not be disclosed. The most frequent way to avoid disclosure of personal data is to cover the name, address, or distinctive characters with a black band or blur effect. For pictures showing the face of the patient, cover the eyes with a black band or use a blur effect.
  • The active participant will deliver the presentation during the scientific competition following the official schedule;
  • The active participant must be present at the site of the oral presentations competition at least 30 minutes before the start of the competition (as established in the congress program). Access will not be permitted after the start of the presentation competition;
  • The presenting author must speak freely and any written support except the actual presentation is forbidden;
  • The presenting author must deliver his/her Oral Presentation in English. No other language is accepted;
  • If one of the members of our evaluating committees is registered as a scientific coordinator, co-author, or presenting author of one of the accepted abstracts, the presenting author may still present his work at our Presentations, but will not enter the competition.

If the presenting author can no longer deliver the Oral Presentation, after its acceptance and after payment of the registration fee, there are the following options:

  1. he/she has the right to designate one of the co-authors for substitution to deliver the speech, but only if the respective co-author is already registered as a passive participant and meets the eligibility criteria for active participation. The presenting author has the obligation of announcing the congress organisers at least 48 hours before the established date and time of the Scientific Competition. He/she must also announce the name of the co-author who will deliver the presentation. The participant has the responsibility to manage the fee difference between the original presenting author and the designated co-author. SURGICON will not be responsible for remedying this situation. Failure to comply with the above rules will result in the rejection of the presentation.
  2. if the original presenting author still wants to attend the congress as a Passive participant (thus withdrawing only from the Scientific Competition), he/she has to announce the organisers by the 10th of October and he/she must  downgrade to the Passive Participant Pack, paying the fee difference between the original presenting author and the Late Passive Participant fee in maximum 48 hours after informing the organisers. No refund will be entitled if the participant fails to pay the fee in the specified interval.
  3. if he/she cannot attend the congress at all and informs the organisers by the 10th of October 2023, he/she will be entitled to a refund minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period, and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations. No refund will be entitled after the 10th of October 2023.

2) For Poster Presentations:

A poster is a document that can synthetically communicate the results of one’s scientific work. Participants should keep in mind that they have 5 minutes for presenting their posters, so it is recommended to make presentations as synthetic as possible.

To register for the Poster Presentation Section, the participant must:

1. Send his/her abstract and select the preference for the Poster Competition of the Scientific Competition (see Section V.1 Abstract Guideline).

2. After he/she receives an email that the abstract has been accepted for the Poster Competition, the participant must send the e-poster in .jpeg, .jpg, .pdf format to scientific.surgicon@gmail.com by the 21st of October 2023.

The posters will be displayed at the main scientific venue and in the designated section of our website for the entire duration of our congress. A scientific committee of physicians will evaluate the posters and decide on the three winners of the jury’s awards. The participants will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite poster on the official website, deciding the winner of the public award of this section. Please note that voting in the Poster Competition is mandatory for both the Active and the Passive Participants to receive the Certificate of Attendance.

Rules:

  • Presentation time: โ€ฏ5 minutes;
  • Labelling: images and graphs have to be clear, with labels explaining each item in the graph. Each image and graph will have a number and title, centred and placed under that figure;
  • Tables: if used they should have a centred title placed either above or below the table;
  • Personal data protection: it is widely accepted that the identity of the patient or the information that allows his/ her identification should not be disclosed. The most frequent way to avoid disclosure of personal data is to cover the name, address, or distinctive characters with a black band or blur effect. For pictures showing the face of the patient, cover the eyes with a black band or use a blur effect;
  • All posters must have one page only;

If a presenting author in the Poster section can no longer participate as an Active Participant, there are the following options:

  1. he/she has the right to designate one of the co-authors for substitution to deliver the speech, but only if the respective co-author is already registered as a passive participant and meets the eligibility criteria for active participation. The presenting author has the obligation of announcing the congress organisers at least 48 hours before the established date and time of the Poster Competition. He/she must also announce the name of the co-author who will deliver the presentation. The participant has the responsibility to manage the fee difference between the original presenting author and the designated co-author. SURGICON will not be responsible for remedying this situation. Failure to comply with the above rules will result in the rejection of the presentation.
  2. if the original presenting author still wants to attend the congress as a Passive participant (thus withdrawing only from the Poster Competition), he/she has to announce the organisers by the 10th of October and he/she must downgrade to the Passive Participant Pack, paying the fee difference between the original presenting author and the Late Passive Participant fee in maximum 48 hours after informing the organisers. No refund will be entitled if the participant fails to pay the fee in the specified interval.
  3. if he/she cannot attend the congress at all and informs the organisers by the 10th of October 2023, he/she will be entitled to a refund minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period, and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations. No refund will be entitled after the 10th of October 2023.

3) For Debate Competition:

We are hosting one scientific Debate Competition during our congress. This section presents the opportunity to compare two different techniques in terms of the advantages and disadvantages of surgical treatment.

There will be a moderator who will host the event and give the participants the right to speak. The moderator is also going to present a background story, an introduction, or a short description of what is going to be discussed to set the status quo.

There will be 4 active participants, grouped into 2 teams - each team presenting arguments for a different side.

They will take turns presenting their arguments (technique A – B – A – B). Each participant has 7 minutes to present their idea and 3 more minutes to answer questions from the public and the opposing team. After all the participants present their arguments, there will be a general round of questions that members from both teams will have to answer, regarding comparisons between the 2 presented techniques and particular situations in which one of them can prove to be more or less beneficial than the other.

In the end, one team will be selected as the winner by the jury and the public will vote for the best speaker who will be awarded a separate prize.

  • Presentation:โ€ฏ All active participants are required to have a PowerPoint presentation (Microsoft Office 2007 or newer versions) to enhance their speech or to better highlight their data;
  • Duration:โ€ฏ Each participant has 7 minutes for their speech; if the participant passes the allocated time with more than 30 seconds, the moderator will stop the presentation;
  • Questions:โ€ฏ All questions addressed by an active participant should be related to the medical data and should not be considered by any member of the jury or the moderator a direct attack on another active participant. If so, the organisers reserve the right to act accordingly and apply whatever penalizations they see fit;
  • Template: โ€ฏAll active participants in the Debate Competition are required to use the template given by the SURGICON Scientific Department via email.

For the Scientific Debate Competition, the participants are required to announce as soon as possible if they can not attend the event. In this case, there are the following options:

  • If only one of the members of the team can not attend, the other one can present both arguments or they can find a replacement but only if the respective is already registered as a passive participant and meets the eligibility criteria for active participation. The original presenting author has the responsibility to manage the fee difference between the original presenting author and the designated teammate. Additionally, the participant that cannot attend must downgrade his/her pack to a Passive Participant Pack, paying the difference fee between the Active Participant and the Late Passive Participant fee. If he/she cannot attend the congress at all, he/she must announce the organisers by the 10th of October 2023 and he/she will be entitled to a refund minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period, and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations. No refund will be entitled after the 10th of October 2023.
  • If none of the members can attend the event, they must inform the organisers by the 10th of October 2023 and they will be entitled to a refund minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period, and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations. No refund will be entitled after the 10th of October 2023.

VII. EVALUATION AND AWARDS

1) For Oral Presentations:

Each presentation will be evaluated during one of the Scientific Competition sessions by the same designated scientific committee. If one of the members of our evaluating committee is registered as a presenting author, scientific coordinator, or co-author of one of the accepted abstracts, the presenting author may still present his/her work at our Presentations, but will not enter the scientific competition. Each presentation will be evaluated based on a specific set of criteria which will be disclosed to the presenting author before the Scientific Competition. The final score will be the arithmetic mean of the scores given by each member of the scientific committee. In case of equal scores between participants, the committee will resolve the draw by taking into consideration the presentation skills criterion. The final rankings will be done according to the arithmetic mean following a descending order (from the highest to the lowest score). The final rankings including all oral presentations will be published on the official website and will be sent to the presenting authors by email after the Closing Ceremony.

2) For Poster Presentations

Each presentation will be evaluated during the Poster Competition held on-site by the members of the scientific committee. Each member of the audience (passive participants, presenting authors, medical specialists attending the respective poster presentation) can vote for his/her favourite poster presentations. The voting procedure and the scoring system will be announced no later than 2 weeks before the beginning of the congress on the official SURGICON website (www.surgicon.ro) and the official SURGICON social pages. The final rankings including all poster presentations will be published on the official website and will be sent to the presenting authors by e-mail after the Closing Ceremony.

Please note that not delivering the oral speech during the Poster Competition cancel the participation and the right to get voted by the jury and the public.

3) For the Debate Competition:

The winning team is going to be selected based on criteria that are going to be announced on the official website, by calculating the sum of all points of the two teammates.

In this section of the Scientific Competition, we encourage questions both from the public and the opposing team, to have a broad understanding of each team’s view and the use of the technique they chose to present.

The final rankings including all Debate Presentations will be published on the official website and will be sent to the presenting authors by email after the Closing Ceremony.

The prizes will be awarded as follows:

  • Oral Presentations – for both Oral Presentation sessions, there will be three scientific prizes awarded by the scientific committee: 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place. Accordingly, there will be a total of three scientific prizes awarded by our scientific committees.
  • Poster Presentations – there will be three prizes awarded by the scientific committee that is present at the time of the on-site Poster Presentation Competition, as well as one prize awarded by the public through voting.
  • Debate Competition - there will be three prizes, one for each member of the winning teams, awarded by the scientific moderator, as well as one prize awarded by the public through voting for the best speaker.

Awards for the winners of the Scientific Competition will be given only to presenting authors.

The awarding ceremony will take place on Sunday, if not specifically stated otherwise, in the official SURGICON 2023 final program.

4) For The Surgical Trivia

The Surgical Trivia comprises 4 teams and three trivia sessions: 2 semi-finals and one grand final. To enter the competition, the players must come up with a name for their teams that relates to surgery. On the day of the event, the Organising Committee will randomly select which teams will compete against one another. The winning team from each semi-final qualifies for the grand finale. One final winning team is going to be selected based on the score accumulated in the grand final. The score is calculated according to the number of right answers and the response speed for each team. The final rankings will be published on the official website and will be sent to the participants by email after the Closing Ceremony. There will be two prizes, one for each member of the winning team.

VIII. CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE

Certificates of Attendance will be available to download for both Passive and Active participants from their personal account on the official SURGICON 2023 website in no more than two weeks time after the end of the congress (provided that they comply with the below participation rules). Digital Certificates of Attendance bear the same legal validity as the printed versions. Digital Certificates of Attendance will be available to download for a maximum of 6 (six) months from the time the participant receives it. After this, no further access can be guaranteed by the organisers and no refunds will be issued for the failure of downloading the digital copy of the Certificate of Attendance. If a non-Premium physical participant requires a hardcopy of his/her Certificate of Attendance he/she can request one ONLY by paying a special fee stated on the official website.

The Certificate of Attendance hardcopy will be handed during the check-out procedure to the participants with Premium pack and to those who have paid the extra fee for the hardcopy. For participants from Bucharest who are unable to come to the check-out, the printed copy will be stored for 6 months and they must contact us at registrations@surgicon.ro in order to take possession of it. For national and international participants who cannot perform their check-out, the copies will be sent to the addresses provided by the participants upon registration (the address can be changed from the personal account on the official SURGICON website any time before the end of the congress). SURGICON 2023 cannot guarantee the timely delivery of the hardcopy. It is the responsibility of the participant (either passive or active) to make sure that he/she provides a full and accurate address. SURGICON organisers are not liable for the failure of delivery in case of an incorrect or incomplete address. If the Certificate of Attendance hardcopy fails to arrive at the paying participant (either passive or active) due to incorrect or incomplete address, due to postal services problems or if it was damaged during the transport, SURGICON organisers do not take any responsibility. For every request after this first delivery you will be charged additional fees. No refund of the hardcopy fee will be issued in this case.

The Certificates of Attendance will be awarded to all participants who met the required criteria, which are the following:

For Active Participants:

  1. A Bite of SURGICON Pack: attending their booked workshop and conference, the Scientific Competition to which they have been accepted, vote at the Poster Presentation;
  2. The Surgical Wonder Pack: attending 2 booked workshops, 1 conference of their choice, the Scientific Competition to which they have been accepted, 1 Live in a Box or Panel Discussion, vote at the Poster Presentation;
  3. The Premium Pack: attending 3 booked workshops, 1 conference of their choice, the Scientific Competition to which they have been accepted, 1 Live in a Box or Panel Discussion, vote at the Poster Presentation.

For Passive Participants:

  1. A Bite of SURGICON Pack: attending their booked workshop and conference, 1 of the Scientific Competition events (Oral Presentation/Debate Competition) or the Surgical Trivia Competition, vote at the Poster Presentation;
  2. The Surgical Wonder Pack: attending 2 booked workshops, 1 conference of their choice, 1 Live in a Box or Panel Discussion, 1 of the Scientific Competition events (Oral Presentation/Debate Competition) or the Surgical Trivia Competition, vote at the Poster Presentation;
  3. The Premium Pack: attending 3 booked workshops, 1 conference of their choice, 1 Live in a Box or Panel Discussion, 1 of the Scientific Competition events (Oral Presentation/Debate Competition) or the Surgical Trivia Competition, vote at the Poster Presentation.

Please note that to achieve the CA criteria, the participants must attend at least 80% of the time slot in which the scientific event is conducted. Participating in less than 80% of the time slot of each scientific event and workshop shall result in not receiving the CA.

Participants will have their badges scanned before attending their booked workshops and scientific events. It is within the participant’s responsibility to have his/her badge scanned before every event attended.

Failure to comply with all of the above rules results in not receiving the Certificate of Attendance. The same rules apply also for the Certificate of Attendance hardcopy.

No further claims will be considered and no refunds will be issued if the participant does not meet the participation criteria due to the badge not being scanned.

Due to the Romanian College of Physicians’ governing rules, all potential CME points (attributed to SURGICON 2023) will be received only by doctors (junior doctors or senior doctors) irrespective of their status (passive participant or presenting author) providing that they comply with the above rules. No CME points can be granted to students.

IX. FEES

There are three main fee categories:

A. Participation fees:

The edition of SURGICON 2023 includes only one category of participation, as the event takes place exclusively on-site. However, each participant who wishes to join the congress may choose to attend either as an Active participant or as a Passive participant according to his preferences. The on-site format means that every participant should go through check-in, receive a welcome bag and attend their booked events in a physical manner.

1. Active Participant: this fee will be paid by a participant who plans to submit an abstract and be a presenting author of a scientific paper (Oral or Poster Presentation) or a participant in the Debate Competition.

  • The participant who pays the Active participation fee takes the responsibility of submitting an abstract before the abstract submission deadline (stated on the official website).
  • In case the participant fails to submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline, his/her account will be converted to a Passive participant account and he/she will be required to pay the price difference between the originally purchased Active Pack and Late Passive pack until 10th of October. If the participant fails to do so, their account will become inactive and the fee is non-refundable.
  • If the participant abstract does not get accepted, he/she can either receive a full refund by contacting treasurer@surgicon.ro by the 10th of October, or become a Passive participant by paying the difference between  the originally presenting Author fee and the Late passive fee within 48 hours after the announcement of his/her change of packs.
  • There are three packs available for the Active Participant:
  • A BITE OF SURGICON PACK, which includes the following: 1 workshop, 1 conference, access to Surgical Trivia, access to all the Keynotes Lectures, access to the Opening Ceremony and Cocktail Party, access to launch and coffee breaks, access to the social programme, digital copy of the Certificate of Attendance, mini-welcome kit, abstract published in the Abstract Book.
  • The SURGICAL WONDER pack, which includes the following: 2 workshops, 2 conferences, access to Surgical Trivia, access to one booked Live-in-a-Box or Panel, access to all the Keynotes Lectures, access to the Opening Ceremony, access to the social programme, digital copy of the Certificate of Attendance, welcome kit, abstract published in the Abstract Book.
  • The PREMIUM Pack, which includes the following: 3 workshops, 2 conferences, priority to workshop and conference selection for 2 of the workshops and 1 of the conferences, access to Surgical Trivia, access to one booked Live-in-a-Box and one booked Panel, access to the Opening Ceremony, access to the social programme, access to SURGICON 2023 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, priority to social events with limited number of participants, extra items in the welcome kit, printed copy of the Certificate of Attendance, printed copy of the Journal of SURGICON, abstract published in the Abstract Book.

2. Passive participant: this fee will be paid by every participant that attends the congress but does not wish to engage actively in the Scientific Competition.

There are three packs available for the Passive Participant:

  • A BITE OF SURGICON pack, which includes the following: 1 workshop, 1 conference, one Scientific Competition (Debate Competition or Oral Presentation) or access to the  Surgical Trivia, free access to all the Keynotes Lectures, access to the Opening Ceremony and Cocktail Party, access to lunch and coffee breaks, access to the social programme, digital copy of the Certificate of Attendance, mini-welcome kit.
  • THE SURGICAL WONDER PACK , which includes the following: 2 workshops, 2 conferences, one Live in a Box or Panel Discussion, one Scientific Competition (Debate Competition or Oral Presentation) or access to the Surgical Trivia, free access to all the Keynotes Lectures, access to the Opening Ceremony and Cocktail Party, access to lunch and coffee breaks, access to the Social programme, digital copy of the Certificate of Attendance, welcome bag.
  • THE PREMIUM PACK, which includes the following: 3 workshops, 2 conferences, 1 Panel Discussion, 1 Live-in-a-Box, free access to all the Keynotes Lectures, one Scientific Competition (Debate Competition or Oral Presentation) or access to the Surgical Trivia, priority to workshop and conference selection for 2 of the workshops and 1 of the conferences, access to the Opening Ceremony and Cocktail Party, access to lunch and coffee breaks, access to the social programme, priority to social events with limited number of participants,  access to SURGICON 2023 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, extra items in the welcome kit, printed copy of the Certificate of Attendance, printed copy of the Journal of SURGICON.
  • The participant who pays the Active participation fee takes the responsibility of submitting an abstract before the abstract submission deadline (stated on the official website).
  • In case the participant fails to submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline his/her account will be converted to a Passive participant account and he/she will be required to pay the price difference between the Active and Passive pack until the 10th of October. If the participant fails to do so, their account will become inactive and the fee is non-refundable.
  • If the participant abstract does not get accepted, he/she can either receive a full refund by contacting treasurer@surgicon.ro by the 10th of October, or become a Passive participant by paying the difference between  the originally presenting Author fee and the Late passive fee within 48 hours after the announcement of his/her change of packs.

The fees for both the Passive and Active participation will change with each time period of registration. There is an early, a regular and a late period of registration and their deadlines are clearly stated on the SURGICON official website  (www.surgicon.ro):

  • early bird fee for participants* – this is the participation fee paid by a participant who registers before the early bird fee deadline;
  • regular fee – this is the participation fee paid by a participant who registers before the regular fee deadline;
  • late fee for participants – this is the participation fee paid by a participant who registers after the regular fee deadline and before the late fee (general payment) deadline.

*First-year medical students who wish to attend the congress as Passive Participants will receive a discount code that will allow them to register by paying the Early bird fee, disregarding the period in which they create their account.

B. Special fees include:

  1. Certificate of Attendance hardcopy fee – this is the fee paid by non-Premium participants in order to receive a hardcopy of the Certificate of Attendance. The digital copy of the Certificate of Attendance is free, being included in the participation fee. No refunds will be issued by the SURGICON 2023 organisers for the Certificate of Attendance hardcopy fee regardless of the reason and/or situation.
  2. Other fees – this refers to any other fees in connection with the congress (included, but not restricted to social events, parties, expositions, tours, services offered by third parties etc.). These fees are non-refundable except otherwise stated.

C. Pack switching fees

Conversion between packs, whether they are on-site, is possible only if the participant wishes to switch to a higher value pack. For example someone with basic packs (A Bite of SURGICON Pack or The Surgical Wonder Pack) may switch to Premium and someone with a Premium pack will be unable to switch. Participants are required to pay the price difference between their original pack fee and the pack fee they wish to change to, corresponding to the time of switching (i.e early/regular/late fee).

Discount codes

Participants may receive discount codes through our ambassador programme, if they are a first-year medical student, they are a part of any partnership & sponsorship agreement SURGICON makes or they are volunteers in the congress organisation. All discount codes are single-use.

1. Ambassadors

Participants that wish to take part in this programme will have to register using the contact form available on the SURGICON website. They will be provided with a unique referral code that must be used upon registration by the international students that the ambassador has prior convinced to participate at SURGICON 2023. The ambassadors will have until the deadline date stated on the website to gather as many international students as possible. Our team will verify the number of registrations using the referral code and, if everything is in order, the ambassador will be provided with the discount code.

For each international student that registers as a Participant with the referral code, the ambassador will receive a 25% discount. The discounts are cumulative and they may be used on any non-Premium available pack. If the Ambassador fails to convince any student to register using their code they can choose to register at the congress by paying the regular fee. If by the deadline the ambassador does not contact the SURGICON team, all data will be automatically collected and he/she will be contacted and provided with the voucher code.

If the participant that registered with the referral code is enrolled in a Romanian university (i.e. is not an international student), the ambassador that provided him/her with it will lose their status and will no longer be allowed to participate at the congress as an ambassador.

If the ambassador does not register as a participant at SURGICON, then he loses his status as an ambassador.

2. First-year medical students

First-year medical students who wish to attend the congress as passive participants will receive a discount code that will allow them to register by paying the Early Bird fee, disregarding the period in which they create their account. No refunds will be provided if they have already registered and paid the regular/late fee.

3. Volunteers

Volunteers of SURGICON will have free access to all of the Scientific Events (Conferences, Keynotes, Live-in-a-Box, Panels, Scientific Competition, Surgical Trivia) of the congress, without interfering with their duties at the congress.

The exact fees can be found on the official website, in the “Packs & Participation fees” section and within the “Payment” section of each personal account.

The payment must be made taking into account the deadlines stated on the official website. The fees paid after the deadline or incomplete payments will not be taken into account, will not be refunded and will not grant entrance to the congress. Co-authors that register at the congress will pay the same fees as passive participants according to the timeline listed under “Participation fees’’ on the official website.

The participation fees include, according to the selected pack:

  • Entrance to the booked scientific events during the official period of the congress. Events listed in Terms & Conditions above, coffee breaks, official congress bag with official congress materials, digital abstract book, digital Certificate of Attendance, entrance to all social events that do not have a special participation fee (as listed on the official website).

The participation fees do not include: participation in special social events that require payment of any tax (as stated on the website), transportation, any visa application related costs and accommodation.

In order to pay, all participants must register on the official website and follow the steps of the registration process (payment is completed after the third step of the process).

Payments can be made online only with a debit or credit card. There is no bank commission for the online payment on our website with a debit/credit card.

Confirmation of all payments and activation of the SURGICON 2023 account will happen immediately for all online payments.

SURGICON 2023 organisers do not take any responsibility for any delays in the payment processing, caused by events that are out of the sphere of responsibility of the RSSS (e.g. weekends, bank holidays, strikes, downtime of the banks or internet provider, downtime of the online payment provider).

SURGICON 2023 organisers are entitled, whenever they consider necessary and without prior notice, to change or alter any participation or special fee and/or any fee deadline. Any changes to the fees and/or fees deadlines will be announced on the official website and on the official social media pages of the congress and these changes do not affect the participants who already paid and received their payment confirmation, nor will they be considered changes to the current Terms & Conditions.

One of the main priorities considered by SURGICON 2023 is the safety of all transactions. As a result, any fraud, suspicion of fraud by stolen bank credentials, stolen credit or debit cards, stolen identity, fake bank accounts or any other unlawful attempt will result in the inactivation of the responsible accounts without any further explanation, the cancellation of any previously booked workshop or submitted abstract and the permanent ban of the respective individuals from any event organised by the Romanian Student Society of Surgery (RSSS). In this case, the Romanian authorities will be notified by the organisers and we will be forced to disclose at their request (according to Romanian law) any personal data they may need to solve the legal case. No participant suspected to have committed fraud is entitled to a refund.

All the online payments made with a debit/credit card are processed outside of our website, through the online payment solutions offered by the authorised payment provider – Netopia Sistem SRL. As a result the SURGICON 2023 organisers will not come into possession of any of the bank card data (i.e. card type, card number, expiration date, CVV2 etc.). Once on the payment provider platform, the provider’s own Terms & Conditions will apply and these may differ from ours. We do not take any responsibility for any losses (personal data, credit/debit card data, money etc.) caused by the authorised payment provider’s fault. No fees or other penalties can be claimed in this situation from us.

Netopia Sistem SRL guarantees the security of the IT systems. If the card has been issued by a bank certified in the 3D Secure System, the card owner will be asked to complete an additional verification step with the card issuer when paying. Typically, the customer is directed to an authentication page on their bank’s website, and they enter a password associated with the card or a code sent to their phone.

X. VISA

SURGICON 2023 organisers will do everything in their power to help the participants with the visa application.

The organisers will assist the participant with a visa invitation letter to support their visa application, only after the participant has registered and paid the congress fee. Once the payment has been confirmed, the participant can request a visa invitation letter by sending an email to visas@surgicon.ro with the data required by their authorities.

Please note that as per current legislation, holding a visa (in the case of third country nationals who require a visa to enter Romania) does not guarantee entrance to Romania. In order to be allowed entry into Romania, upon checks conducted at the border crossing points, you must be able to prove that you meet the proper entry conditions (e.g. to provide information as regards the amount of time you intend to spend in Romania and/or the purpose of your stay. In some cases, the result of such checks can result in a person not being allowed entrance into Romania. It is advisable that you carry on you copies of the documents submitted when applying for your visa - invitation letter, trip confirmation or other documents attesting to the purpose of your stay in Romania). (As cited on http://www.mae.ro/en/node/30320)

The travel document must be valid for the entire duration of your visit (it will not expire sooner than your intended date of departure). The validity shall extend at least 3 months after the intended date of departure from the territory of Romania and it shall have been issued within the previous 10 years. The valid travel document must be recognised by the state of Romania.

Visa invitation letter

  • When requesting a visa invitation letter, the participant consents to the processing of personal data regarding the visa application by the Secretary General of the current edition. The organiser reserves the right to disclose the participant’s data to the relevant authorities in order to process the visa invitation letter, should this be necessary.
  • Visa invitation letter requests are processed in 15 working days after the participant has submitted his/her request and has correctly provided all personal information - some exceptions may apply. The letter will be submitted to the participant via the email address provided at registration and, if requested, also to relevant authorities.
  • The organisers will issue visa invitation letters only for the period of the event and for entry into Romania. No other date and/or country requests will be supported.
  • Applying for a Romanian visa and visa issuance is beyond our control. We are not liable for visa costs, shipping, processing and/or issuance.
  • Should a participant require a hard copy of the visa invitation letter, any additional delivery cost has to be covered and arranged by the applicant. We cannot guarantee its proper delivery. In case the letter gets lost, we will send it again only once.
  • SURGICON 2023 organisers are not accountable for any mistake made in the completion of the visa request, nor for any damages and losses that may occur in this situation. SURGICON organisers will not answer to any claims that may arise due to this. Any additional cost to repair (regarding, but not limited to shipping another visa invitation letter, international calls etc.) will be the participant’s responsibility.
  • No visa invitation letter requests will be processed after the 1st of September 2023.
  • SURGICON 2023 organisers are not responsible for any costs resulting from the refusal of the visa application by the Romanian authorities (referring to, but not restricted to accommodation costs, visa application costs, travel costs, insurance costs, medical costs etc.). Should the visa application be refused, we will grant you a partial refund as stated in X. Refunds.

Providing any reasonable suspicion of a fraudulent attempt (referring to, but not limited to using a false identity, providing false personal details, paying with stolen or false debit/credit card etc.) to obtain a visa arises, the SURGICON 2023 organisers are entitled to refuse the visa invitation letter. Should we detect such attempts, the participant’s account will be closed and he/she will not be able to get any refund or participate at SURGICON 2023.

SURGICON organisers are entitled to modify or add at any time and without prior notice any visa Terms & Conditions for specific situations, countries and/or regions (regardless of the reason).

Should a participant refuse to provide the SURGICON 2023 organisers with the information requested in order to fully establish his/her identity and to provide the details needed to issue a visa invitation letter, the organisers are entitled to refuse the issue of the visa invitation letter. In this situation, no refund of any previously paid fee will be given.

If after receiving the Romanian visa, a participant decides to cancel his/her participation to SURGICON 2023, the Romanian authorities will be immediately informed, the visa may be withdrawn and/or they may be forced to leave Romania by the relevant Romanian authorities. SURGICON 2023 is not responsible for any claims and/or costs arising from this situation.

XI. REFUND POLICY

We are reserving our rights to refunds that are only stated in the “Refund Policy” section. Any other claims for a refund will not be accepted.

Claims for a refund that comply with the refunds rules will be made through an email at treasurer@surgicon.ro, along with the full name of the participant and the bank account details in which the fee will be transferred. Refunds will be made by online bank transfer only, and no other forms of refunding will be allowed (cash, for example). We must mention that in the case of several specific countries (Kosovo, Eswatini, South Sudan etc.), a bank transfer from Romania to an account established in any of the aforementioned countries is not possible, therefore we can consider transfers through online banking platforms such as Revolut.

We will accept refund requests that are made online before the congress. No refund requests can be received during the congress days, except for a cancellation of a specific event due to the organisers’ liability.

After the refund is completed, the participant will lose the possibility to participate at SURGICON 2023 and will not be able to attend any of its events.

Refund conditions

1. If a participant registers as a Passive participant and decides to submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline, he/she can upgrade his/her account to an Active account and will be entitled to a refund of the difference between a passive fee and the presenting author, only in the situation in which his/her abstract is accepted for the Scientific Competition. If his/her abstract is not accepted, he/she can keep the Passive pack.

2. If a participant registers as an Active participant, submits an abstract within the deadline, but is not accepted as a Presenting Author, he/she can either receive a full refund by contacting treasurer@surgicon.ro by the 10th of October, or become a Passive participant by paying the difference between  the originally presenting Author fee and the Late passive fee within 48 hours after the announcement of his/her change of packs. No refunds will be allowed if the participant who submitted an abstract that did not get accepted in the Scientific Competition did not request a refund and failed to pay the additional fee for the Passive participation before the announced deadlines.

3. If a presenting author in the Oral Presentation section can no longer deliver his/her presentation after its acceptance, he/she can designate one of the co-authors to substitute him as a presenting author. The fee differences between the presenting author and the co-author (who must also be registered as a Passive participant) will be the responsibility of the two involved participants. With regard to the changes in registration fees in this case, there are 2 main possibilities:

  • There are the following options:
    • if the original presenting author still wants to attend the congress as a Passive participant (thus withdrawing only from the Scientific Competition), he/she has to announce the organisers by the 10th of October and he/she must downgrade to Passive Participant Pack, paying the fee difference between the original presenting author and the Late Passive Participant fee in maximum 48 hours after informing the organisers. No refund will be entitled if the participant fails to pay the fee in the specified interval.
    • If he/she cannot attend the congress at all and informs the organisers by the 10th of October 2023, he/she will be entitled to a refund minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period, and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations. No refund will be entitled after the 10th of October 2023.

4. If a presenting author in the Poster section can no longer deliver his/her presentation after its acceptance, he/she can designate one of the co-authors to substitute him as a presenting author. The fee differences between the presenting author and the co-author (who must also be registered as a Passive participant) will be a responsibility of the two involved participants. With regard to the changes in registration fees in this case, there are 2 main possibilities:

  • if the original presenting author still wants to attend the congress as a Passive participant (thus withdrawing only from the Scientific Competition), he/she has to announce the organisers by the 10th of October and he/she must downgrade to the Passive Participant Pack, paying the fee difference between the original presenting author and the Late Passive Participant fee in maximum 48 hours after informing the organisers. No refund will be entitled if the participant fails to pay the fee in the specified interval;
  • If the participant cannot attend the congress at all and informs the organisers by the 10th of October 2023, he/she will be entitled to a refund minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period, and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations. No refund will be entitled after the 10th of October 2023.

5. If a presenting author in the Debate section can no longer deliver his/her presentation after its acceptance, the participants are required to announce as soon as possible if they can not attend the event.

 There are 2 main possibilities:

  • If only one of the members of the team can not attend, the other one can present both arguments or they can find a replacement but only if the respective is already registered as a passive participant and meets the eligibility criteria for active participation. The original presenting author has the responsibility to manage the fee difference between the original presenting author and the designated teammate. Additionally, the participant that cannot attend must downgrade his/her pack to a Passive Participant Pack, paying the difference fee between the Active Participant and the Late Passive Participant fee. If he/she cannot attend the congress at all, he/she must announce the organisers by the 10th of October 2023 and he/she will be entitled to a refund minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period, and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations. No refund will be entitled after the 10th of October 2023.
  • If none of the members can attend the event, they must inform the organisers by the 10th of October 2023 and they will be entitled to a refund minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period, and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations. No refund will be entitled after the 10th of October 2023.

6. If a participant cannot attend SURGICON 2023 due to family or medical reasons overlapping the event, he/she can be entitled to a refund only if a request is made before the 10th of October. In this case, a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations will be deducted from the registration fee.

7. All the events and activities related to SURGICON 2023 will be organised according to in-place laws and regulations at the time of the congress. In case of a change in laws and regulations that may affect participation, all registered participants will be notified via email and those unable to participate in the respective conditions may ask for a refund in the first 48 hours after receiving the email by sending an email to treasurer@surgicon.ro

8. If a participant is confronting a positive test for a communicable disease a week before SURGICON 2023, he/she is entitled to receive a voucher for the amount paid which can be used for the next edition of SURGICON by sending an email at registrations@surgicon.ro;

9. If a participant books an event that:

  • cancels due to a situation that implies the SURGICON 2023 organisers;
  • has a change in location or time and overlaps another booked SURGICON event (due to the aforementioned changes)

If the participant is no longer able to attend the respective workshop, organisers will contact the participant and give him/her the possibility of attending another workshop to not overlap with the previously booked events of each participant. If the organisers cannot find a suitable alternative of workshops, the participant will be entitled to a partial refund (20 euros). If the participant booked two events that overlapped (the programme is available before the booking procedure),  the organising team will help with the changing process of the events, but we do not take the responsibility to give a refund in this case.

10. Should the visa application be refused, we will grant you a refund, minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations.

11. In case the event cannot be organised or is subject to change as a whole due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of the RSSS (e.g. natural catastrophe, state of emergency or alert, war, nuclear, chemical or biological war, venue closing without the possibility to move to another venue, interdictions by national/local authorities or force majeure etc.), students who are in their final year of study would be entitled to a full refund minus a handling fee of 5 euros (for full details, see XIII. Event Cancellation and Force Majeure).

12. If the participant does not agree with the changes made to the Terms & Conditions, he/she can send a request in no more than 48 hours (from the time he/she received the email about the changes that were made) at registrations@surgicon.ro, demanding the termination of his/her registration at the congress. In this case the participant will be entitled to a refund minus a handling fee of 20 euros in the Early Bird period, 25 euros in the Regular period and 30 euros in the Late period of registrations, only if he/she can objectively prove that the change negatively impacts his/her participation at the congress.

13. NO refunds will be allowed for:

  • any claims arising from delayed confirmation of payment and activation of personal account due to reasons that involve a third party (downtime of payment provider, downtime of the official website, cyber attacks etc.);
  • any server issues that arise during the booking procedure;
  • failing to pay the price difference between the Active and Passive pack within the official deadlines stated on the website, should the participant fail to submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline;
  • submitting the same/a similar abstract by different presenting authors or there is a reasonable suspicion of such a practice;
  • a member of the SURGICON 2023 Board and the Department Coordinators will not be accepted as active parts in the Scientific Competition that submit an abstract as a presenting author nor will be quoted as a co-author or a scientific coordinator for a submitted abstract;
  • any malfunctioning of the presentation as a result of the failure to check the presentation with a scientific volunteer before the oral presentation session;
  • participants who pay the registration fee after the official deadlines/ pay the Early/Regular fee during the Regular/Late period, respectively;
  • failure of downloading the digital copy of CA within the first 4 weeks after the congress;
  • failure of retrieving the hardcopy of the certificate of attendance (that was priorly paid for); for national and international participants who cannot perform their check-out, the copies will be sent to the addresses provided by the participants upon registration (SURGICON is not responsible for the payment of the shipping fee, that will be paid by the participant upon arrival). SURGICON 2023 cannot guarantee the timely delivery of the hardcopy and will not offer refunds in case of mishandling the delivery by third-parties (postal providers). Please check VIII. Certificate of Attendance for more information;
  • participants who pay for the hard copy of the certificate of attendance and do not wish to receive it anymore;
  • failure of booking Workshops in the official period of time dedicated to booking procedures for any reasons outside the sphere of responsibility of the organisers;
  • failure of personal scheduling of workshops in a manner in which they do not overlap with other activities/workshops and prevents them from meeting the criteria for obtaining a certificate of attendance;
  • not receiving a Certificate of Attendance due to mandatory criteria not being met (see VII. Certificate of Attendance);
  • participants who apply for a visa under reasonable surmise (by the authorities and the organising team) of attempting to receive an entry visa in the country with other purposes than strictly participating in the event;
  • any request of a visa invitation letter after the official deadline;
  • any charges arising from visa application with/without refusal by the Romanian authorities (travel, accommodation, insurance, medical costs etc.);
  • failure of providing full information on the identity of a participant and other details needed in order to issue a visa invitation letter;
  • any fraud, suspicion of fraud by stolen bank credentials, stolen credit or debit cards, stolen identity, fake bank accounts or any other unlawful attempt;
  • any travel and accommodation expenses of participants with the purpose of attending the event;
  • any changes that occur in the scientific programme (conferences/keynotes, scientific competition), opening and closing ceremonies, social events with respect to content, venues or period of time;
  • any cancellations in scientific or social events or changes of the congress as a whole that arise due to exceptional situations (see XIII. Event Cancellation and Force Majeure);
  • participants whose abstract were not accepted in the Scientific Competition and fail to send an email requesting the refund by the 10th October;
  • any differences in content or description of any presentations within workshops and conferences in official informative channels vs. at the time of the event, with the condition of maintaining the theme of the scientific event.
  • participants who are excluded from the event due to major breeches of the Terms & Conditions, as well as any damage to the organisers, partners & sponsors, other participants, speakers and trainers/teachers, website;
  • for the money value of the prizes won in a contest or promotion organised by SURGICON;
  • any unpleasant situation that may occur to participants by third parties responsibility (catering services, bank services, official partners & sponsors etc.);
  • any unpleasant situation, physical or moral, that may occur due to the speakers’ and/or trainers’ behaviour or actions (including, but not limited to poor use of English);
  • any other fees in connection with the congress (included, but not restricted to social events, parties, expositions, tours, services offered by third parties etc.).
  • participants who pay for extra activities of the Congress and do not want to attend (such as SURGICON 2023 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION)
  • Premium participants with SURGICON 2023 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION included that do not want to attend the event;

XII. CONTEST AND PROMOTIONS

SURGICON 2023 organisers reserve the right to hold promotions, giveaways or contests addressed to participants and volunteers alike and taking place before, during and after SURGICON 2023.

An exemption to this rule is constituted by the Scientific Competition held for the active participants of SURGICON 2023. Excluded from participation are the board of SURGICON 2023, as well as any volunteers directly involved in the organisation of said competition, in order to maintain a high level of equity and equality.

The participant must provide accurate, current and complete information when participating in any competition organised within SURGICON 2023. The organisers may request that a winner provide proof of their identity and enrolment in a medical school before presenting the award or prize. When submitting an abstract for the Scientific Competition, active participants are required to disclose whether their paper has been presented before at a medical student event, either by them or by one of the co-authors.

The decision of SURGICON 2023 organisers is final and no third party will interfere with the results and the awarding of the prize. The prize is personal and is registered in the name of the winner.

The prize is not transferable, exchangeable or payable in cash or other products or services. In case of refusal or non-acceptance of the prize or conditions that are inherent to the competition, the prize will not be awarded. In that case, SURGICON 2023 organisers are entitled to choose another winner. No refunds can be given for prizes won in a contest or promotion organised by SURGICON even if that prize refers to, but is not restricted to, free places at SURGICON 2023, free extra workshops, reductions of the participating fees or similar.

Any prize not claimed in person becomes void and the winner loses all potential claims related to said prize. The prize is awarded in its current state. SURGICON 2023 organisers are not responsible for any visible or hidden defects in the prize, nor for any damage suffered after the awarding ceremony.

SURGICON 2023 organisers are in no way responsible for any damages arising from participation in the competition or for any technical malfunctions, failures or delays with respect to participation in the competition or the appointment of the winner.

SURGICON 2023 organisers have the right to disqualify participants if they have a reasonable belief that the participants are not acting in conformity with the Terms & Conditions or if the participant is otherwise fraudulently accessing the competition or unfairly influencing the course of the competition.

XIII. PRIVACY POLICY

The protection of the participant’s privacy at SURGICON 2023 has maximum priority, in particular pertaining to the participant’s personal data. Please read carefully and agree to our Privacy Policy.

Use of photos, image rights – The participants are here informed that photos, videos and audio recording of the attendees are being created at the event. This material will be published on the internet, official social media pages, professional journals and/or other publications during and after the congress, either by the SURGICON 2023 organisers or by the sponsors and partners of the event. By participating at this congress and accepting these Terms & Conditions you agree with the publishing of the photos, videos and audio recordings made during the congress. If you do not wish to appear in any photos, videos or audio recordings made during the congress you have to send a special request to communications.vp@surgicon.ro or using the contact form on the official website at least 20 days before the start of the congress. Any request after the aforementioned deadline will not be taken into consideration and no compensation will be offered for the use of the recorded material.

XIV. EVENT CANCELLATION AND FORCE MAJEURE

In case the event cannot be organised or is subject to change as a whole due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of the RSSS (e.g. natural catastrophe, state of emergency or alert, war, nuclear, chemical or biological war, venue closing without the possibility to move to another venue, interdictions by national/local authorities or force majeure etc.), the participant has the right to keep his/her participation pack for future use, without any additional cost, as follows:

  • participants who are students in their final year of study would be entitled to a full refund minus a handling fee of 5 euros;
  • students (active or passive participants) who are NOT in their final year of study and every other category of participant (active or passive) would be able to use their the value of their participation pack as a voucher for any of the 2024-2025 editions of SURGICON, irrespective of the fees for the chosen edition; more detailed information regarding the specifics (how to choose the future edition you want, changes of the participation pack type, submitting another abstract etc.) would be sent via email to participants who choose this option and posted on the official website of the congress.

The SURGICON organisers are not responsible for any change of scientific events due to speakers’ or partners’ faults, including cancellations, and no fees or other penalties can be claimed.

The organisers reserve the right to cancel any scientific event at short notice, if there are less than 5 participants attending the respective event. We reserve the right to cancel any social event at short notice, if a certain number (preestablished by the Social Department and adapted for each social activity) of participants is not reached. Should these be the cases, no refund can be claimed.

The organisers reserve the right to cancel any specific scientific or social event during the congress at short notice, should any reasons outside of the sphere of responsibility of the RSSS (e.g. natural catastrophe, state of emergency or alert, war, nuclear, chemical or biological war, venue closing without the possibility to move to another venue, interdictions by authorities or force majeure etc.) occur. No fees or other penalties can be claimed in this situation, unless stated otherwise.

Any change or cancellation of any of the SURGICON events will be announced on the official social media pages and through the email addresses provided at registration.

XV. SAFETY INFORMATION

Romania at this time complies with the decisions of the authorities with regard to access of people coming from outside the country. These conditions might suffer modifications according to the enforced law on the territory of Romania without further notice and it is within the participant’s responsibility to check the entry conditions before travelling to Romania for the event.

XVI. PARTNERSHIPS

SURGICON establishes partnerships with other congresses and conferences. The Partners voluntarily associate themselves together for the purpose of popularising each other’s materials and promotions, in order to aid in the development of an international identity for them each.

A Partnership becomes available from the moment it is signed by the two parties and until the next edition of each event is finished. The Partnership may be terminated at any time if both partners agree. The Partnership is agreed upon in order to benefit both sides through promotion of each organisation.

The terms, benefits and duties shall be discussed between the partners and shall be modified so that it is beneficial for both sides.

Partners shall not receive payment for their services rendered to the partnership

Neither partner shall, on behalf of the partnership, post or solicit information from individuals or organisations, without the consent of the other partner.

Partners will share each other’s posts and announcements on Facebook and Instagram whenever notified, limited to 4 social media posts. After the 4th post, additional shares may be discussed when necessary.

Partners will place each other’s logos in the Abstract book and on the website or other promotional products with a “Partners” section.

Participation Packages may be offered for free for delegates of both Partners, as discussed between the two parties, so delegates from both Partners will have a similar experience.

Partners benefiting from ON-SITE invitations may organise a promotional stand at SURGICON 2023, as long as it is announced by September 1st, 2023.