Case study of a national-level academic conference organised in hybrid mode at low cost

This paper presents a case study of the Astronomical Society of Australia's 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting, detailing the low-cost, hybrid organizational strategies, technical setups, and operational procedures employed to successfully integrate online and in-person attendance while sharing key lessons for future conference organizers.

The Gist

Imagine you are hosting a massive, five-day family reunion. You want everyone to come to your house to eat, talk, and share stories. But, you also know that some relatives live too far away to travel, or they can't afford the trip. You want them to feel like they are there too, without spending a fortune on a giant video setup.

This paper is a "recipe book" written by a team at the University of Adelaide about how they hosted a big astronomy conference in July 2025 using this exact strategy. They called it a "Hybrid Conference."

Here is the story of how they did it, broken down into simple parts:

1. The Goal: "The House Party with a Live Stream"

The organizers wanted the main event to happen in person (at the university), but they didn't want to leave anyone out.

• The Priority: The people in the room came first. The online guests were the "second priority," but they still wanted to be able to ask questions and see the speakers.
• The Budget: They wanted to do this on a "shoestring budget." They didn't want to buy expensive new cameras or hire a Hollywood production crew. They wanted to use what they already had in the school buildings.

2. The Hardware: "The Kitchen and the Cameras"

Think of the conference rooms as kitchens.

• The Built-in Gear: The university already had projectors, speakers, and computers in the rooms. It was like having a stove and a fridge already installed.
• The Missing Piece: In one of the kitchens, the sound system was broken. It couldn't send the speaker's voice to the computer needed for the internet broadcast. It was like having a stove but no way to connect the oven to the timer.
• The Fix: They had to rent a special sound mixer and extra microphones. This was the biggest expense (about $1,900 AUD), but they admit they would have needed it anyway just to make sure the people in the room could hear the questions clearly.
• The Cameras: Instead of buying expensive cameras, they borrowed webcams from students and staff. They set them up on tripods (like little camera stands) to film the speakers. It was a bit DIY, but it worked perfectly.

3. The Software: "The Magic Bridge"

To connect the room to the internet, they used Zoom (like a giant video call) and YouTube (to broadcast it to the world).

• The "Virtual Laser Pointer": This is a clever trick. When a speaker points at a slide with a laser in real life, the online audience can't see it. So, the organizers bought special remote controls that create a giant, glowing dot on the screen for the online viewers. It's like giving the online audience a magic flashlight that follows the speaker's finger.
• The "Backpack" (Indico): They used a website called Indico as a digital backpack. Every speaker had to upload their slides there before they started. This meant the tech team didn't have to scramble to find files; they just opened the backpack and pulled out the next presentation.
• The "Live Feed": They used a feature that automatically sent the Zoom call to YouTube. If the internet hiccuped for a minute, the system was smart enough to cut out the silence when the video was saved, so the final recording looked smooth.

4. The Team: "The Student Volunteers"

They didn't hire expensive AV technicians. Instead, they recruited student volunteers.

• The AV Team: These students were the "conductors." They managed the computers, switched the slides, and made sure the YouTube stream was live.
• The Microphone Runners: These were students who ran around the room with a handheld microphone, handing it to anyone in the audience who wanted to ask a question.
• The Pay: Since they were students, they didn't get a huge salary. They got gift cards and free food. It was a fair trade for their time and effort.

5. What Happened? (The Results)

• The Crowd: About 34 people registered specifically to watch online. During the big talks, they had about 10–20 people watching live on Zoom.
• The Replay: After the conference, they put the videos on YouTube. Over the next month, 423 unique people watched the recordings. That's about half of the entire Australian astronomy society!
• The Feedback: People loved the clear sound and the fact that they could watch the talks later. The only complaints were about the food (which wasn't their fault) and a few technical glitches with PowerPoint animations.

6. The Lessons Learned (The "Oops" Moments)

The organizers were honest about what went wrong:

• The "Bring Your Own Laptop" Problem: They forced everyone to use the university computer to show slides. This caused headaches when speakers had fancy animations or videos that didn't work on the school computer. Lesson: Next time, let people use their own laptops if they want, as long as they have a backup plan.
• The "Sick Day" Problem: A few key volunteers got sick right before the conference. They had to scramble to cover shifts. Lesson: You need more backup volunteers than you think you need.
• The "Software Lock": The university computers were very strict about installing new software. It took a long time to get permission to install the tool needed for the "virtual laser pointer." Lesson: Ask for permission months in advance, not weeks.

The Big Takeaway

The paper concludes that you don't need millions of dollars to host a modern, hybrid conference.

• You can use borrowed cameras.
• You can use student volunteers.
• You can use free or cheap software.

The result? A conference that felt inclusive, saved money, and created a library of videos that scientists can watch for years to come. It proved that with a little creativity and a lot of organization, you can bring the whole world into the room without breaking the bank.

Technical Summary

Here is a detailed technical summary of the case study regarding the low-cost, hybrid-mode organization of the Astronomical Society of Australia's Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) 2025.

1. Problem Statement

The organizers faced the challenge of hosting a national-level academic conference in a hybrid format (combining in-person and online attendance) with minimal financial cost and minimal disruption to the in-person experience.

• Constraints: Limited budget, reliance on existing university infrastructure, and a need to avoid complex, expensive AV setups.
• Specific Goals: Enable online attendees to view oral sessions and interact (ask questions), allow remote speakers to present, and provide asynchronous access to poster sessions, all while prioritizing the "in-person-first" experience.
• Gap: Existing university AV systems in some venues were insufficient for hybrid needs (e.g., inability to route microphone audio to a PC for streaming or a lack of sufficient microphones).

2. Methodology

The organizers adopted a "low-cost, high-integration" approach, leveraging existing university resources, student volunteers, and open-source/free software.

A. Hardware Architecture

• Venues: Two lecture theatres equipped with university-provided Windows PCs, projectors, and stereo speakers.
• Audio Routing:
  • Venue 1 (Plenary): Used existing university wireless mic systems routed directly to the PC.
  • Venue 2 (Parallel): Required hiring a third-party system (4 wireless mics, receivers, audio mixer) because the university system could not route audio to the PC or support enough mics.
• Video Capture: Loaned webcams, USB extension cables, and tripods were used to frame speakers for the online feed.
• Presentation Control: Purchased two Logitech® Spotlight™ remotes to enable a "virtual laser pointer" visible to online attendees.

B. Software Stack & Integration

• Zoom: Hosted on the venue PCs. Used for screen sharing (slides) and audio mixing.
  • Configuration: Restricted access for regular sessions; open access for public events (AGM, Lectures).
• YouTube Live: Integrated via Zoom's "Stream to YouTube Event" feature.
  • Workflow: Zoom mixed the active screen share and webcam feed, streaming to a custom YouTube Event. This automatically generated published recordings post-conference.
• Indico (Conference Platform): Used for registration, abstract submission, and slide hosting.
  • Automation: Custom Python scripts were written to:
    1. Automatically restrict access to uploaded materials (slides/posters) to registered users only.
    2. Post session updates to Slack via webhooks.
• Logi Options+: Installed on venue PCs to enable the virtual laser pointer feature on the presentation remotes.
• Slack: Used as a centralized discussion forum and for real-time session announcements.

C. Operational Procedures

• Volunteer Teams:
  • AV Team (15 HDR students + 2 coordinators): Managed Zoom, screen sharing, and YouTube streaming.
  • Microphone Runners (11 undergrads): Managed physical hand-held mics for audience questions (audio routed to both room speakers and Zoom).
• Content Policy: All speakers were required to upload slides to Indico 30 minutes prior. The venue PC ran all presentations (PDF or PPTX) to ensure a consistent screen share, rather than allowing speakers to plug in personal laptops.

3. Key Contributions

• Low-Cost Hybrid Model: Demonstrated that a high-quality hybrid conference can be organized for ~AUD 3,920 (excluding venue costs), with the largest expense (AUD 1,887) being necessary even for a purely in-person event due to microphone requirements.
• Technical Workflow: Established a robust pipeline where university-managed PCs act as the central hub for audio/video mixing, screen sharing, and streaming, eliminating the need for expensive external streaming encoders.
• Automation Tools: Developed and utilized custom Python scripts to manage Indico permissions and Slack notifications, reducing manual administrative overhead.
• Virtual Laser Pointer: Successfully implemented a solution using Logitech hardware and Logi Options+ software to allow remote audiences to see exactly where speakers were pointing on slides, a feature often missing in standard hybrid setups.

4. Results

• Attendance Statistics:
  • Live: Peak online attendance was 10–15 concurrent viewers during the first two days, rising to ~20 during plenary sessions.
  • Recordings: Over 28 days, YouTube recordings accumulated 423 unique viewers (approx. 50% of the society's total membership).
  • Engagement: Average view length was ~10 minutes, indicating viewers watched specific talks rather than full sessions.
• Survey Feedback:
  • Zoom Support: Mean score 8.6/10.
  • YouTube Streaming: Mean score 8.9/10.
  • Qualitative Feedback: Positive remarks on clear audio and smooth transitions. Negative feedback focused on microphone volume inconsistencies, broken PowerPoint animations, and the lack of a dedicated online poster interaction experience.
• Operational Efficiency: The centralized PC policy streamlined speaker transitions, removing the time usually spent on HDMI connections and display configuration.

5. Significance and Lessons Learned

• Cost-Effectiveness: Proves that hybrid conferences do not require expensive dedicated AV teams or proprietary streaming hardware if institutional resources are leveraged creatively.
• Institutional Friction: Highlights the importance of early engagement with university IT. The team faced delays regarding software installation (Logi Options+) and audio routing assumptions, which required hiring external equipment as a workaround.
• Procedural Insights:
  • Speaker Device Policy: Relying solely on venue PCs caused issues with missing fonts and broken animations. Future iterations should allow speakers to present from their own devices via Zoom screen share as a primary option, with venue PC as a backup.
  • Volunteer Management: Illness among key coordinators and volunteers stressed the system; future events need deeper redundancy in the coordination team.
  • File Naming: Long talk titles caused file path errors in Windows (255-character limit) when downloading Indico material packages.
• Broader Impact: The hybrid model generated high-value archival content (recordings) that extended the conference's reach beyond the physical event, benefiting the wider scientific community and those unable to attend.

Conclusion: The study serves as a practical blueprint for academic organizers, demonstrating that with careful planning, volunteer engagement, and strategic use of free/low-cost software, a professional hybrid conference is achievable without significant financial burden.