EuroScience Open Forum – ESOF - is Europe’s biggest multidisciplinary and prestigious scientific conference. ESOF2022 will take place from 13-16 July 2022 and is hosted by Leiden as the European City of Science (in The Netherlands).

How do we address the complex global challenges our society faces? How do we create a sustainable environment or healthy societies? What will future cities look like? What is the importance of freedom of science? What does it take to have a sustainable career in science? Just a few examples of issues that will be addressed during #ESOF2022, with the theme Crossing Borders, Engaged Science, Resilient Societies.

EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF2022) is Europe's largest interdisciplinary and prestigious scientific conference and unique in its kind. Leiden as European City of Science is host of this 10th edition and will take place from 13-16 July 2022.

ESOF2022 is a hybrid conference where one can participate both physically/onsite in Leiden and online via a state-of-the-art virtual conference platform.

Theme: Crossing Borders, Engaged Science, Resilient Society

With this theme, ESOF2022 emphasises the importance of building bridges across traditional boundaries that prevent us from tackling society's complex and global cross-border key challenges. Boundaries in academia between humanities, natural sciences, medicine and social sciences. Boundaries between academia as a whole and the society it serves. Between countries and cultures, between different stakeholder priorities. And between the present needs of society and ensuring a safe, sustainable and healthy world for future generations.

Goal of ESOF2022

• Foster dialogue on science, technology, innovation, policy and society
• Provide a platform for interdisciplinary interaction and exchange
• Present the very latest scientific and technological developments in all scientific fields, including natural and medical sciences, life sciences, social sciences and the humanities
• Provide valuable opportunities for early-stage researchers, including networking and career advice.

What to expect from ESOF2022

• A high-quality scientific programme

Onsite and online delegates will have access to a diverse scientific and networking programme of 120 sessions; 6 pre-conference workshops; 2 plenary panel sessions; 7 keynote speakers, one for each of the seven tracks; 75 poster presentations; field trips to the BIoScience Park Leiden; two award ceremonies; special sessions organised by the Katowice Regional Site; five sponsored sessions and several satellite events.

• An exhibition in the Pieterskerk

The exhibition consists of several elements, including an EU pavilion; stands from our sponsors Elsevier, Janssen Vaccinations and Prevention, Research in Estonia and Research in Germany. 75 poster presentations; a demo model of James Webb Telescope Satellite; a presentation of Leiden2022; an open stage for sessions and movies; an open networking café space; Studio ESOF2022 and the activities of the European Science in the City Festival, in front of the Pieterskerk.

• Networking and other events

Whether on site or online, there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to network and socialise. Participants can meet informally during the Welcome Reception in the Pieterskerk, the Delegate party in the Hortus, the award ceremonies, the opening and closing ceremony and before and after the sessions, fieldtrips and at the exhibition in the Pieterskerk. While online delegates can communicate 24/7 with other delegates in the Open Networking Area and within the online sessions via the virtual conference platform and via the mobile app.

Hybrid conference

Leiden deliberately chose a hybrid formula that allows maximum and inclusive participation while minimising the climate impact. ESOF2022 is designed to reap all the benefits of this hybrid format. Participants can take part in the following ways:

Onsite - Leiden locations

Participants in Leiden will attend the conference in the heart of the beautiful city of Leiden, which takes place in three special locations: the 900 year old Pieterskerk, the Kamerlingh Onnes Building (KOG) and with the spectacular Stadsgehoorzaal as Main Stage. They can also participate in other events in the city, such as the European Science in the City Festival and Leiden2022.

Online - virtual conference platform

The premium online platform is designed to maximise the experience for online participants in a very easy and intuitive way, with plenty of room for interactivity and networking opportunities.

Registered participants will also have access to all online content for two months after the conference.

ESOF2022 welcomes ... curious minds!

This unique interdisciplinary conference is for everyone with a curious mind: leading scientists, early-stage researchers, academics from all career stages, students, R&D experts, entrepreneurs, business people, innovators, policy makers, science journalists, artists and other curious minds.

ESOF2022 brings together people who want to debate, exchange knowledge, explore new interventions, discover ground-breaking scientific research and forge new and ground-breaking alliances to tackle the grand challenges and their impact on society. In other words, everyone who understands the need for collaborative thinking and research.

We hope that many scientists and people with a curious and inquiring mind from abroad, but also from Leiden and the Netherlands, will sign up and join ESOF2022 in Leiden or online.

Leiden2022 and ESOF2022

Leiden is the European City of Science 2022. To mark this, Leiden has developed a 365-year programme - called Leiden2022 - of which ESOF2022 is one of the main highlights. The programme was created in close cooperation with EuroScience (Strasbourg) and supported by the 4 Founding Partners of Leiden 2022, Municipality of Leiden, LUMC (Leiden University Medical Centre), University of Applied Sciences (HS) and Leiden University.

Leiden2022 celebrates art, science and technology, reaches out to the public and truly connects science to society ESOF2022 conference is one of the highlights of the 365-day public science programme of Leiden European City of Science.

Practical information and registration:
Date: 13 to 16 July
Venue: Leiden (City Auditorium, Kamerlingh Onnes Building and Pieterskerk)
Format: Hybrid
Language: English

More information on the website.