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Conferences play a critical role in the scientific process as places where researchers can disseminate results of their studies and make new contacts or strengthen those already formed. They are particularly vital for students and early career researchers and practitioners because they provide opportunities to showcase skills to established members of the community and allow for networking, two activities that are often vital for securing future employment and career support. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation or postponement of many conferences, reducing these crucial, career-enhancing experiences for the next generation of scientists and engineers. The Young Coastal Scientists and Engineers Conference (YCSEC) was initiated in the UK in 2005 to bring together early career scientists and engineers who investigate the physical and biological processes within the coastal environment. It has been successfully run in the UK annually since inception, and the concept has been adopted via the YCSECAmericas, held annually since 2014. In 2019, a similar conference series was proposed for Australia, with the goal of holding the inaugural Australian YCSEC (AusYCSEC) in Newcastle in June 2020. The mission statement developed for the conference series was “Connecting, fostering, and showcasing the next generation of Australian coastal scientists and engineers.” A local organizing committee (LOC) of students and earlyto midcareer researchers was established to ensure this mission was met. The LOC was run on a volunteer basis to keep costs low and provide an affordable and accessible conference for the Australian coastal community. In March 2020, as COVID-19 spread around the world, it became clear that holding an in-person conference in June would not be feasible. Hence, the conference was transitioned to online. Here, we describe how this volunteerrun conference was rapidly reimagined to an online format while meeting, and in some aspects exceeding, its original aims and mission. We detail the considerations required for transitioning the conference from in-person to online, the session types and how they were adapted to maximize impact in an online setting, and the outcomes and positive lessons learned from the process.

Lessons Learned from Running a Conference in the Time of COVID-19 and the Silver Linings of Shifting to Online