Evaluating features of scientific conferences: A call for improvements

Sarvenaz Sarabipour; Benjamin Schwessinger; Fiona N. Mumoki; Aneth D. Mwakilili; Aziz Khan; Humberto J. Debat; Pablo J. Sáez; Samantha Seah; Tomislav Mestrovic

Obtaining short-term visas to travel to scientific meetings is a major hurdle for many researchers, particularly those from developing nations (7, 39, 40) . A number of countries have explicitly stated that certain nationalities are not welcome, or will have to endure lengthy, uncertain and costly procedures to obtain a visa (7) . Recent long-term conflicts and changes in the political climate at conference destinations (often major scientific hubs) have added to these challenges. Travel bans can also come into effect during national and global health emergencies such as epidemics and pandemics (41) . These obstacles not only deeply affect the lives and careers of scientists working in developing countries, but also citizens of countries with visa restrictions who live and perform research in global scientific research centres planning to attend conferences elsewhere (Figures 4, S2) .