Terms & Conditions

Medical International Conference for Students (MEDICS) is a scientific event organised by SOMS – Scientific Organisation for Medical Students (Asociația Grupul Studenților Mediciniști cu Activitate Științifică, No.8 Eroilor Sanitari Boulevard, Bucharest, Romania). The conference is primarily intended for students from both medical and biomedical universities as well as for junior doctors (doctors in training). The target audience can participate in scientific sessions as presenting authors or as passive participants. In addition to that, the conference brings together international medical authorities from various medical fields, who will coordinate the scientific sessions and workshops addressed to the aforementioned audience. The official language of the conference is English. The 2024 Edition represents the 9th MEDICS Edition and will be held in Bucharest between the 11th of April and the 14th of April, 2024.

SOMS – Scientific Organisation of Medical Students – is a nonprofit student Organisation, founded at Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, in 1987. We stand for the values that help a society evolve: integrity, professionalism, constructive criticism.

MEDICS is the annual conference of the Scientific Organisation of Medical Students (SOMS). It is an innovative and dynamic event with world-renowned speakers which aims to provide novel and inspiring ideas for the medical and biomedical students’ community and also for young doctors or PhD students.

SOMS is the organiser of MEDICS 2024

The official website of MEDICS 2024 is www.soms-medics.com. The owner of the official website is SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students – www.soms.ro).

For the purpose of these Terms & Conditions “we”, “our”, “the organisers” refers to the MEDICS 2024 organisers and “you”, “the participant”, “he/she” refers to a participant at MEDICS 2024 (passive participant and/or presenting author, according to the situation)

In order to participate at MEDICS it is mandatory to register on the official website and to create a personal account.

It is in the participant’s responsibility to verify the accuracy of the provided data. The data entered by the participant during the registration procedure will be used to generate his/her Certificate of Participation, his/her personal conference badge, the abstract book (for presenting authors and co-authors) and any other printed or electronic material needed for the purpose of the conference as well as for contacting the participant. See more in our Privacy Policy.

The official language of MEDICS is ENGLISH. All the events will be held in English only, if not specifically stated otherwise. All the communication with the participants will be made in English ONLY, if not specifically stated otherwise. By accepting these Terms & Conditions and by participating at this conference, the participant fully assumes that he/she has a good understanding and command of the English language. MEDICS organisers are not liable for any problems, misunderstandings, losses or damages that may appear due to the participant’s poor English language skills.

Entrance to all the conference’s venues and events (scientific and social) can be made only with the official badge containing the participant’s name. If the participant fails to present a valid official conference badge (regardless of the reason), he/she will be denied access to the respective venue and/or event (scientific or social). No refund will be given in this case. In case of lost or stolen official conference badge, the participant has to immediately contact a member of the MEDICS staff or send an email to co*****@so*********.com. A new official conference badge will be issued ONE more time ONLY.

MEDICS is a non-smoking conference. It is therefore strictly forbidden to smoke on the event’s premises with the exception of the clearly marked special smoking areas. Smoking on the event’s premises (with the exception of the clearly marked special smoking areas) will result in a ban from any MEDICS 2024 events. No refund will be given in this situation. It is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol during scientific events and on the conference’s premises, except for the opening and closing ceremony and other social events. Any breach of this rule will result in an immediate eviction from MEDICS 2024 premises, a permanent ban from any MEDICS or SOMS events, the cancellation of the participant’s personal account and of any booking that he/she made. No refund will be given in this situation. Any verbal or physical abuse, antisocial behaviour or unlawful conduct towards a member of the MEDICS staff, a trainer, a speaker, other participants, partners’ staff or sponsors will result in an immediate eviction from MEDICS 2024 premises, a permanent ban from any MEDICS or SOMS events, the cancellation of the participant’s personal account and of any booking that he/she previously made. No refunds can be claimed in the above situations. MEDICS 2024 organisers can and will collaborate with the relevant authorities if such situations arise.

The Terms & Conditions may suffer partial alterations at any time. Any alteration made to the Terms & Conditions will be announced by email to each registered participant. If the participant does not agree with the changes made to the Terms & Conditions, he/she can send a formal request in no more than 48 hours (from the time he/she received the email about the changes that were made) at co*****@so*********.com in which he/she can demand the termination of his/her registration at the conference. In this case the participant will be entitled to a refund of any previously paid fees provided that the participant respects the Refund policy (see also XI. Refund policy). 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.

The Romanian laws apply. To the extent allowed by law, Romania is the place of performance and jurisdiction for all claims. The organiser is only liable for claims arising from physical injuries or from property damages due to intent or gross negligence of the organiser. Any further claims are not considered. MEDICS organisers are striving to select only the best partners. However, the organiser is not liable for claims arising from physical injuries, intoxication, disease 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 conference’s venues. 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 persons and/or companies charged with the excursions/events related to the conference.

You can register at MEDICS as:

  1. Presenting author
  2. Passive participant
  1. The presenting author:
    • Can be a medical or biomedical student;
    • Can be a resident physician;
    • Is the participant who is scheduled to have an oral presentation (during the oral presentation sessions) or a poster presentation (during the poster presentation session) within the MEDICS 2024 conference;
    • Is entitled to access the conference premises and to participate in all scientific and social events for the entire duration of the conference, as long as the access regulations are respected (see chapter IV – Events).
    • Receives a Certificate of Participation as presenting author (Presenting Author Certificate).

Any participant planning to submit an abstract and/or that submits an abstract is considered to be a presenting author 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) his/her abstract is not selected as an oral or poster presentation. He/she can still participate at the conference by paying the regular fee for passive participants before the general payment deadline

b) he/she fails to submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline stated on the official website – in this case his/her account will become inactive, any previous booking will be canceled and it will become impossible to participate at MEDICS 2024.

In order to qualify as a presenting author it is necessary to:

    • register on the official MEDICS website;
    • write and submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline (by accessing the “Submit your abstract” section from the personal MEDICS account);
    • have the abstract accepted either as an oral or as a poster presentation, upon evaluation;
    • pay the participation fee for presenting authors before the general payment deadline stated on the official website;
  1. The Passive Participant:
    • Can be a medical or biomedical student;
    • Can be a resident physician or an attending physician;
    • Can be a researcher of biomedical and biotechnology fields;
    • Can be representatives of the medical industry;
    • Can be members of the press;
    • Is entitled to access the conference premises and to participate in all scientific and social events for the entire duration of the conference, as long as the access regulations are respected (see chapter IV – Events).
    • Receives a Certificate of Participation as passive participant.

In order to register as a passive participant it is necessary to:

    • register on the official MEDICS website;
    • pay the participation fee for passive participants BEFORE the general payment deadline (by accessing the “Payment” section in the personal account).

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. MEDICS 2024 organisers are entitled, at their discretion and without prior notice, to modify any deadlines. Any change of the MEDICS 2024 deadlines is not considered a change of the Terms & Conditions.

The conference includes two types of events:

  1. Scientific Events
  2. Social Events

 A. Scientific Events

MEDICS 2024 includes the following types of scientific events:

    1. Keynote Lectures
    2. Conferences
    3. Workshops
    4. Presentations

All the aforementioned types of scientific events are included in one of the following medical categories:

    1. Fundamental Sciences
    2. Clinical Medicine
    3. Surgery

In order to attend any of the scientific events, both presenting authors and passive participants must have a personal account on the official website and must have previously paid the participation fee before the general payment deadline as stated on the official website. The following attendance rules apply:

  • Keynote Lectures – are special talks held by our most prominent speakers. Both presenting authors and passive participants are entitled to participate without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee) or previous seat reservations. Conference participation rules apply for keynote lectures as well.
  • Conferences – both presenting authors and passive participants are entitled to participate without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee) or previous seat reservations.

All Keynote lectures and conferences (apart from special situations which will be announced on the official website) will be part of a morning group or an afternoon group of scientific events which are scheduled on the same day of the congress.

  • Workshops – both presenting authors and passive participants can participate without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee) to a single workshop. Participants can take part in extra workshops by paying an additional workshop fee (see also Fees). In order to receive the Certificate of Participation, the participant must book a place in advance for at least one workshop (included in the Passive Participant or Presenting Author Fee) and must attend all the workshops that he/she booked and to which he/she was admitted. 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 workshops are not restricted to specific years of study, but each one is addressed to specific years of study, as stated on the Workshops page. We STRONGLY suggest the participants keep our recommendations in mind.

We are not liable for the participant not understanding parts of the workshops if he/she decides to book a workshop outside the recommended year of study.

It is in 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 with at least 15 minutes before the scheduled starting time of the workshop. Access to workshops is strictly prohibited after the workshop has started. MEDICS 2024 organisers are not liable and no refund will be given for the participants not being able to attend a workshop due to participants’ own scheduling mistakes.

The participant is free to book any Workshop, as long as there are available places (the number of available places at any given Workshop is limited). The seats will be offered in the order of booking (first-come, first-served; according to the timestamp) – this means that all the participants who paid their fees have equal chances, regardless of whether it is their first, mandatory workshop included in the Passive Participant or Presenting Author Fee or their extra, additional workshop.

MEDICS 2024 has a “pay before you book any workshop” policy and all the participants must comply with the workshop booking procedure which is stated below.

Booking procedure:

a) Passive participants:

To book a workshop a passive participant must:

    1. Register and create an account on our official website (www.soms-medics.com).
    2. Pay the corresponding Passive Participant Fee (early bird, regular or late fee, according to the deadlines stated on the official website). The participants are advised that we accept online payments only.
    3. Log into his/her account and book a workshop before the workshop booking deadline stated on the official website. Once booked, he/she can change his/her option ONLY 2 times.
    4. The same rules apply for booking an extra workshop after paying the extra workshop fee.

 

b) Participants who plan to submit an abstract/presenting authors: For participants who plan to be a presenting author the following booking rules apply:

    1. Register and create an account on our official website (www.soms-medics.com).
    2. Pay the presenting author fee (according to the deadlines stated on the official website). YOU DO NOT NEED TO PAY THE PRESENTING AUTHOR FEE TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT, BUT YOU MUST PAY THE FEE IF AND WHEN YOU WANT TO BOOK YOUR WORKSHOP. The participants are advised that we accept online payments only.
    3. Log into his/her account and book a workshop before the workshop booking deadline stated on the official website. Once booked, the participant can change his/her option ONLY 2 times.
    4. Submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline (as stated on the official website). Failure to submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline results in the presenting author account becoming inactive, any previously booked workshop being cancelled and the presenting author not being able to participate at the congress. No refunds of previously paid fees will be made in this case (see also XI. Refund policy).
    5. If a participant’s abstract does not get accepted as an oral or as a poster presentation, but still wants to participate at MEDICS 2024, he/she must pay the difference between the already paid presenting author fee and the regular fee for passive participants (payment must be made after the accepted abstract list is published on the official website and before the general payment deadline). Failure to pay the above stated difference before the general payment deadline (26th of March 2024) results in the presenting author account becoming inactive, any previously booked workshop being cancelled and he/she not being able to participate at the congress. No refunds of previously paid fees will be made in this case (see also XI. Refund policy).
    6. The same rules apply for booking an extra workshop after paying the extra workshop fee.

 

c) Extra workshop for all participants (presenting authors and passive participants):

    1.  The participants need to log into their personal account and make sure to have an active account (this means that they paid the corresponding participation fee before);
    2.  Pay the Additional Workshop Fee (see Fees on the official website) before the general payment deadline. Please be advised that we accept online payments only;
    3.  Book an extra workshop before the workshop booking deadline stated on the official website. Once booked, the participants can change their option ONLY 2 times.

Make sure that you comply with the above stated booking rules for the first workshop. A participant’s booking may be cancelled and no refunds will be issued if he/she does not comply with the above booking rules for the first workshop.

Please allow enough time between the booked workshops. It is in the participant’s responsibility to make sure that his/her workshops do not overlap and that he/she can be in time for all the workshops (taking into consideration the time needed for transport between locations and that he/she must be present at the workshop’s location 15 minutes before the start of the event). We do not take any liability for the participant’s failure to schedule his/her workshops properly and we do not offer any refunds in this case.

MEDICS 2024 organisers may change at short notice (less than 48 hours before the start of the event) the starting hour and/or place of any of the workshops due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students). In this case, the participant who has booked, has been admitted to several (two or more) workshops and can no longer attend one of the workshops due to events overlapping, will be contacted by our team and he/she can either choose another suitable workshop (provided that there are available places) OR he/she can choose to be refunded the Additional Workshop Fee.

We will not grant access to workshops to any participants that have not previously booked that given event.

Cancellation and refund rules for workshops are stated in XI. Refund policy.

  • Presentations – both presenting authors and passive participants are entitled to participate without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee) or prior seat reservations.

Presentations comprise of:

  • 2 oral presentation sessions – one in the morning group of scientific events and one in the afternoon group of scientific events;
  • 1 poster presentation session – lasting 90 minutes according to the final programme. The poster presentation will take place during the lunch break, if not stated otherwise in the final MEDICS 2024 programme.

Presentations will be scheduled on the same day as the conferences and keynote lectures if not stated otherwise in the final MEDICS 2024 programme. Participation at the Presentations will count for the attendance needed for a participant to receive the Certificate of Participation the same as the conferences and keynote lectures.

In order to receive the electronic version and/or the printed version of the Certificate of Participation, the participant is required to attend at least one scientific event (either a Conference, a Presentation or a Keynote lecture) during the morning group of scientific events, at least one scientific event (either a Conference, a Presentation or a Keynote lecture) during the afternoon group of scientific events and all the booked and confirmed workshops.

The official language of the congress is ENGLISH. There will be no scientific events held in another language if not specifically stated otherwise. Although MEDICS carefully selects English speaking lecturers and/or trainers, we are not accountable for any problems, misunderstandings, losses or damages that may occur due to the lecturers’ and/or trainers’ poor use of English. MEDICS will NOT issue any refund in this situation (see also XI. Refund policy).

There is a minimum of 3 (three) participants in order for a scientific event to take place. MEDICS 2024 organisers reserve their right to cancel at short notice any scientific event that has less than 3 (three) attendees (XI. Refund policy applies). MEDICS organisers can decide to continue, in special circumstances, with a scientific event that has less than 3 (three) attendees (no claims can arise from this decision).

B. Social events

MEDICS 2024 includes the following types of social events:

    1. Opening Ceremony
    2. Cocktail parties
    3. Other Events (parties, city tours, etc.)

Both passive participants and presenting authors are entitled access to all the social events (if not specifically stated otherwise). Access to the opening ceremony will be permitted to both passive participants and presenting authors based on the conference badge (either printed or electronic), without paying any additional fee and without prior reservation. There may be some social 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. Seat reservations can be made both by passive participants and presenting authors from their personal account on the website, the seats being occupied according to the chronological order of the reservations, taking into account the limited number of seats available. The organisers reserve their right to cancel some social events on short notice due to the small number of participants or unforeseen or exceptional situations (see also XIV. Event Cancellation and Force Majeure).

In order to submit an abstract, the participant must comply with the already stated conditions (as mentioned in the “Presenting Author” section). First of all, one must register and create a personal account on the official website of MEDICS 2024. In order to submit an abstract a participant does not need to pay the presenting author fee, BUT HE/SHE CANNOT BOOK A WORKSHOP UNTIL HE/SHE PAYS THE PRESENTING AUTHOR FEE. 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 MEDICS 2024 website in the “My Account” section. Any personal data will be used by the organising committee and any third party involved in the organisation of MEDICS only to facilitate conference’s events according to our Privacy Policy. If the abstract is accepted, the names of the presenting author and co-authors will be listed in the conference abstract book and conference programme 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 for each abstract in the conference abstract book and conference programme.

The name of the presenting author will also be written on the Certificate of Participation, in the exact form in which it was entered by the participant in the registration form. The participants are responsible for entering the correct data in the registration form. The presenting author may specify if his/her email address can be included in the conference abstract book (on the same page as the abstract), in case participants who hold an interest in the study wish to contact him/her.

There can only be one presenting author for each submitted abstract. There can only be 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 no limit for the number of co-authors concerning a submitted abstract.

A presenting author may submit a maximum number of two abstracts.

A presenting author may deliver (regardless of the medical category as stated in section IV. A):

    • a maximum number of two oral presentations or
    • one oral and one poster presentation or
    • one poster presentation.

A presenting author CAN NOT present two poster presentations. There is no limit for the number of abstracts in which a person can be mentioned as a co-author.

The abstract must be an original work of the author and co-authors (if they exist) and it can be submitted even if it has been previously presented in another medical conference. 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 own investigation into the matter. In this case no refund of previously paid fees will be offered. MEDICS 2024 organisers have the right to disqualify abstracts if they believe that the participants are not acting in conformity with the General and/or Specific Terms & Conditions or if the participant is otherwise unfairly influencing the course of the competition. It is strictly forbidden for a member of the MEDICS main organising team, MEDICS Junior team, MEDICS founders or partner companies directly involved in organising MEDICS 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.

The abstract will be submitted ONLY by the presenting author, using the registration form available on the official website. All abstracts (including title, author and co-authors, affiliations and abstract body) must be written in ENGLISH. If written in any other language, the abstract will not be accepted.

The core subject of the submitted abstract should be included in one of the three following medical categories:

    1. Fundamental Sciences
    2. Clinical Medicine
    3. Surgery

The abstract will be considered eligible if included in one of the following forms of presentation, irrespective of the medical field and subdomain:

    1. Review/Meta-analysis
    2. Original Study
    3. Case report

Abstract structure

The Abstract title must be written in English, with capital letters, without a limit as to the number of words or characters. The names of all authors (presenting author and co-authors) of the study need to be included in the abstract registration form, along with affiliation and email address. All names must be entered without diacritics. The presenting author must be first in order within the registration form. The order in which the authors are listed in the registration form will be exactly transferred in the conference abstract book and conference program.

Abstract body – must not exceed 300 words and must respect the structures described below, depending on the type of article:

CASE REPORT

    1. Introduction
    2. Case presentation
    3. Discussions

ORIGINAL STUDY

    1. Introduction
    2. Methods and Materials
    3. Results
    4. Conclusions

REVIEW/META-ANALYSIS

    1. Background
    2. Objectives
    3. Methods and Materials
    4. Results
    5. Conclusions

Afterwards it is mandatory to write the keywords for the submitted abstract. One can write as many keywords as he/she deems necessary; they will not be counted when considering the 300-word limit mentioned above. The keywords will be published in the official abstract book. The author is free to choose whichever keywords he/she considers appropriate for the submitted abstract. Non-compliance with 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 conference before submitting it. MEDICS organisers are not liable for any copyright infringement due to the presenting author’s fault. All penalties that may result are entirely in the presenting author’s responsibility. Each abstract can only be submitted once.

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. Privacy Policy applies.

The abstracts will be evaluated by a scientific committee, corresponding to each of the listed categories and subdomain 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

OR

    • Rejected

The decision will be communicated to each presenting author on the email address provided in the abstract registration 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 Presentation) for the submitted abstract, based upon the decision of the scientific committee. MEDICS 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. Furthermore, after receiving the email of acceptance, in order to complete the registration, the presenting author must comply with one of the following rules according to their payment status:

    1. if he/she has already paid the presenting author fee – take no action;
    2. if he/she has NOT paid the presenting author fee – pay the presenting author fee before the general payment deadline. In case of no payment before the general payment deadline the abstract will be excluded from the conference.
    3. if he/she has already paid the presenting author fee but the abstract was rejected and he/she still wants to participate in the conference – the participant must pay the difference between the already paid presenting author fee and the regular fee for passive participants before the general payment deadline stated on the official website. Any previous workshop bookings will be cancelled in case of no payment and no refunds will be issued (see also IV. Events and XI. Refund policy).
    4. if all abstracts sent by an author are rejected and no previous presenting author fee has been paid – the participant has the right to register as a passive participant and pay the regular registration fee for passive participants (as stated on the website) irrespective of the date of payment, but before the general payment deadline and book a workshop before the workshop booking deadline (see also IV. Events).

1) For Oral Presentations:

The presenting author whose abstract was accepted as an oral presentation and who paid the registration fee for presenting authors:

    • Will deliver the presentation during the scientific session in accordance to the official schedule;
    • Must be present at the established presentation venue at least 15 minutes before the start of the session (as established in the conference program). Access will not be permitted after the start of the presentation session;
    • Must create a digital presentation, as graphic support, which will be projected in the conference venue;
    • The presentation must be in one of the following digital formats: .ppt, .pptx, .pps, .ppsx, .prezi;
    • The presentation will be provided on a FlashDrive (USB stick) to the technician of the conference venue at least 30 minutes before the announced start of the session. Failure to do so will result in the presenting author’s elimination from the oral presentation session. No refund will be issued in this case;
    • The presenting author must speak freely; 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;
    • The presenting author must deliver the presentation within 7 minutes; a stopwatch will be displayed on the screen, marking the end of the established time by ringing an alarm;
    • 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.
    • Failure to comply with the above rules will result in the presenting author’s elimination from the oral presentation session. The presenting author will not receive a Certificate of Participation and NO refund will be issued in this case.

If the presenting author can no longer deliver the oral presentation, after its acceptance and after payment of the registration fee, then the presenting author:

    • Has the right to designate one of the co-authors for substitution in order to deliver the speech, but only if the respective co-author is already registered as a passive participant;
    • Has the obligation of announcing the conference organisers at least 24 hours before the established date and time of the scientific session. He/she must also announce the name of the co-author who will deliver the presentation.
    • Failure to comply with the above rules will result in rejection of the presentation. No Certificate of Participation and no refunds of any previously paid fees will be issued in this case;
    • The registration fee differences between the presenting author and the designated co-author are the responsibility of the involved participants.

There will be 2 oral presentation sessions, one in the morning group of scientific events and one in the afternoon group of scientific events (if not specifically stated otherwise in the MEDICS 2024 final programme). Both oral presentation sessions will take part on the same day as the conferences, the keynote lectures and the poster presentation sessions (if not specifically stated otherwise in the MEDICS 2024 final programme). Participation at one of the oral presentations will count the same as a conference or a keynote lecture for the receiving of the Certificate of Participation. Each oral presentation session will have its own distinct scientific committee.

 

2) For Poster Presentations:

The presenting author whose study was accepted as a Poster Presentation and who paid the registration fee for presenting author:

    • Will mount the poster at the location stated in the schedule at 12:15 , on Saturday, 13th of April 2024 (if not specifically stated otherwise in the MEDICS 2024 final programme); mounting the poster will only be possible during the day of the presentation;
    • Will stay by the poster during the entire duration of the poster presentation session – 90 minutes – (in the day the poster is expected to be presented, according to the programme), in order to discuss the study with the interested audience; the poster presentation will take part during the Lunch Break (if not specifically stated otherwise in the MEDICS 2024 final programme); after the poster presentation session, it is no longer required for the participant to stand by the poster. If the participant fails to stay by the poster and present it to the audience for the entirety of the poster presentation session (90 minutes), the poster will be disqualified and no Certificate of Participation will be issued;
    • The poster presentation session will be held in English only. No other languages are accepted;
    • The poster will be displayed at the presentation venue until the poster presentation session is finished; unmounting the poster is the participant’s responsibility; if the poster is not taken down until 19:00 of that day, it will be taken down by the organisers;
    • The poster will be displayed at the presenting author’s own risk. MEDICS organisers will not provide special security for the poster presentation sessions. MEDICS organisers cannot be held liable for any damages or for the theft of the posters except in cases of intent or grossly negligent causation. This shall not affect further claims against persons and/or companies charged with the excursions/events related to the conference;
    • The poster must meet the following technical requirements:
      • Size: A0 Portrait or A1 Landscape;
      • The text must be readable within at least 1 meter from the panel;
      • The design of the poster is up to the participant.
    • Failure to comply with the above rules will result in the presenting author’s elimination from the poster presentation session. No refund will be issued in this case.

If the presenting author can no longer deliver the poster presentation, after its acceptance and after payment of the registration fee, then the presenting author:

    • Has the right to designate one of the co-authors for substitution in order to deliver the speech, only if the respective co-author is already registered as a passive participant;
    • Has the obligation of announcing the conference organisers at least 24 hours before the established date and time of the scientific session. He/she must also announce the name of the co-author who will deliver the presentation.
    • Failure to comply with the above rules will result in the rejection of the presentation. No Certificate of Participation and no refunds of any previously paid fees will be issued in this case;
    • The registration fee differences between the presenting author and the designated co-author are the responsibility of the involved participants.

There will be one poster presentation session scheduled on the same day as the conferences, keynote lectures and oral presentation sessions (if not specifically stated otherwise in the MEDICS 2024 final programme). The poster presentation session will last 90 minutes.

1) For Oral Presentations:

Each presentation will be evaluated during one of the scientific sessions by a designated scientific committee, comprising experts from each one of the three categories (Fundamental Sciences, Clinical Medicine and Surgery) and by the public (passive participants, presenting authors and medical specialists who are part of the public at that presentation). There will be a separate scientific committee for each oral presentation session. The exact members of the committees will be kept secret until the conference starts. If one of the members of our evaluating committees 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 session. 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 set of criteria already made public. 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 and their corresponding rankings will be published on the official website and will be sent to the presenting authors by email after the closing ceremony.

There will also be a public (popularity) prize for each of the two oral presentation sessions offered by voting. All the passive participants, presenting authors and medical specialists who attend that oral presentation session may vote. The winner of the public prize will be the oral presentation which received the most votes from the public and the presenting author will be announced at the end of that oral presentation session. In case of a draw in the popularity contest, the oral presentation with the highest score previously received from the scientific committee will be designated as the winner.

2) For Poster Presentations:

Each presentation will be evaluated during the poster session by the members of the public (passive participants, other presenting authors and any medical specialists who attend that poster session). Each presenting author is required to stay by the poster during the entire duration (90 minutes) of the poster presentation session in the day the poster is expected to be presented, according to the programme, to deliver a presentation of the poster (study) and to discuss the results with each member of the audience that is present at their poster location and who is interested in their work. Failure to do so will result in the poster being disqualified and no Certificate of Participation will be issued. The presenting author is required to answer all the scientific questions asked by the members of the audience to clarify their poster presentation. Each member of the audience (passive participants, presenting authors, medical specialists attending the respective poster presentation) is able to vote for his/her favourite poster presentations. Members of the audience will be able to choose their favourite poster presentation only from the ones they attended. The voting will be done only electronically. There will be no other method of voting and in order to vote, one must download the official MEDICS 2024 app. The scoring system comprising the voting rules and the rules in case of equal scores will be announced no later than 2 weeks before the conference starts on the official MEDICS website (www.soms-medics.com) and on the official MEDICS social media pages. MEDICS organisers are entitled to alter or fully change this set of rules at every edition of the conference. The final rankings including all poster presentations and their corresponding rankings will be published on the official website and will be sent to the presenting authors by e-mail after the closing ceremony.

The prizes will be awarded as follows:

    • Oral Presentations – for each one of the two oral presentation sessions, there will be three scientific prizes awarded by the scientific committee: 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place and one popularity prize awarded by the public who is present at the time of the oral presentation session. So, there will be a total of six scientific prizes awarded by our scientific committees and 2 popularity prizes awarded by members of the public (passive participants, presenting authors and medical specialists) present at the session.
    • Poster Presentations – there will be five prizes awarded by members of the public who are present at the time of that poster presentation session through voting: 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place and 2 honourable mentions.

 The award ceremony will take place on Saturday, if not specifically stated otherwise in the official MEDICS 2024 final programme.

Certificates of Participation will be available to download for both passive participants and presenting authors from the personal account on the official MEDICS 2024 website in no more than two weeks’ time after the conference’s end (provided that they comply with the below participation rules). Electronic Certificates of Participation bear the same legal validity as the printed versions. In order to access the Electronic Certificate of Participation, a participant must log into his/her personal account on the official MEDICS 2024 website and complete the feedback form. After completing the feedback form, the Electronic Certificate of Participation will become available for download in the personal MEDICS 2024 account (provided the participant complies with the participation rules). Electronic Certificates of Participation will be available to download for a maximum of 5 (five) months from the time the participant receives it. Afterwards, no further access can be guaranteed by the organisers and no refunds will be issued for the failure of downloading the Electronic Certificate of Participation. If a participant requires a hardcopy of his/her Certificate of Participation, he/she can request one ONLY by paying a special fee stated on the official website.

The Certificate of Participation hardcopy will be sent to the participant at the address provided by the participant at the time of registration (the address can be changed from the personal account on the official MEDICS website any time before the end of the conference) in no more than 1 (one) month after you complete the feedback form. MEDICS 2024 organisers cannot guarantee the timely delivery of the hardcopy. It is in the responsibility of the participant (either passive or presenting author) to make sure that he/she provides a full and accurate address. MEDICS organisers are not liable for the failure of delivery in case of an incorrect or incomplete address. If the Certificate of Participation hardcopy fails to arrive at the paying participant’s address (either passive or presenting author) due to an incorrect or incomplete address, due to postal services problems or if it was damaged during the transport, MEDICS organisers will send it again ONLY ONE MORE TIME – for every request after this second delivery we will charge another fee. MEDICS organisers are not responsible for any delayed, lost or damaged Certificate of Participation hardcopies owing to postal carriers or third parties’ fault. No refund of the hardcopy fee will be issued in this case.

The Certificates of Participation will be awarded:

  1. To all the Presenting Authors: for delivering their accepted oral and/or poster presentation/presentations, for participating in all the workshops for which they previously reserved a seat and were accepted for and for completing the official congress feedback form. The official congress feedback form must be completed in NO MORE THAN ONE MONTH after the closing ceremony of MEDICS 2024. No claims for a Certificate of Participation can be made by a presenting author after the aforementioned deadline. No refund of any previously paid fee will be given in this situation.
  2. To all the Passive Participants: if they participated in at least one scientific event (Conference, Presentation or Keynote lecture) in the morning group, at least one scientific event (Conference, Presentation or Keynote lecture) in the evening group, if they participated in all the workshops for which they previously reserved a seat and were accepted for and if they completed the official congress feedback form. The official congress feedback form must be completed in NO MORE THAN ONE MONTH after the closing ceremony of MEDICS 2024. No claims for a Certificate of Participation can be made by a passive participant after the aforementioned deadline. No refund of any previously paid fee will be given in this situation.

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

It is in the participant’s sole responsibility to make sure his/her badge is scanned and subsequently his/her participation is recorded in all the events (Keynote Lectures, Conferences, Workshops, Presentation) that she/he takes part in. 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 CME points 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.

There are two main fee categories:

  1. Participation fees
  2. Special fees

 A. Participation fees include:

  1. Presenting author fee: this will be paid by a participant who plans to submit an abstract and book a workshop as soon as possible or by a presenting author after the confirmed acceptance of his/her submitted abstract as an oral or poster presentation.
      • SUBMITTING AN ABSTRACT IS NOT CONDITIONED BY THE PAYMENT OF ANY FEE, BUT BOOKING A WORKSHOP CANNOT BE DONE UNTIL A PARTICIPATION FEE IS PAID. The participant who pays the presenting author fee and books a workshops 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 workshop booking will be canceled, his/her account will become inactive and he/she will not be able to get a refund or participate at MEDICS 2024 (see also IV. Events and XI. Refund policy).
      • When MEDICS 2024 organisers announce the list of accepted abstracts, if the participant’s abstract got accepted, he/she does not have to pay any additional fee. If his/her abstract was not accepted, the participant may still attend the conference as a Passive Participant. In order to do so, he/she has to pay the corresponding difference between the presenting author fee and the regular fee for passive participants.
      • If a participant submits an abstract, but chooses to postpone the payment until after MEDICS 2024 organisers announce the list of accepted abstracts, he/she won’t be able to book his/her Workshop during this time. If his/her abstract gets accepted, he/she has to pay the Presenting Author Fee (stated on the official website) before the general payment deadline (also stated on the official website).
      • If the participant’s abstract doesn’t get accepted, but still wishes to participate as a Passive participant, he/she has to pay the Regular Fee for passive participants before the general payment deadline (stated on the official website). After the participant pays the fee, he/she will be able to book a Workshop as soon as his/her account becomes active and he/she must proceed to book a Workshop before the workshop booking deadline;
  2. Early bird fee for passive participants – this is the participation fee paid by a passive participant before the early bird fee deadline. The Early Bird Fee is non-refundable. Refund policy terms apply (see also XI. Refund policy);
  3. Early bird fee for presenting authors – this is the participation fee paid by a participant who wishes to submit an abstract, paid before the early bird fee deadline. The Early Bird Fee is non-refundable. Refund policy terms apply (see also XI. Refund policy);
  4. Regular fee for passive participants – this is the participation fee paid by a passive participant before the regular fee deadline;
  5. Late fee for passive participants – this is the participation fee paid by a passive participant after the regular fee deadline and before the late fee (general payment) deadline.

B. Special fees include:

  1. Certificate of Participation hardcopy fee – this is the fee paid by a participant to receive a hardcopy of the Certificate of Participation at the provided postal address. The Electronic Certificate of Participation is free, being included in the participation fee. No refunds will be issued by the MEDICS 2024 organisers for the Certificate of Participation hardcopy fee regardless of the reason and/or situation;
  2. Additional workshop fee – this fee can be paid by a participant who wants to book and attend an extra workshop. The participant must pay the additional workshop fee before the general payment deadline (as stated on the official website). Booking of the extra workshop can be done only before the workshop booking deadline (stated on the official website). Refund policy applies (see also XI. Refund policy).
  3. Other fees – this refers to any other fees in connection with the conference (included, but not restricted to social events, parties, exhibitions, tours, services offered by third parties etc.). These fees are non-refundable except otherwise stated.

The exact fees can be found on the official website, in the “Fees” section and within the “Payment” section of each personal account. NO WORKSHOP CAN BE BOOKED PRIOR TO PAYING THE PARTICIPATION FEE, IRRESPECTIVE OF BEING A PASSIVE PARTICIPANT OR A PRESENTING AUTHOR.

The payment must be made taking into account the deadlines stated on the official website in the “Fees” section. 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 conference. Co-authors will pay the same fee as passive participants according to timeline listed under “Fees’’ on the official website.

The fees include: Entrance to all scientific events during the official period of the conference according to IV. Events section listed in Terms & Conditions above, coffee breaks, official conference bag with official conference materials, electronic abstract book, electronic certificate of participation, entrance to all social events that do not have a special participation tax (as listed on the official website).

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

In order to pay, all participants must register, log into their accounts and access the “Payment” section.

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 MEDICS 2024 account will happen immediately for all online payments;

Booking an extra workshop will be possible only after the participant has paid the extra workshop fee before the general payment deadline.

MEDICS 2024 organisers do not take any responsibility in case the confirmation of any payment and/or subsequent activation of the personal account is delayed due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (e.g. bank holidays, national holidays, downtime of the banks or internet provider, downtime of the online payment provider, strikes etc).

MEDICS 2024 organisers are entitled, at their discretion and without prior notice, to change or modify any participation or special fee and/or any fee deadline. These changes do not affect the participants who already paid and received their payment confirmation. 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 conference and are not considered an alteration to the present Terms & Conditions.

MEDICS 2024 organisers have in mind, as their main priority, the safety of all the transactions. Therefore, any fraud, suspicion of fraud by, but not limited to, 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 conference organised by the Scientific Organisation of Medical Students (SOMS). No refund will be given. Any previously issued visa will be withdrawn. In this case, the Romanian authorities will be notified by the organisers and we will be forced to disclose at their request (according to the Romanian law) any personal data they may need to solve the legal case.

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 online payment provider – Netopia Sistem SRL. NO bank card data (card type, card number, expiration date, CVV2, etc.) will be processed by the MEDICS 2024 organisers or enter their possession. Once on the online payment provider – Netopia Sistem SRL – platform, the participant is under the provider’s own terms & conditions and privacy policy, which may be different from ours. MEDICS 2024 organisers are not liable for any losses (personal data, credit/debit card data, money etc) caused by the online payment provider’s fault. No fees or other penalties can be claimed in this situation from us. This shall not affect further claims against persons and/or companies charged with the online payment procedure. For security purposes:

    1. Netopia Sistem SRL guarantees the security of IT systems. Bank card data (card type, card number, expiration date, CVV2, etc.) will not be transferred or stored on Medical International Conference for Students’ (MEDICS) servers or on Netopia Sistem SRL servers.
    2. In the case of 3D Secure Payment for Visa or MasterCard cards, the data related to the participant’s card is entered directly into Visa or MasterCard systems, and if the card has been issued by a bank certified in the 3D Secure system, authorisation of the transaction is done only after the participant’s authentication in this system – the introduction of a secret code/password known only to him/her, similar to the PIN code for ATM transactions.

MEDICS 2024 organisers will do everything possible (according to the Romanian law) to help the participants with the visa application.

MEDICS 2024 organisers will assist with a visa invitation letter in support of a visa application only after the participant has registered and paid the congress fee in full. Once his/her account has been activated, he/she can request a visa invitation letter at any time by logging into his/her account and going to the “Visa” tab. The participant will need to fill the form and provide the required details.

The participant consents to the processing of personal data in connection with the visa application (see also MEDICS Privacy Policy). The organiser may add the personal information to its database, which is confidential and will be treated in accordance with the Privacy Policy. Also, the organiser may disclose the participant’s data to the relevant authorities in order to process the visa invitation letter.

Visa invitation letter requests are processed in 2 working days after the participant has correctly completed the form – some exceptions may apply; the letter is submitted to the participant via the email address provided at registration and also to relevant authorities.

    • Visa invitation letters will only be issued 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.
    • Hardcopies will only be provided on demand. If the participant needs a hardcopy, we will cover the costs of sending it using regular postal services. MEDICS cannot guarantee its proper delivery. In case the letter gets lost, we will send it again only once. If the participant wishes to have the letter sent to him/her by another postal service (like DHL), he/she will have to cover the additional cost.
    • Non-Ukrainian Nationals applying for a Romanian visa in Ukraine: we will be sending ALL the visa invitation letters 6 weeks before the congress (mid-February), directly to the Romanian Embassy/Consulate, using an express delivery company (such as DHL). The participants will be asked to specify the Romanian Embassy/Consulate where they will make their application in the visa form on the official website. All participants who request a visa invitation letter will have it sent directly at the indicated Romanian Embassy/Consulate during mid-February. Any participant who makes a visa invitation request afterwards will have it sent at the indicated Romanian Embassy/Consulate using regular postal services, but we cannot guarantee its proper delivery. The above terms apply only to non-Ukrainian Nationals applying for a Romanian visa in Ukraine.
    • MEDICS 2024 organisers are not liable for any mistake made in the completion of the visa request form, nor for any damages and losses that may occur in this situation. MEDICS organisers will not answer to any claims that may arise due to this. Any costs to repair (referring to, but not limited to shipping of a new visa invitation letter, international calls etc) will be in the participant’s responsibility.
    • No visa invitation letter requests will be processed after March 1 2024.
    • Specific visa terms & conditions may apply. MEDICS 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 (irrespective of the reason). These specific visa terms will be published on the official website. These do not affect the validity of these Terms & Conditions. The introduction and/or modification of these specific visa terms do not represent a change to these General Terms & Conditions. When the specific visa terms differ from those determined in the General Terms & Conditions, the specific visa terms prevail.

MEDICS 2024 organisers are not liable for any costs arising from the refusal of the visa application by the Romanian authorities (referring to, but not restricted to accommodation costs, visa application costs, other administrative costs, travel costs, insurance costs, medical costs etc.). MEDICS 2024 will NOT be able to refund any participation fee after the visa application letter has been sent to the applicant and/or to the Romanian authorities apart from the ones stated in the general and specific refund terms in these Terms & Conditions.

MEDICS 2024 organisers are entitled to refuse the issuance of the visa invitation letter if they or the Romanian authorities, have the reasonable suspicion of any fraudulent attempt (referring to, but not limited to using a false identity, providing false personal details, paying with stollen or false debit/credit card or bank details etc.) to obtain a visa or a mischievous attempt to obtain a visa for reasons other than strictly participating at MEDICS 2024. In case we detect such attempts, the participant’s workshop booking will be canceled, his/her account will become inactive and he/she will not be able to get any refund or participate at MEDICS 2024.

A participant’s refusal to collaborate with MEDICS 2024 organisers in order to fully establish his/her identity and to provide the details needed to issue a visa invitation letter may determine a refusal to issue a visa invitation letter. No refund of any previously paid fee will be given in this situation.

If a participant chooses to cancel his/her participation at our conference after receiving the Romanian visa we will immediately inform the Romanian authorities. In this case the visa may be withdrawn and/or they may be forced to leave Romania by the relevant Romanian authorities. MEDICS 2024 is not responsible for any claims and/or costs arising from this situation.

General refund terms

Fees are refundable on demand as long as the participant (either as a presenting author or as a passive participant) complies to the below general and specific refund rules and an official request is made at pa******@so*********.com stating the name and bank account in which the money will be transferred.

We will only refund via online bank transfer. Cash refunding will not be available. All the bank commissions will be deducted from the refunded sum. We will transfer the money in the indicated bank account in no more than 5 working days.

If the participant chooses to apply for a refund of the congress fee (apart from the refund of only the extra workshop fee), he/she will lose the participant status and will no longer be able to participate at MEDICS 2024 (furthermore, you will not receive any conference bag, abstract book, promotional materials or certificate of participation).

NO refunds will be given for Early Bird fees, except for the cancellation of a workshop due to MEDICS 2024 organisers’ fault as stated in the section “Specific refund terms”.

The same general and specific refund terms apply to co-authors as to passive participants.

We are not able to make any other refunds apart from the ones stated below in the “Specific refund terms” subsection. We will not take into consideration any refund requests made during the congress days and/or after the specified refund deadlines below except for the cancellation of a workshop due to MEDICS 2024 organisers’ fault as stated in the section “Specific refund terms”.

Specific refund terms:

    • In case a participant books a workshop that gets cancelled due to MEDICS 2024 organisers’ fault, the participant can book any other suitable workshop before the workshop booking deadline (stated on the official website) or in no more than 48 hours after the cancellation is announced (if the cancellation happens after the workshop booking deadline) and after consulting with our team OR is entitled to ask for a FULL refund of the previously paid fees at any time during the conference. In this case we will not deduct any additional handling fee apart from the bank commissions. This DOES NOT apply to the changing of the trainer, timetable, workshop’s description and/or location of the workshop. If the participant chooses to attend another workshop (in place of the cancelled one) he/she will not receive any further refunds. The above rules APPLY to the early bird fee as well.
    • In case a participant paid the participation fee and did not find an interesting workshop and/or does not want to take part in MEDICS 2024 anymore, he/she is entitled to a refund as long as an official request is made before the general payment deadline (general fee deadline). In this case we will deduct an additional handling fee of 20 EUR from the refunded sum. This DOES NOT apply to the early bird fee.
    • In case a participant paid the extra workshop fee and does not find any interesting available workshop and/or does not want to take a second workshop anymore he/she can ask for a full refund of only the extra workshop fee as long as an official request is made before the general payment deadline – general fee deadline (23:59 GMT +2). NO additional handling fee is deducted in this case apart from the bank commissions. Refund of the extra workshop fee is independent of other refunds.
    • Cancellation of the second workshop (this DOES NOT apply to the changing of the trainer, timetable, workshop’s description and/or location of the workshop) due to MEDICS 2024 organisers’ fault entitles the participant to a full refund of ONLY the extra workshop fee IF THE PARTICIPANT DOES NOT WANT to book another workshop in its place. The booking of another extra workshop (instead of the cancelled one) can be done before the workshop booking deadline (stated on the official website) or in no more than 48 hours after the cancellation is announced (if the cancellation happens after the workshop booking deadline) and after consulting with our team. If the participant chooses to attend another workshop (in place of the cancelled one) he/she will not receive any further refunds.
    • MEDICS 2024 organisers might need to change at short notice the starting hour, trainer and/or place of any of the workshops due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students). In this case, the participant, who has booked and has been admitted to two or three workshops and can no longer attend one of the workshops due to overlapping of the workshops (caused by changes in the programme and/or location at short notice – less than 48 hours) can either go to another suitable workshop OR can choose to be refunded the extra workshop fee. NO additional handling fee will be deducted in this case apart from the bank commissions. Refund of the extra workshop fee is independent of other refunds. If the participant chooses to attend another workshop (in place of the cancelled one) he/she will not receive any further refunds.
    • If a participant pays the passive participant fee (either as an early bird fee, a regular fee or as a late fee) and he/she then decides to submit an abstract, the participant will be entitled to a refund of the difference between the early bird fee/regular passive participant fee/late passive participant fee and the presenting author fee if his/her abstract is accepted for an oral or poster presentation. The difference will be refunded only after an official request is made in no more than 3 days after the accepted abstracts are announced on the official website (www.soms-medics.com). The request must be sent to: pa******@so*********.com.
    • If a presenting author can no longer deliver his/her oral/poster presentation, after its acceptance and after payment of the registration fee, he/she has the right to designate one of the co-authors for substitution in order to deliver the speech, only if the respective co-author is already registered as a passive participant. The registration fee differences between the presenting author and the designated coauthor are the responsibility of the involved participants and MEDICS 2024 organizers will not offer any refund in this case. No refunds will be given in case the presenting author cannot deliver the oral/poster presentation and there is no co-author already registered as a passive participant that can substitute him/her.

NO REFUNDS will be made:

    • to participants that paid the early bird fee. This does not include the cancellation of the booked workshop due to MEDICS 2024 organisers’ fault as stated above. The above specific refund terms apply;
    • to participants that paid the presenting author fee in order to book a workshop (see also IV. Events) and failed to submit an abstract before the abstract submission deadline (stated on the official website);
    • to participants that fail to pay the difference between the already paid presenting author fee and the regular passive participant fee (provided that their abstract is not elected for an oral or a poster presentation) before the general payment deadline;
    • to participants whose accounts have been terminated because of important breaches of these Terms & Conditions (relating to, but not limited to fraud or suspicion of fraud, malicious use of the website, actions that may cause any damage to MEDICS organisers, to SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students), to other participants at MEDICS, to MEDICS’ partners or sponsors, to third parties involved in MEDICS etc);
    • to participants that were banned at MEDICS due to anti-social behaviour, violent behaviour towards the MEDICS staff, trainers, speakers or other participants at the conference or any other serious breach of any provision of these Terms & Conditions during or before the conference;
    • to presenting authors that are evicted from MEDICS presentations (oral and/or poster presentations) because of failure to comply to the specific terms of these types of presentations (as mentioned above);
    • to participants that are denied access to MEDICS events and/or venues due to failure of presenting a valid official conference badge (either printed or electronic) and/or valid id card – National ID card or Passport – (irrespective of the reason);
    • for failure of proper scheduling of the workshop/workshops due to participants’ own fault (including, but not restricted to overlapping of the first workshop with the extra workshop, impossibility of being in time for a workshop, not finding the workshop’s location etc.);
    • to participants that apply for a visa, receive a visa invitation letter from the MEDICS 2024 organisers and then decide to cancel their participation at MEDICS 2024;
    • to participants that fraudulently apply for a visa, or who are under reasonable suspicion (from the Romanian authorities or MEDICS organisers) of trying to participate at the conference with the sole reason of receiving an entry visa (in Romania) with purposes other than to strictly participate at MEDICS 2024;
    • for the refusal of the visa application or for any other related costs arising from the late arrival at the participant’s address or at the Romanian consulate in the applicant’s country of the visa invitation letter due to reasons outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (referring to, but not restricted to loss of the document, failure to deliver or late deliver of the visa invitation letter due to postal services, natural catastrophe, strike, war, force majeure etc.);
    • for any costs arising from the refusal of the visa application by the Romanian authorities (referring to, but not restricted to accommodation costs, visa application costs, other administrative costs, travel costs, insurance costs, medical costs etc.);
    • for any request of a visa invitation letter made after the official visa invitation letter request deadline (as stated in visa terms – X. Visa);
    • for any requests regarding accommodation. A refund of any accommodation costs can be made only by the partner hotels providing that the participant complies to the hotel’s own refund policy; MEDICS 2024 organisers do not take any liability for damage, theft or any other loss caused by partner hotels and no refunds will be issued;
    • for any changes that occur in the conference program or in the opening and closing ceremonies program and/or content;
    • for any cancellations or changing of schedule, speaker or venue at conferences, keynote lectures and presentations;
    • for any changes occurring in the description or content of the conferences, keynote lectures, workshops and presentations;
    • for any discrepancies between the description on the official website or social media pages of any event at MEDICS 2024 and what actually happens or is presented at the real event;
    • for any problems, misunderstandings, losses or damages that may occur due to the lecturers’, trainers’, MEDICS 2024 staff’s or third parties’ staff’s poor use of the English language;
    • for any changes of the MEDICS 2024 venues;
    • for the hardcopy of the Certificate of Participation fee regardless of the reason and/or situation;
    • for the failure of downloading the Electronic Certificate of Participation before the deadlines stated in these Terms & Conditions and on the official website;
    • to participants that do not receive a Certificate of Participation (electronic and/or paid hardcopy) due to failure of completing the official congress feedback form in one month’s time from the closing ceremony of MEDICS 2024;
    • for any incomplete fees;
    • for fees paid after the general payment deadline (as stated on the official website);
    • for scientific or special social events cancelled due to unforeseen or exceptional situations (see also XIV. Event Cancellation and Force Majeure);
    • for any downtime of the official website due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (e.g. natural catastrophe, strike, force majeure, server provider down time, cyber attacks etc);
    • for prizes won in a contest or promotion organised by MEDICS even if that prize refers to, but is not restricted to free places at MEDICS 2024, free extra workshops, reductions of the participating fees or similar;
    • for any claims and costs arising from delayed confirmation of payment and or activation of the personal account due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (eg. bank holidays, national holidays, downtime of the banks, downtime of the online payment provider, strikes, downtime of the official website, delays caused by the website provider etc);
    • for any damages that may occur to the participants by third parties’ fault (referring to, but not limited to online payment providers, website designers, website administrators, email providers, catering services, bank services, official partners, official sponsors etc);
    • for any material or moral damages that may occur to the participants due to the speakers’ and/or trainers’ behaviour, speeches or actions;

For visa applicants: MEDICS 2024 is not responsible for the success of a participant’s visa application and cannot grant any special refund of the participation fee apart from the ones stated above in case of visa application refusal by the Romanian authorities irrespective of the reasons of refusal.

MEDICS 2024 organisers are entitled to run contests (scientific or of other nature) or promotions before, during and after MEDICS 2024.

Excluded from participation are staff and relatives of the MEDICS 2024 organisers and cohabiting partners or family of the aforementioned staff members, as well as any participants/suppliers in respect of the particular competition (including advertising agencies, advertisers, sponsors or producers).

The participant must provide accurate, current and complete information when participating in the competition. MEDICS 2024 organisers may request a winner, before presenting the award or prize, to provide proof of their identity and residence information.

The decision of MEDICS 2024 organisers is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding results and the awarding of the prize. The prize is personal and is registered in the name of the winner.

The prize is not transferrable, 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, MEDICS 2024 organisers are entitled to choose another winner. No refunds can be given for prizes won in a contest or promotion organized by MEDICS even if that prize refers to, but it is not restricted to free places at MEDICS 2024, free extra workshops, reductions of the participating fees or similar.

If the prize includes travel/accommodation abroad for which a passport or ID card is required, the participant must be in possession of a valid passport or a valid ID card to receive the prize. The prize is not awarded when failing this condition.

The prize is awarded in its current state. MEDICS 2024 organisers are not responsible for any visible or hidden defects in the prize nor for any damage during delivery (shipping) of the prize.

The handling of the delivery of the prize is arranged by MEDICS 2024 organisers, advertiser/sponsor or another appointed third party. MEDICS 2024 is not directly responsible for the delivery of the prize. The date of delivery of the prize will be determined in consultation with the supplier of the prize.

MEDICS 2024 organisers are not responsible for any defects caused by delivery or shipping companies (e.g. delays, strikes, damage or loss) with respect to the delivery of the prize. When the winner, or a roommate, cohabitant or neighbour, isn’t able to receive the prize, the winner will pick up the prize later on (e.g. post office, etc.)

MEDICS 2024 organisers shall not be held liable if the prize is not collected or received by the winner or is collected by an unauthorised person, even when the delivery or shipping company has not left any notification or notice in any form.

Use of the awarded prize is at the expense and risk of the winner. MEDICS 2024 organisers can not be held liable for use of the prize by the winner under the General and/or Specific conditions for competitions.

MEDICS 2024 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.

MEDICS 2024 organisers have the right to disqualify participants if they have reasonable belief that the participants are not acting in conformity with the General and/or specific Terms & Conditions or if the participant is otherwise fraudulently accessing the competition or unfairly influencing the course of the competition.

Special Terms and Conditions may apply for particular contests and/or promotions held by MEDICS 2024 organisers. These do not affect the validity of these Terms & Conditions. Any modification to the Terms & Conditions of specific contests or promotions are not considered an alteration to the MEDICS 2024 Terms & Conditions.

When the General Terms & Conditions for contests and promotions differ from those determined in the Specific Terms and Conditions for a certain contest (scientific or of other nature) or promotion, the specific Terms and Conditions prevail.

The protection of your privacy as a participant at MEDICS 2024 has maximum priority, in particular pertaining to your personal data. Please read carefully and agree to our Privacy Policy.

Use of photos, image rights – The participants are herewith 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 conference. By participating at this conference and accepting these Terms & Conditions you agree with the publishing of the photos, videos and audio recording made during the conference. If you don’t wish to appear in any photos, videos or audio recording made during the conference you must send a special request to co*****@so*********.com or using the contact form on the official website at least 20 days before the conference start. 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.

In case the event cannot be organized or is subject to change due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (e.g. natural catastrophe, strike, economical crisis, emergency state, war, nuclear, chemical or biological war or force majeure etc.), no claim for refund of the (proportionate) registration fees or for compensation of any (material) losses can be made.

The conference organiser does not take any responsibility for the cancellation or change of scientific events due to speakers’ or partner institutions’ faults and no fees or other penalties can be claimed.

We reserve the right to cancel at short notice any scientific event if a minimum number of 3 participants is not reached. In this case the general and specific refund terms apply (see XI. Refund policy). We reserve the right to cancel at short notice any scientific event if any reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (e.g. natural catastrophe, strike, economical crisis, force majeure, emergency state, war, nuclear, chemical or biological war, venue closing, interdictions by authorities, etc.) occur. No fees or other penalties can be claimed in this situation.

We reserve the right to cancel at short notice any social event if a certain minimum number of participants is not reached or if any reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (e.g. natural catastrophe, strike, economical crisis, force majeure, venue closing, interdictions by authorities, etc.) occur. No fees or other penalties can be claimed in this situation.

Any change or cancellation of any of the conference’s events will be announced on the MEDICS 2024 official website and official social media pages and through the email addresses provided at registration.

The official website of MEDICS 2024 is www.soms-medics.com. The owner of the official website is SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students).

a) Content

All text, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, logos, sounds, music, artwork and computer code (collectively, “content”), including but not limited to the design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, “look and feel” and arrangement of such content, contained on the site is owned, controlled or licensed by or to the Scientific Organisation of Medical Students (SOMS), and is protected by copyright and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws.

Except as expressly provided in these Terms & Conditions, no part of the site and no content may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, encoded, translated, transmitted or distributed in any way (including “mirroring”) to any other computer, server, website or other medium for publication or distribution or for any commercial enterprise, without SOMS’ (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) express prior written consent.

b) Accounts & security

In order to participate at MEDICS it is mandatory to register on the official website and to create a personal account. The participants are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the information they hold for their account, including their password, and for any and all activity that occurs under their account as a result of them failing to keep this information secure and confidential. The participants agree to notify MEDICS organisers immediately of any unauthorised use of their account or password, or any other breach of security. The participants may be held liable for losses incurred by MEDICS, SOMS or any other user of or visitor to the site due to someone else using their password or account as a result of them failing to keep their account information secure and confidential (see also our Privacy Policy).

A participant or visitor of the site may not use anyone else’s password or account at any time without the express permission and consent of the holder of that password or account. MEDICS cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the failure to comply with these obligations.

We will use the participants’ personal data only as necessary for the purposes of our conference (see also our Privacy Policy).

Additionally, by using the website, the participants acknowledge and agree that Internet transmissions are never completely private or secure. They understand that any message or information they send to the site may be read or intercepted by others, even if there is a special notice that a particular transmission (for example, credit card information) is encrypted.

c) Limits of use

Any participant and/or visitor of the website is forbidden to use any “deep-link”, “page-scrape”, “robot”, “spider” or other automatic device, program, algorithm or methodology, or any similar or equivalent manual process, to access, acquire, copy or monitor any portion of the site or any content, or in any way reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the site or any content, to obtain or attempt to obtain any materials, documents or information through any means not purposely made available through the website. MEDICS organisers reserve the right to bar any such activity.

A participant/visitor of our website may not attempt to gain unauthorised access to any portion or feature of the website, or any other systems or networks connected to the site or to any MEDICS server provider, or to any of the services offered on or through the site, by hacking, password “mining” or any other illegitimate means.

A participant/visitor of our website is not allowed to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the site or any network connected to the site, nor breach the security or authentication measures on the site or any network connected to the site. A participant/visitor of our website may not reverse look-up, trace or seek to trace any information on any other user of or visitor to the website, or any other participant at MEDICS 2024, including any MEDICS account not owned by the participant, to its source, or exploit the website or any service or information made available or offered by or through the website, in any way where the purpose is to reveal any information, including but not limited to personal identification or information, other than your own information, as provided for by the website.

The participants agree that they will not take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the infrastructure of the website or networks connected to the website.

The participants/visitors of our website agree not to use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the website or any transaction being conducted on the website, or with any other person’s use of the website.

A participant/visitor of our website may not forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any message or transmittal he/she sends to MEDICS organisers on or through the website or any service offered on or through the website. A participant/visitor of our website may not pretend that he/she is, or that he/she represents, someone else, or impersonate any other individual or entity.

A participant/visitor of our website may not use the website or any of its content for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms & Conditions, or to solicit the performance of any illegal activity or other activity which infringes the rights of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) or others.

d) External links

This website may contain links to other independent third-party websites (“Linked Sites”). These Linked Sites are provided solely as a convenience to our visitors. Such Linked Sites are not under SOMS’ control, and SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) is not responsible for and does not endorse the content of such Linked Sites, including any information or materials contained on such Linked Sites. The participant will need to make his/her own independent judgment regarding the interaction with these Linked Sites.

e) Disclaimers

MEDICS DOES NOT promise that the website or any of its content or feature will be error free. We are not liable for any discrepancies between events (conferences, keynote lectures, workshops, presentations, social events, tours etc) or any other contest or activity’s description and the reality. No refunds can be claimed for such differences. MEDICS DOES NOT promise that any defects will be corrected or that the participant’s use of the website will provide specific results. The website is delivered on an “as-is” and “as-available” basis. All information on the website is subject to change without prior notice (any other rule regarding this issue from the Terms & Conditions applies). MEDICS cannot ensure that any files or other data the participants download from the website will be free of viruses, contamination or destructive feature. MEDICS organisers disclaim any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties related to the participant’s use of the site. The participant (either passive or as a presenting author) assumes full responsibility for the use of this website or any of the linked sites. If the participant is dissatisfied with the use of this website he/she can stop using it. This disclaimer applies to any damages, liability or injuries caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer/ handheld device virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction of or unauthorised access to, alteration of, or use, whether for breach of contract, negligence or any other cause of action. MEDICS organisers are entitled to modify, suspend or terminate operation of or access to the entire website or to any portion of it at any time, without prior notice.