Features of COMS
Key Features
- Works entirely online on our servers
- Supports the entire academic event life cycle
- Suitable for large events
- Multilingual
- Role based access control
- Powerful data export and import
- Tested on all major browsers
- Reliable and secure system
Participants management
- Collect personal data by creating custom forms (e,g. surveys, résumés, proposals)
- Collect documents by allowing users to upload files
- View, annotate, export the data
- Send automatic and bulk emails
- Issue personalised documents (e.g. invitation letters or certificates of participation) and let users download them
Registration & payments
- Flexible and powerful registration process
- Returning participants can login without creating a new account
- Invoicing and multiple payment options
- Full progress tracking
- Bookkeeping, accounting, handles VAT
- Freely configurable forms, document upload (e.g. proof of payment, student card)
- Time dependent pricing, discounts for certain groups
- Powerful email messaging (reminders, confirmations, etc.)
Abstract submission
- Customize submission forms and the collection of metadata
- Supports two-stage submission process
- File uploads (extended abstract, camera-ready version)
- Allow entering of keywords, topics, preferred session
- Online editing of abstracts, supports images
- Powerful export functions
- Handling of deadlines, size limitations, format restrictions
Review process
- Bulk upload of reviewers' data to create their COMS accounts
- Bidding process and automatic or manual assignment of papers
- Open or blind peer review process
- Facilitates off-line work through the export of assigned abstracts
- Flexible textual and numerical appraisal system
- Customizable review criteria
- Provide feedback for authors
- Progress tracking, statistical evaluation
Paper selection
- Computer aided selection process, using numeric appraisals
- Correlate with author's event registration and payment status
- Special procedure for invited speakers
- Historgrams of statistical distributions (by gender, by country etc.)
- Assign papers to topics, sessions, tracks - monitor distribution
- Determine if presentation will be plenary, oral, poster, etc.
- Request updated or extended abstracts of accepted papers
Agenda management
- Creation of the detailed agenda, as well as an overview, based on accepted presentations, assigned topics and resources
- Manage resources (rooms, time slots)
- Detect and resolve scheduling conflicts
- Tabular overview of the agenda
- Detailed list of presentations with locations and timing
- Create a self contained package - agenda + papers + search function.
To be distributed on USB sticks or CD-ROMs.
Can also be hosted on COMS or any other website.
Book of abstracts
- Export pre-formatted text that facilitates the creation of the book of abstracts
- Many options for formatting, styling and sorting of the abstracts
- Author index, paper index
- Ready for import into MS-Word or InDesign, etc.
Email messaging
- Flexible, template-based system
- Automatic notifications
- Bulk communication with selected groups
- Logging of outgoing messages
- Users see a repository of received messages
Additional features
- Mobile app: Interactive agenda giving access to abstracts and full papers
- Self contained mini website suitable to be distributed on USB keys or CD-ROMs
- Create additional forms (workshop attendance, proposals, document upload, hotel reservations, etc.)
- Collect feedback after the event is over
- Restrict access to invited participants
- Organizers can easily change any text on the system
- Facilitates the implementation of additional languages
