If you’ve ever organized a major scientific or medical conference, you know the pain of managing hundreds of abstract submissions. Reviewers spread across different time zones. Email threads that spiral out of control. Spreadsheets that somehow always have outdated information. It’s exhausting, and there’s too much room for things to fall through the cracks.
Sarcon’s Abstract and Speaker Management Module was built to solve exactly this problem. It takes the entire workflow, from setting up your Call for Papers to printing badges on event day, and puts it all in one place.
What is Abstract and Speaker Management?
Abstract and speaker management covers everything involved in bringing speakers to your event. You start by collecting submissions through a Call for Papers, then move into reviewing and selecting the best ones. After that comes communication with accepted speakers, managing their registration details, and finally coordinating everything on site.
For large conferences, this process involves thousands of moving parts. Reviewers need to evaluate submissions. Speakers need updates on their status. Registration forms need to capture different information depending on speaker categories. And when the event starts, you need to check people in and print their badges efficiently.
Without a proper system, each of these stages becomes a bottleneck. Submissions get lost. Reviewers miss deadlines. Communication becomes scattered across different email threads. It’s not just frustrating. It directly affects your event’s quality and reputation.
Why Large-Scale Conferences Need an Integrated Solution
Maintains Event Quality and Credibility
When abstract management falls apart, everything suffers. Reviews get rushed. Important submissions slip through unnoticed. You end up with scheduling conflicts or inconsistent content quality. Your attendees notice, your speakers notice, and it affects whether people want to participate in future events.
Saves Significant Time and Resources
Think about how much time your team spends just keeping track of submissions in spreadsheets. Or writing individual emails to update speakers. Or manually assigning abstracts to reviewers. An integrated system eliminates most of that busywork, freeing your team to focus on making the conference itself better.
Creates Better Experiences for Everyone
A good system helps everyone involved. Submitters can check their status without emailing you. Reviewers can access everything they need in one portal. And you maintain control without drowning in administrative tasks.
How Sarcon Optimizes Your Abstract Management Workflow
Step 1: Configure Your Call for Papers with Real-Time Visibility
Setting up your Call for Papers in Sarcon starts with the dashboard. You can define multiple session types like oral presentations and poster presentations. Add custom themes or tracks that will show up directly when people submit their abstracts. Set your deadlines, configure how the form should look, and add any specific CFP details your event needs.
What makes this different is the real-time dashboard. You can see how many proposals have come in, how many are still pending review, and who’s actively submitting. No more wondering if your CFP is getting traction or if reviewers are keeping up. The information is just there.
Step 2: Design Flexible, Multi-Step Submission Forms
Sarcon includes a drag-and-drop form builder that lets you create exactly the submission experience you want. Each form can collect the abstract title, let submitters choose their presentation type and theme, and include detailed content fields with whatever custom questions matter for your event.
You can add file upload options and restrict them to specific file types. Include review and consent sections. Add terms and conditions. The form adapts to what you need.
Here’s something useful: you can control visibility and edit permissions for different sections. Need to freeze certain fields after the deadline passes? You can do that. Want submitters to preview their entries before finalizing? That’s built in. They can also invite co-speakers directly through the interface, which saves everyone from the usual back-and-forth emails about adding additional presenters. Sarcon also supports auto-login functionality for speakers accessing the submission portal, removing friction from the submission process.
Step 3: Build and Manage Review Teams with Granular Control
Review management in Sarcon starts with creating teams. You might have internal members and external experts, each with different roles and permissions. Once your teams are set up, you configure how the review process should work.
You define the scoring parameters. Maybe you care about overall recommendation and relevance to theme. Maybe you have other criteria. You decide whether reviews need text feedback, numerical scores, or both.
You can set up review phases that manage permissions differently at different stages, like separating initial review from final selection.
And you choose how scores get aggregated, whether that’s median or average.
Each reviewer gets their own portal showing the abstracts they’ve been assigned. They can view the full content, submit their ratings, and leave notes. Everything stays in one place instead of scattered across email threads. Sarcon also provides auto-login functionality for reviewers, making it easier for them to access the portal without dealing with password management.
Step 4: Automate Evaluation, Selection, and Notifications
After reviews come in, the organizer dashboard shows you everything in one view. All the scores. All the recommendations. All the reviewer notes.
From there, you can update each submission’s status. Accept it. Reject it. Accept it as a poster presentation instead. If you’re dealing with a lot of submissions, you can perform bulk actions rather than going through them one by one.
Once you’ve made your decisions, Sarcon can automatically send customized email notifications to speakers with their results. For accepted submissions, you have the option to convert them directly into sessions within the platform, streamlining your agenda-building process. The whole process moves faster, and everyone on your team can see what’s happening.
Step 5: Communicate Seamlessly Without Leaving the Platform
Sarcon includes an integrated email management system so you’re not constantly switching between your event platform and your email client. You can send personalized messages or bulk notifications directly from the system.
The platform includes customizable email templates for common actions. Submission confirmations. Approval notifications. Requests for additional information. You can even attach certificates or registration links dynamically using placeholders.
The system tracks delivery, so you know what went out and what didn’t. All your communication stays organized and professional.
Beyond Abstract Management: Integrated Speaker Registration and On-Site Operations
Most abstract management tools stop after you’ve selected your speakers. Sarcon keeps going.
Dynamic, Category-Based Registration Management
Once your speakers are finalized, you move into registration setup without leaving the platform. You can create multiple speaker categories, like Speaker Category A, B, and C, and each one can have a completely different registration flow. The event registration page also includes auto-login support, making it seamless for speakers to access their registration forms.
The forms are multi-step and adapt based on category. Category A might need flight details and accommodation preferences. Category C might skip those entirely. Each speaker sees only what’s relevant to them.
You can also set up upload options for essential documents. Passports, Emirates ID, travel details, whatever you need. Everything comes into the system, and you have real-time access to all the information and files.
This matters because different speaker types need different things. With category-based forms, you get the right information from the right people without making everyone fill out irrelevant fields.
Complete On-Site Management and Badge Printing
When the event starts, Sarcon gives you tools to manage everything on the ground. You can pull up the complete attendee list with all their registration details. Check people in instantly through the system. Print personalized badges right there.
The platform also shows you check-in statistics in real time, so you can monitor attendance as it’s happening. No more clipboards and printed lists that are out of date before the doors even open.
Data-Driven Decision Making with Built-In Analytics
Throughout the whole process, Sarcon gives you ways to understand what’s happening with your data. You can export submission and review information in CSV format if you want to analyze it elsewhere. Filter by theme, session type, or status to look at specific segments. View submission statistics through charts and dashboards.
These tools help you spot patterns. Which themes are getting the most interest? Where are submissions coming from? What does participation look like compared to previous years? You can use that information to make better decisions about future events.
The Sarcon Advantage: One Platform, Complete Control
What sets Sarcon apart is how much it handles in one place. You’re not just managing abstract submissions and reviews. You’re also handling speaker registration with category-specific forms, collecting required documents with file-type restrictions, and coordinating everything on site with integrated check-in and badge printing.
The co-speaker invitation system means submitters can add collaborators without involving you. Section freezing lets you lock down parts of the form after deadlines while leaving other parts editable. Accepted submissions can be converted directly into sessions for your agenda. Auto-login functionality for reviewers, speakers, and the event registration page removes unnecessary friction throughout the process. The real-time dashboard keeps you informed at every stage, from first submission to final check-in.
It’s built for the reality of running large, complex conferences where hundreds of details need to work together smoothly. One system. Complete visibility. Less time fighting with logistics, more time making your event great.
Ready to see how Sarcon can handle your next conference? The platform is designed to take you from abstract submission to on-site coordination without the usual chaos.
