A symposium is generally defined as a meeting organized so that experts in a given field can meet, present papers, and discuss issues and trends or make recommendations for a certain course of action. Some definitions of symposium include a degree of audience participation that is less than that of a forum, thus implying a greater structure to the meeting format.
Symposiums have an implied academic aspect that distinguish them from seminars. After a symposium, attendees should come away having gained a greater degree of knowledge about a topic or a deeper understanding of an issue. They may have heard entirely new concepts about an existing subject or have been introduced to something completely new.
Often the first step in organizing a symposium is to issue a call for papers on the subject at hand. This process is usually accomplished through trade publications and their corresponding websites, along with relevant social media platforms. An organizing committee can then choose the presenters based on their submissions. The call for papers has to be completed well in advance of the date of the symposium.
If a call for papers is not used, then the organizers of the symposium may pre-select the panel or panels and request that the individuals prepare papers on the subject. Meeting planners should choose a diverse group that is unlikely to repeat the same concepts, preferably reflecting different disciplines within the same field. An example would be a symposium on energy that would feature experts on petroleum, electric, coal, nuclear, and renewable sources.
A symposium can take a number of different formats, which are determined by the number of presenters, subject matter, time for questions, travel, and—quite simply—the budget. However, a standard format follows this order:
In addition to publishing the papers submitted by the panelists, a symposium may also publish a comprehensive review of the opinions and any conclusions drawn from the discussions. A less formal review often takes the form of a “Notes from the Symposium” article in the relevant trade journals or online.