VCCA2024 – Call for Abstracts and Submission and Presentation Guidelines

We are excited to welcome you to the Virtual Conference on Computational Audiology 2024!

Find below information on important dates and the call for abstracts, abstract and pitch video submission guidelines, presentation guidelines for your main talk including information about generating subtitles, pre-recorded talk and subtitle file submission instructions and information for on the day.

  • March 7th 2024: Abstract submission system opens
  • May 1st 2024: Abstract deadline (now passed)
  • May 14th 2024: Decisions communicated (acceptance/rejection)
  • June 6th 2024: Deadline submission of video recordings
  • June 18th, 2024: deadline for registration
  • June 20-21 2024: Conference

Call for Abstracts

The Virtual Conference on Computational Audiology 2024 (VCCA2024) to be held on June 20-21, 2024, will be accepting abstracts on research, innovative projects, software, tools and other applications related to Computational Audiology.

Submit your abstract via this link. More information and guidelines are found below. Please send any questions related to the abstract submission to abstracts2024@computationalaudiology.com rather than the CMT chairs. Abstract deadline: May 1st 2024 (now closed).

Topics for VCCA2024 include the following:

  • Modelling hearing and hearing loss
  • Field-related measurement and validation, e.g., teleaudiology or remote care
  • Cognitive and neuro-audiology
  • Cochlear, brainstem and vestibular implants and post-implant rehabilitation
  • Speech enhancement for hearing aid wearers, speech source separation and enhancement 
  • Digital tools and big data in hearing care
  • Accessibility and inclusive design in hearing and audiology 
  • Translating academic research results into clinical practice
  • Other novel research related to AI and hearing
  • Other research concerning the clinical impact of the changing landscape of Audiology

Young Scientist Award

  • We will provide a VCCA2024 Young Scientist Award, including $1000, to the best contribution to the conference.
  • The winner will be announced at the closing ceremony of the conference.

Timeslots for Presentations

The VCCA is a truly international event, uniting hearing scientists, innovative clinicians, and audiologists from across the globe. As presenter you can indicate your preferred time zone on the abstract submission form. To ensure a seamless experience for our presenters, we have provided the tentative session times for Manchester, UK and Lagos, Nigeria; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Sydney, Australia and New York, U.S.A. These may be modified closer to the date.

Session 1 (8.00 to 11.45 GMT, 20th June):

  • Sydney (GMT+10) 20th June: 18.00 – 21.45
  • Manchester/Lagos (GMT+1) 20th June: 9.00 – 12.45
  • Amsterdam (GMT+2) 20th June: 10.00 – 13.45
  • New York (GMT-4) 20th June: 4.00 – 7.45

Session 2 (13.15 – 18.44 GMT, 20th June)

  • Sydney (GMT+10) 20th June: 23.15 – 4.44 (21st June)
  • Manchester/Lagos (GMT+1) 20th June: 14.15 – 19.44
  • Amsterdam (GMT+2) 20th June: 15.15 – 20.44
  • New York (GMT-4) 20th June: 9.15 – 14.44

Session 3 (8.00 – 11.56 GMT, 21st June)

  • Sydney (GMT+10) 21st June: 18.00 – 21.56
  • Manchester/Lagos (GMT+1) 21st June: 9.00 – 12.56
  • Amsterdam (GMT+2) 21st June: 10.00 – 13.56
  • New York (GMT-4) 21st June: 4.00 – 7.56

Session 4 (12.56 – 16.16 GMT, 21st June)

  • Sydney (GMT+10) 21st June: 22.56 – 2.16 (22nd June)
  • Manchester/Lagos (GMT+1) 21st June: 13.56 – 17.16
  • Amsterdam (GMT+2) 21st June: 14.56 – 18.16
  • New York (GMT-4) 21st June: 8.56 – 12.16

Abstract and Pitch Video Submission Guidelines and Information

To ensure a smooth and high-quality presentation experience, please follow these guidelines for recording your pitch presentation and submitting your abstract and pitch video.

Pitch Videos and Video Pitch Award

  • Recording a pitch video is voluntary but very helpful for sharing your key message! Impressed by last year’s submitted short video clips, we will provide a VCCA2024 Video Pitch Award for the best video abstract. Submissions will be rated based on creativity, visualizations, and clarity of message, among other aspects.
  • Naming: Name your video file as [author_title]_pitch.mp4 e.g. ‘Smith_AI_is_the_future_pitch.mp4’.
  • Please add subtitles to your prerecorded video as [author_title]_pitch.srt. You must ensure the subtitles are accurate and synced correctly with your video. Submit an SRT file along with your video. This file contains the subtitle text and timestamps. There are many software platforms that automatically create subtitles (including YouTube and Descript). Here are best-practices for creating subtitles. Further guidance, including instructions for generating subtitles via YouTube, is below.
  • The winner will be announced at the closing ceremony of the conference.
  • Watch the winning pitches of 2022: Video by Nancy Sotero (VCCA2022 – Nancy Sotero – Electrophysiological and pupillometric measures and Video Mark R Saddler (VCCA2022 – Mark R Saddler – The role of temporal coding in everyday hearing)

Abstract and pitch video

  • Abstracts will have a length of up to 2000 characters (approximately 300 words) (click here for an example abstract)
    • Please structure into Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
    • Please do not use all caps in your title. Instead please capitalise all content words.
    • Please upload at least one picture or figure with your abstract.
    • Please provide a one-sentence summary to be posted with the abstract title on the website’s landing page.
    • We strongly encourage you to submit a short, 2-minute video pitch about your project; however, this is not obligatory (see information above).
  • Please provide author information
    • Include authors and co-authors with names and affiliations.
    • The main author must provide an e-mail address.
  • File management and naming
    • Provide the figure as JPEG or PNG. Name of file: [author_caption].
    • Provide the videoclip in MP4 format via the Author Console as a supplementary file. The file size must be less than 100 MB. Name of file: [author_title]_pitch for the pitch video (as opposed to [author_title] for your full video; more information vbelow).
  • Please send any questions related to the abstract submission to abstracts2024@computationalaudiology.com

Publication of Abstract on Website and YouTube Channel

  • All accepted submitted abstracts will be made available online on the VCCA website.
  • Pre-recorded presentations and Pitch Videos will be uploaded to our YouTube Channel so that we can easily embed the videos on our website. The YouTube videos are also a fallback strategy in case Zoom fails us.
  • By submitting an abstract, you consent to have it published on the VCCA website. We ask you to consent with a CCBY 4.0 license. Please check the clarification by creative commons:“The CCBY 4.0 license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.” It’s optional to upload, after consent, the 2-minute video clip to the computational audiology TV channel. Please check if you have the permissions to share the materials (including data & pictures) in your video.
  • After your abstract has been processed, you will receive an email to confirm that we received it. The Scientific Committee will review the abstracts and once accepted, we will post it publicly on the VCCA website (www.computationalaudiology.com)
  • After your abstract has been accepted, you will receive a registration number, for completing the registration procedure for presenters and you can start recording your talk and preparing a video pitch.

Presentation Guidelines

Pre-recording Your (Full-Length) Presentation

For your contributed talk, we suggest you pre-record an 8-minute long video. Please keep your mp4 file to 100MB maximum. This pre-recorded video will be accessible after the conference and allows attendees to view parallel sessions at their convenience and accommodates different time zones. Each contributed talk has a 12-minute slot, with the remaining time allocated for live Q&A and potential technical issues. Preparation is key. Together, we’ll make this conference high-quality and hopefully attractive to many people. As always, we will provide a VCCA2024 Young Scientist Award (besides glory, also $1000) to the best contribution to the conference. Challenge accepted? ;-)

If you have been invited to give a featured talk, we suggest you pre-record a video of about 15 minutes in duration and allow time for the live Q&A (and any technical hiccups). We assign 20-minute slots maximum per featured talk. For a keynote talk, you have a 40 minute maximum, and we suggest you record a talk of about 30-35 minutes and allow for Q & A (and any technical issues!).

Video Recording Guidelines

  • Lighting: Ensure good lighting in the room to avoid shadows. Natural light or a well-placed lamp can help illuminate your face.
  • Camera and Sound: Use a high-quality webcam and microphone for clear audio and video. Test your equipment beforehand to avoid issues.
  • Background: Choose a clean, distraction-free background.
  • Positioning: Position the camera at eye level and frame yourself from the chest up.
  • Special Effects: Feel free to use your creativity and skills in visualizing scientific results.
  • Practice: Rehearse your presentation to stay within the 8-minute limit (for a contributed talk). Consider post-editing using Powerpoint or other software. You can remove hesitations and other unwanted utterances.
    • Windows: You can record a video clip using PowerPoint’s record function and then export the recording to MP4. Here’s a Wikihow about video presentations, and Microsoft instructions for adding a voiceover to your video.
    • MacOS: You can use Keynote and QuickTime Player or iMovie. Kaltura is a good platform for making educational videos.

Subtitles and SRT Files to Increase Accessibility for All

  • Creating Subtitles: We require you to add subtitles to your pre-recorded videos. Subtitles improve accessibility and understanding.
  • SRT File: Submit an SRT file along with your video. This file contains the subtitle text and timestamps. There are many software platforms that can create subtitles (including YouTube, see below, Otter AI, Descript, Microsoft Clipchamp and Adobe Premier Pro). Here are best-practices for creating subtitles. YouTube is free and relatively easy to use, but if you don’t have an account, you will need to create one first. If your video is longer than 15 minutes in duration, you will need to verify your account.
  • Checking Subtitles: You must ensure the subtitles are accurate (e.g. ‘Aural’ versus ‘Oral’) and synced correctly with your video.

To generate and edit subtitles via YouTube:

  1. Create an account if necessary.
  2. Upload Video: Upload your video to YouTube via the red video recorder symbol at the top right of your channel content home page. You can make it private via the ‘Visibility’ options.
  3. Auto-Generate Subtitles: Enable English subtitles to be auto-generated via your video details settings under ‘Subtitles’.
  4. Edit Subtitles: Go to the subtitles editor to review and edit the auto-generated subtitles. (Next to ‘English (automatic captions)’, when you hover over ‘Published’ with your cursor, you will see a little pen symbol and a ‘Duplicate and edit’ function. Click that and edit the subtitles.)
  5. Download SRT: Once satisfied, download the subtitles in SRT format.

Alternatively you can edit your SRT file in Notepad++, making sure you save it with the .srt extension. For more information from Google YouTube help, click here.

Pre-recorded Talk and Subtitle File Submission Instructions

  • Format: Submit your video in MP4 format. The file size must be less than 100 MB for a contributed talk. Submit your subtitles file as an SRT file.
  • Naming: Name your video file as [author_title].mp4. Name your SRT file as [author_title].srt. If you wish, you can also submit slides as [author_title.pptx], but this is not necessary.
  • Platform: Upload your files via the Microsoft CMT Author Console as supplementary files (there is no dedicated section for srt files; you can upload both file types to the same area). To do this, you will need to have submitted an abstract. Log in to CMT and select our conference. Find your author console and the relevant abstract submission. View the welcome message and instructions. On the right hand side under actions you will see ‘Upload supplementary material’.
  • Please send an email to vcca2024@computationalaudiology.com if you have any questions about this.

On the day

Zoom Software

We will be using Zoom for live sessions. Ensure your Zoom software is updated to the latest version before the conference. You will receive further details at the time of registration. In the Zoom session, your pre-recorded presentation will be played, including the subtitles.

If you are a presenter or chair, please ensure that you join the appropriate session – and room if in use – at least 10 minutes before your talk and make sure that you are providing your full name in association with your Zoom profile so you can be identified easily by the chairs.

More information to come!

VCCA2024 Links