Comparing Between Symposium and Conference in Detail

When experts gather for presentations, discussions, and networking, they typically choose between a symposium and a conference. Although they seem to be the same event on the surface, they have different formats based on their purposes and participants.

A symposium is usually smaller, consisting of a specific number of experts or a very small group of attendees. A conference can include many more participants. When you are trying to figure out which to organize and how to best use your time and money, understanding these two differences will help you determine which type of event will work better for you as it relates to education, professional networking, and professional development.

What Is a Symposium?

A symposium is a focused, formal meeting that brings a smaller number of specialists, researchers, and professionals to dig into one specific topic or theme. Symposia have a number of advantages within academic, scientific and professional environments. Presentations are usually shorter and more interactive, followed by panel discussions or Q&A sessions, allowing participants to present new research, explore how current trends are impacting their respective fields, and work through ideas together. 

What Is a Conference?

A conference is a larger scale event designed to cover multiple topics. It often runs for more than one day. Instead of diving deep into one topic, the conference gives attendees variety in terms of keynote speeches, panel discussions, and workshops. Attendees usually get the freedom to pick and choose sessions based on what they care about or what’s most useful.

Key Differences Between a Symposium and a Conference

Conferences and Symposia can be somewhat alike at first glance; however, once you delve into the details of each it is very apparent that there are many differences to consider. Sure, the basics like event registration and ticketing stay pretty much the same and super important for both, but here are some key differences between symposium and conference worth checking out.

1. Event Structure and Format

Event Size and Topic Focus

• • Conference: Conferences are built to be big and inclusive, so they usually attract a large crowd. Since they offer a broad scope of ideas in a single area of focus or topic, different sessions can appeal to different interests. The conference structure is a great format for attendees to experience a lot of different viewpoints and have a better understanding of all aspects of the field.
  • Symposium: The purpose of symposia is to create a more focused environment for conversation, therefore smaller by design. They centre around one specific subject or angle, so the conversations can go deeper. In symposiums, attendees get a chance to discuss their topic at a much higher level of detail.

Level of Planning Required

• • Conferences: Conferences are like planning a marathon because they usually pack in multiple session streams, keynotes, breakout rooms, poster presentations, and sometimes even expos. Organizers also have to deal with sponsor relationships, exhibitor logistics, attendee management, and keeping a long list of presentations running on time.
  • Symposiums: They stick to a single-track setup. Fewer sessions and a tight focus make them simpler to pull off with way less coordination. Event organizers focus on picking expert speakers and keeping discussions spot-on and lively for that niche crowd.

Interaction Level

• • Conferences: They try to mix structured sessions with good audience involvement. You’ll often find Q&A bits, networking breaks, and hands-on workshops.
  • Symposiums: They are built for high interaction right from the start. Attendees are nudged to ask questions, create debate, and communicate directly with the speakers.

2. Understanding Your Audience

Target Attendee Profiles

• • Conferences: Conferences bring together a diverse group of professionals, exhibitors, researchers, students, and business or industry leaders. They are usually welcoming to everyone, whether someone is brand new to the field or has been doing this work for years.
  • Symposium: Symposia are usually designed for experts. Most participants will be an academic, researcher, or expert who has had the opportunity to learn the basics of the topic and now wants to delve into the specifics within a single focus area.

Audience Expectations

• • Conferences: People at conferences look for a blend of session types, networking mixers, and coverage across lots of topics. They’re after industry know-how, partnership leads, and ways to level up personally.
  • Symposium: Symposium participants usually want serious discussion. They expect detailed Q&A, research presentations, and conversations that go beyond surface level summaries.

Networking and Collaboration Opportunities

• • Conferences: With conferences, networking has become much easier than ever due to their omnipresence. There are receptions, exhibits, coffee breaks, and even social functions all created for the purpose of getting people talking. In addition, many events are now utilizing mobile apps as well as online platforms to allow attendees to connect prior to, during and after the event.
  • Symposiums: Symposiums keep it small and personal for meaningful networking. As opposed to rapid introductions by ten different individuals within five minutes, symposiums allow for more meaningful, one-on-one interactions, especially with experts in your specific niche area.

Strategic Benefits

• • Conferences: Attendees can walk away with broad content access, huge networking circles, and solid professional growth options.
  • Symposiums: Attendees get deeper intellectual engagement, more specialized knowledge sharing, and a better chance of building high-impact collaborations.

3. Event Operations and Logistics

Venue Specifications

• • Conferences: A conference requires a larger venue than most events (such as a convention center) as it involves many different elements to be managed, such as several breakout rooms, an expo floor, a sponsor area, and a lounge for networking.
  • Symposiums: A symposium works best in a more compact space such as a lecture hall, auditorium or hotel meeting room.

AV and Technical Requirements

• • Conferences: Conferences typically require a full AV package, as well as very reliable and stable internet connections, which are not disrupted when 300+ people attempt to log onto your event simultaneously. Live streaming and hybrid event tools often matter too, especially if you are using networking apps. Features like live chat rooms, meeting scheduling software, matchmaking software, and spatial networking can greatly increase attendee engagement.
  • Symposiums: Symposiums typically have much less complicated AV requirements since the focus of the event is on speaker presentations, debates, and discussions. Even though the majority of symposiums are either hybrid events or virtual events, live streaming remains a priority for most organizers.

Staffing Requirements

• • Conferences: Conferences require a larger team of staff to assist with registration, sponsorships, speaker coordination, and logistics.
  • Symposiums: Symposiums, on the other hand, have a much smaller crew focused primarily on content and guiding experts, barely needing any volunteers.

Budget Constraints

• • Conferences: Conferences can be expensive due to increased costs of the venue rental, speaker honorarium, advertising or marketing, and technical support for the larger number of attendees. A major benefit of conferences is that they typically offer stronger sponsorship opportunities as exhibitors and sponsors are looking to reach a larger audience at these events.
  • Symposiums: Symposiums are usually more budget-friendly and are often supported by research grants, universities, or specialized sponsors that align closely with the topic. 

4. Content Creation Strategies

Speaker Selection Criteria

• Conferences: Conferences generally rely upon well-known keynote speakers to draw an audience, and thereafter, add a variety of other voices that appeal to differing interests to the agenda. The break-out session at most conferences uses either a call for papers or a call for speakers, so the conference is largely determined by the submissions and the variety of subjects that participants wish to discuss.
• Symposiums: Symposiums are more curated from the start. Abstracts and proposals still come in, but they are usually screened more strictly because anything off topic can derail the whole point of the event.

Content Curation

• Conferences: Multiple tracks, broader topic coverage, and a mix of formats like talks, panels, workshops, and discussions keep a large audience engaged. While some sessions may go in-depth into a subject matter, it is the variety of formats and number of sessions that give attendees an overall sense of satisfaction with the information received.
• Symposiums: In symposiums, each session builds upon the previous one giving attendees a deeper understanding of the subject matter at hand.

5. Post-Event Planning

Documentation

• • Conferences: Conferences put recorded sessions, proceedings, and sponsor decks online for sharing. They often recycle content into blogs and social posts.
  • Symposiums: Symposiums might put out research papers, white papers, or summaries to capture the main discussions for later use.

Follow-Up

• • Conferences: Conferences send out surveys, share leads, and tease future dates. Online forums or member sites keep the buzz going.
  • Symposiums: Symposiums circulate presentation summaries or abstracts to spark more work together on research or papers.

Success Metrics

• • Conferences: They track attendance figures, social reach, and sponsor returns.
  • Symposiums: Success looks like strong expert feedback, genuinely deep discussions, and outcomes that can lead to published work.

End Notes

Choosing between symposium and Conference comes down to what your objective is, the size of the event and what your intended audience will expect. While there may be some differences in terms of what the two labels mean, both help to communicate to potential participants the type of event that you are organizing. They can also help to influence how you organize and structure your event so that it fits the format you have chosen.

Whether your event is a small conference or a large symposium, proper planning will keep things going as they should. Tools such as abstract management platforms, peer review software, and event website builders help to make both conferences and symposia much easier to organize. An easier solution to managing your entire event from beginning to end would be to use Dryfta. Book a free demo to explore!