Reimagining Research Events With Live Meetings and Webinars

In a world that's rapidly pivoting toward hybrid and virtual engagement, universities and nonprofits find themselves at a crossroads. Traditional in-person conferences are wonderful, but let's be honest; they aren't always practical. Travel costs, global crises, accessibility issues; the hurdles are real. And when it comes to research events, the need for dynamic interaction isn't just a preference, it's a necessity. Researchers need to discuss, not just present. They want to engage, not just observe.

Enter Dryfta's Virtual Meeting Platform: a breath of fresh air designed specifically to meet the complex needs of academia and mission-driven events.

Live Meetings: Recreating the Real World

If you're hosting a live meeting on Dryfta, you're essentially bringing people into a virtual room that feels a lot less like "just another webinar" and a lot more like an actual discussion space.

• Attendees join with their camera and microphone enabled.

• Speakers share their knowledge face-to-face (well, screen-to-screen).

• Moderators get a bonus set of superpowers: cam/mic access plus extra controls to steer the conversation smoothly.

No hidden barriers. No artificial distance. Everyone has a voice!

Webinars: A New Scale of Possibility

When scale becomes important, Dryfta's webinar mode flips the script.

Picture this:

• Up to 500 speakers and moderators can join the live meeting room with their camera and mic.

• Meanwhile, up to 20,000 attendees can watch the live proceedings.

• And yes, 8,000 of them can watch the livestream concurrently.

It's game-changing, especially for research events trying to reach global audiences.

Smooth Q&A: Keeping Audiences Involved

Here's the brilliance: attendees watching the livestream can still actively participate without chaos.

They can simply head to the Q&A section and type out their questions. Easy, clean, and distraction-free.

Or if they crave real-time interaction, they can click "Live Q&A."

At that moment, their livestream closes automatically, and they're ushered into the "live meeting" room. Mic, camera, and curiosity at the ready.

Empowering the Moderators: Command Central

Moderators in webinar mode are given a powerful advantage: access to RTMP info.

Here's how it works:

• Dryfta generates a unique RTMP key.

• The moderator receives this key.

• Using it, they can kickstart the livestream effortlessly, broadcasting the live meeting to thousands.

Compare that to the other systems where admins had to fumble around with third-party services like Vimeo and Zoom. Not only was it cumbersome, but it also came with a hefty price tag.

Now? Streamlining is the name of the game.

Why This Matters for Universities and Nonprofits

Let's get real for a second. Research events aren't corporate expos. They're hubs for knowledge-sharing, for shaping conversations that can drive social impact and scholarly breakthroughs.

Yet, many virtual event platforms treat them like just another product launch. Dryfta knows better.

By enabling real-time meetings and large-scale webinars, without drowning admins in technical setups or breaking the bank, we're giving organizers what they actually need: a reliable, flexible, participant-first experience.

"Technology should stay invisible. What should be visible is the learning, the debate, the discovery."

The Admin Experience: As Easy as Setting a Timer

Dryfta's platform doesn't require an IT degree to operate. Setting up a live meeting or webinar involves just a few straightforward steps:

1. Choose "Live Meeting" or "Webinar" while creating a session.

2. Assign moderators, speakers, and attendees.

3. RTMP details are automatically generated if webinar is enabled and livestreaming is needed.

4. Hit "Go Live" when ready.

Everything from access control to session recording is baked right in.

Cost Efficiency That Speaks Volumes

University budgets are tight. Nonprofits even more so. Every feature added to Dryfta's Virtual Meeting Platform was designed to eliminate unnecessary costs.

Before, using Vimeo + Zoom for livestreams meant:

• Paying for external services.

• Juggling multiple platforms.

• Spending valuable staff hours on setup.

Now, it's one cohesive ecosystem. No surprises. No ballooning budgets.

Real-World Use Cases

Imagine the possibilities:

• A global education summit (AILA) with 2,500 registrants where breakout rooms spawn live research collaborations.

• A public health nonprofit hosting a webinar with 4,000 attendees and real-time Q&A engagement.

• A memory studies research symposium enabling students worldwide to present their work, interact with peers, and get feedback in minutes.

We’re not offering a tool. We’re offering a future.

Build Community, Not Just Events

The real success of a research event isn't measured by attendance numbers alone.

It's about sparking conversations that turn into collaborations. It's about making room for diverse voices, especially those who can't always be in the room physically.

Dryfta's Virtual Meeting Platform was built with these ideals at its core. Whether you choose a live meeting for intimate dialogue or a massive webinar to broadcast groundbreaking ideas, you can now do it with ease, confidence, and authenticity.

Ready to transform your next research event?

Let's build it together, with Dryfta.