Pre-Conference Requirements

ComSciConCAN is a highly interactive and cooperative event. The meeting will include group workshopping of already-developed science communication pieces. All accepted attendees to ComSciConCAN 2026 are expected to complete the following pre-conference requirements in advance of attending the workshop.

Create-A-Thon 2026

About Create-A-Thon

Create-A-Thon is an opportunity for you to share your science communication piece (articles, videos, audio, etc) with other attendees. During the conference, attendees will get the opportunity to receive feedback on their pieces from fellow attendees and science communication experts in various fields. After the conference, you will have the opportunity to publish your piece in The Canadian Journal of Science Communication (CJSC).

Content Guidelines

  • You may repurpose an existing science communication piece or create something with or external to your area of research.

  • Pieces submitted MUST be in lay terms. We are not looking for traditional scientific articles and should more closely resemble a magazine article than an academic article. Please refer to the examples section for previous submissions.

Examples

  • Submissions from the 2025 Create-A-Thon workshop have been published in the CJSC and can be accessed here.

Timeline

The timeline for Create-A-Thon has been divided into three sections: pre-conference, during conference, and post-conference. The pre-conference will consist of submitting your first draft, providing feedback on your peers’ submissions. During the conference, you will get an opportunity to extensively review and workshop your pieces with fellow attendees and science communication experts. After the conference, minor changes will need to be made to align with the journal requirements. Please refer to the journal preparation guidelines section for more details

Pre- conference

  • Friday May 22, 2026 - Submit first draft of your pieces

  • Wednesday May 27, 2026 - Submissions are distributed to peer and expert reviewers

  • Monday June 15, 2026 - Receive feedback from peer and expert reviewers

During the conference

  • Saturday June 20th, 2026: Review expert and peer feedback during hallmark Create-A-Thon workshop

After Conference

  • June - August 2026: Refine Create-A-Thon pieces based on expert and peer feedback 

  • August 2026 - Submit final pieces to journal following all formatting guidelines

Show n Tell (Optional)

About Show-N-Tell

Shown-N-Tell is a session held during the conference that highlights science outreach initiatives. It is a space to share your work with other attendees, discuss the challenges and successes during the project development, and seek feedback on your initiative. It resembles a science fair format! This means that the session is set up so that all presentations will occur simultaneously. All Show-N-Tell presenters will be set up in a station where attendees will rotate in groups to learn more about your initiative.

Content Guidelines

  • There are limited restrictions regarding what can be shared. Submissions can range in topic (e.g., education, activism, policy), medium (e.g., poster, podcast, video, slideshow), and type of project (e.g., social media page, artwork). We also recommend you share a project in any phase (e.g., start-ups). Please refer to the examples section of this document to see what has been shared in the past.

  • All presentations should be interactive and allow for attendee participation. That can include preparing trivia questions, taking polls, or asking attendees to share their experiences.

Evaluation Surveys

ComSciCon Canada is interested in learning more about how best to improve science communication training. We evaluate our performance through surveys before, immediately following, and 3-6 months after the workshop.

Details: The pre-conference survey will be available upon acceptance to ComSciConCAN 2026.

Timeline:

  • 2 weeks prior to conference: Complete pre-conference survey

  • June: Complete post-conference survey

  • Late 2026: Complete follow-up survey