Attending an event

This chapter is for anyone booking a place on an event run through Sympozium: finding an event, registering or paying, managing your booking, and everything on the day and afterwards, from checking in to downloading your certificate.

Before you start: your account

You need a Sympozium account to book. If you aren't signed in when you choose a ticket, you're taken to Sign in first. New to Sympozium? Choose Sign up, enter your Title, First name, Last name, Email and a password, then press Create account. Confirm your email address using the link we send you. The link brings you straight back to the booking form, even if you open it on another device, such as your phone.

Your name matters: it's how organisers see you and it's printed on your certificates. If your account has no first or last name, you'll be asked to Complete your profile before you can use pages that need you to be signed in. Choose your Title (or No title), enter your First name and Last name, then press Save and continue. You're taken back to the page you were going to. You can change your name and other details later under My account, on the Profile tab.

Find an event

Browse and search all events

1. Select Find CPD events at the top of any page.
2. The Upcoming events page lists every public event that hasn't finished yet, soonest first.
3. To search, type into the box (for example a specialty, a provider or a place) and press Search. Every word you type must match the event's title, description, venue or organisation.
4. To narrow the list, use the filters under the search box, then press Apply:
   • Format: Online or in person, Online or In person. Hybrid events count as both.
   • When: Any date, This month or Next month.
   • Town or city: Anywhere, or a town from the list.
   • Free places only: events with at least one free ticket type.
5. Press an event to open its page. To start again, press Clear search.

See an organisation's events

On an event's page, press the organisation's name under the title. The organisation's page shows its About text and its Upcoming events.

Private events reached by a link

Some events aren't listed on Sympozium. The organiser shares the link with the people they want to come, or invites them by email. If you have the link, the page works like any other event page.

If an event is by invitation only and you haven't been invited, the Tickets box says This event is by invitation only. If you think you should have been invited, contact the organiser.

What the event page shows

• The title, organisation, dates and start and finish times, whether it's online or hybrid, and the venue with a Get directions link.
• About this event, including the CPD amount and accrediting body when there is one.
• Faculty: the speakers, some with a photo and a short biography.
• Programme: the sessions, times and rooms.
• Cancellation policy: what you get back if you cancel (see "Cancel your booking" below).
• Tickets: each ticket type, its price, how many places remain, and a button to book.
• Organiser: the organiser's email address, phone number or website, when they've added them.

On a phone, a bar at the bottom of the page shows the price range and a button that takes you to the tickets.

Book a place

You can hold one ticket per event. Once you're registered, the event page shows You're registered. instead of the ticket list.

Choose your ticket

1. On the event page, find the Tickets box.
2. Next to the ticket type you want, press Register (free) or Buy ticket (paid).

Some ticket types can't be booked at the moment. Instead of a button you'll see why:

• Registration opens … or Not on sale yet: come back after the date shown. The ticket may also say On sale from ….
• Registration closed or Sale ended: booking has closed.
• Sold out: see "If a ticket type is sold out" below.

The Tickets box may also say when registration opens and closes. If the organiser hasn't set a closing time, booking closes when the first session starts.

An early-bird ticket shows the full price struck through beside its own price, and when the offer ends (for example Ending soon: ends …).

Fill in the registration form

The form starts with a summary of what you're booking (When, Where and Price), with ‹ Back to the event if you want to choose again.

1. Check your Title, First name and Last name. Your Email is the address you're signed in with and can't be changed here.
2. Fill in Phone number, Place of work / institution and Job title / grade. All three are required.
3. If you like, add Accessibility needs (optional) and, at events with catering, your Dietary requirements (optional) and Allergies (optional). If you share anything here, you'll need to tick the box that appears underneath (see "Accessibility and dietary notes" below).
4. Answer any questions the organiser has added. Questions marked with an asterisk (*) must be answered.
5. Update my profile with these details is ticked for you, so your answers are saved to your profile for next time. Untick it if these details are just for this event.
6. Tick I accept the organiser's terms and the cancellation policy. Press either underlined phrase to open Terms and cancellation policy, which shows the organiser's own terms (or says The organiser hasn't added its own terms.) and the event's cancellation policy. A one-line summary of the cancellation policy sits just under the tick.
7. Press Register for a free ticket, or Continue to payment (£…) for a paid one.

Free places

Your place is confirmed straight away. You'll see a Thank you page saying Your registration is confirmed., and you'll get an email headed You're registered: [event name].

Paid tickets

When you press Continue to payment, you're taken to Stripe's secure payment page. Your card details go to Stripe and never reach Sympozium.

1. Pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay (Apple Pay and Google Pay appear when your device supports them).
2. When the payment goes through, you're brought back to Sympozium. The page says Confirming your payment… for a moment, then shows your ticket.

The price shown on the event page is the whole price. Nothing is added at the payment step.

If confirming takes longer than usual, the page says Payment received — your ticket is being issued and will be emailed to you. You don't need to pay again; your ticket will appear under My Tickets shortly.

What the confirmation page shows

After a free registration or a successful payment, the Thank you page shows:

• the event, its dates and times, and where it is;
• your Ticket type, what you Paid (or Free), and your Reference, which looks like SYM-2026-AB23CD;
• your QR code, with "Show this QR code, or your reference, when you arrive.";
• the address your confirmation was emailed to;
• links to View your ticket, Add to calendar, View programme and My Tickets.

Add to calendar downloads a calendar file you can open in Apple Calendar, Outlook, Google Calendar and most other calendar apps.

When you pay the organisation directly through Stripe

Some organisations take card payments through their own Stripe account. On those events, the payment page names the organisation ("Sold by …"), and the confirmation page, your email and your ticket all say: Sold by [organisation]. Your payment was taken by [organisation] and will appear on your statement under their name.

The name on your card statement is the organisation's name, or the name it has set in Stripe.

Your confirmation email and receipt

For a paid ticket you'll get an email headed Booking confirmed: [event name]. Both confirmation emails include:

• the event, its start time and Get directions (for in-person events);
• your ticket type, the price and your reference;
• your QR code;
• View the programme and Add to your calendar links;
• for an online or hybrid event, a note about how to join (see "Join an online event");
• the event's cancellation policy;
• any information the organiser has added for attendees, and their contact address;
• a View your ticket button.

A paid booking's email also has a Receipt: Amount paid, Paid on, Reference, Seller (the organisation running the event) and Payment taken by (Sympozium as the organiser's agent, or the organisation itself through its own Stripe account). Your card statement shows the organisation's name, or the name it has set in Stripe.

If something goes wrong

The form tells you in plain words if it can't book you, for example:

• Sorry, this ticket type is no longer available: the last place has just gone. (you're offered the waiting list instead)
• Sorry, this event is now full.
• Registration for this event has closed.
• Please confirm your email address first: use the link in the email we sent you.
• Booking paid tickets for this event isn't open at the moment. Please contact the organiser.
• We couldn't open the payment page, so no place has been held for you. Please try again in a moment.

Accessibility and dietary notes

The form has an optional Accessibility needs (optional) box: tell the team what support you need. You don't need to give a diagnosis.

If the event provides catering, you can also tick your Dietary requirements (optional): Vegetarian, Vegan, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free or Other (tick as many as apply; Other opens a box to say what).

Under Allergies (optional) you can tick any of the 14 allergens that food businesses in the UK must declare: Celery, Cereals containing gluten, Crustaceans, Eggs, Fish, Lupin, Milk, Molluscs, Mustard, Peanuts, Sesame, Soya, Sulphites and Tree nuts. For anything else, tick Other and say what in the box it opens.

You don't have to fill in any of these.

As soon as you write in a box or tick a choice, a tick box appears underneath: I agree that the event team can see this information and use it to support me at this event. Sympozium deletes it 30 days after the event. At an event with catering it adds "(and to arrange catering)".

• Tick it, then finish booking as usual.
• If you leave it unticked, the form says Tick the box to share your notes, or leave them blank. Either tick it, or clear what you entered.

Who can see your notes: you, on your ticket, and the people with a role on that event (its directors, admins and the staff checking people in), so they can support you on the day. The staff checking people in can't see them once 24 hours have passed since the event finished. The event's admins and directors can also see them with your name on an accessibility and dietary list, and caterers are given numbers rather than names. What you write in a box isn't passed to the caterer in those numbers: the organiser tells the caterer what they need to know. Sympozium's support team can also see them if they need to, for example to help with your booking. The organisation's other directors and admins can't, unless they also have a role on the event. Speakers and other attendees can't either. Your notes aren't printed on the check-in sheet. The event's directors and admins may get an email saying how many people have shared accessibility needs or allergy details. It doesn't name anyone or say what anyone wrote.

When they're deleted: Sympozium deletes your notes 30 days after the event. Your ticket then says Accessibility and dietary notes Removed 30 days after the event. If your place is refunded, or you cancel it, they are deleted then instead, and your ticket says so. If the organiser cancels the whole event, they are deleted when your ticket is cancelled. A record of when you agreed to share them is kept, but the notes themselves are gone.

You can't change your notes on the site after booking. To change them, or to withdraw your agreement and have them removed, email Sympozium's support team from the address on your account. If you only need the event team to know something new, contact the organiser; their details are on the event page.

Accept an invitation to a private ticket type

An organiser can invite you to book a ticket type that isn't on public sale.

1. Open the email headed You're invited to "[event name]" and press View your invitation (or Accept and join, for an online or hybrid event that's under way: see below).
2. If you don't have an account yet, press Create account, using the address the invitation was sent to. If you already have one, press Sign in. Either way you come back to the invitation.
3. On the You've been invited page, press Go to event to open the booking form for your invited ticket type, then book as usual.
4. If you don't want to go, press Decline.

Good to know:

• Your pending invitations are also on your Dashboard, under Attendance invitations. Press Respond to open one.
• On the event page, a ticket type you've been invited to is marked By invitation. Only you, and others invited, can see it.
• If you're signed in with a different email address from the one the invitation was sent to, the page tells you. Sign out and sign in with the invited address.
• The invitation is marked as accepted automatically when you book.

Online and hybrid events: Accept and join

For an online or hybrid event, once the join link is open (15 minutes before the start), your invitation page offers Accept and join. If the link is already open when the invitation is sent, the button in the email reads Accept and join too.

1. Press Accept and join. The booking form opens with your details filled in from your account. Check them, tick the box accepting the organiser's terms, and press Accept and join.
2. You'll see Before you join. Tick the box to confirm you're attending and press Join online. You're taken to the meeting, and you're checked in.

Before the join link opens, the invitation says when Accept and join will be there, for example Accept and join opens here at 13:45 on 22 October. You can accept now instead: press Go to event and book as usual, and your ticket shows where and when Join online will appear.

Good to know:

• You can accept while the session is under way, even though booking has closed for everyone else, as long as the join link is open.
• For a hybrid event, press Register to attend in person instead if you'll be there in person.
• A paid ticket type is booked and paid for as usual first. Join online is then on your ticket.
• If you took part before accepting, the organiser may already have marked you as attended. Your place is then checked in as soon as you accept: you go straight into the session, with no box to tick, and you can give feedback and receive your certificate.

If a ticket type is sold out: the waiting list

When a ticket type is sold out, you can join its waiting list.

1. Sign in and open the event page. (If you aren't signed in, press Log in to join the waitlist.)
2. Next to the sold-out ticket type, press Join waitlist.
3. You'll see You're on the waitlist. To leave, press Leave waitlist.

If the place has gone by the time you get there, the event page says A spot opened up earlier, but it looks like it's gone now. This was a one-time notification, not a reserved place. Press Rejoin waitlist for another chance. You won't be emailed again unless you rejoin.

Good to know:

• You can't join the waiting list if you're already registered for the event.
• If places have come back, you'll see This ticket type isn't sold out any more — you can register directly.
• If the whole event is full (rather than one ticket type), the waiting list isn't offered.

Find your tickets

My Tickets

1. Sign in.
2. Select your name at the top right and choose My account, then the My Tickets tab. On a phone, tap the account icon at the top of the page.

My Tickets lists your tickets under Upcoming, Past and Cancelled & refunded. Each ticket shows the event, dates, venue, ticket type and its status (Confirmed, Cancelled or Refunded). Press a ticket to open it.

You can also reach your tickets from your Dashboard (press Go to dashboard at the top of the page): the My Tickets card lists your upcoming events with Programme and View ticket links. On the day of an event, a Today card at the top has Open programme.

On the event's own page, once you're registered, press View your ticket in the Tickets box.

Your ticket page

Your ticket shows:

• the event, its dates and venue;
• your QR code and Reference (quote the reference if you contact the organiser);
• the Ticket type, Amount paid and status, and, if you've been refunded, how much and when;
• your check-in status (Not arrived, Checked in or No-show), from the event's first day;
• your accessibility and dietary notes, your Registration answers, and your Groups if the organiser has put you in any;
• the venue address, Get directions, and any information the organiser has added for attendees;
• links to the event's Programme and Cancellation policy;
• for online and hybrid events, Join online;
• Cancel my booking, while you can still cancel online;
• Leave feedback and Download certificate, when they apply.

Your QR code

Show your QR code, or quote your reference, at the registration desk when you arrive. It's on your ticket page, the confirmation page and your confirmation email.

Cancel your booking

You can cancel your own booking from your ticket until the event's first session starts. After that, only the organiser can cancel it. Whether you get money back depends on the event's cancellation policy, which is shown on the event page and in your confirmation email.

If the event's dates change before it starts, and you booked before the change, you can cancel for a full refund for up to 14 days, or until the event starts if that's sooner, whatever the policy says. This applies even if the policy doesn't normally allow a refund. The email about the new dates gives the deadline, and your ticket shows Cancel for a full refund.

1. Open your ticket: select your name at the top right and choose My account, then the My Tickets tab, and press the ticket. On a phone, tap the account icon at the top of the page.
2. For a paid ticket, read the line above the button. It tells you what you'd get back if you cancelled now, for example "If you cancel now you will receive £45.00 (50% cancellation tier)."
3. Press Cancel my booking.
4. The Cancel your booking? box confirms what will happen. Press Yes, cancel my booking, or Keep my booking to go back.

You'll get an email headed Booking cancelled: [event name], showing any refund. Cancelling can't be undone; if you change your mind you'll need to book again, if places are left.

How much you get back

• Free places can be cancelled at any time before the event's first session starts. There's nothing to refund.
• Paid tickets are refunded under the event's cancellation policy. Each step of the policy reads like "Cancel 14 days or more before the event's first day: a 50% refund." The step that applies is worked out at the moment you cancel, from the number of days left before the event's first day.
• Refunds go back to the card you paid with and may take 5 to 10 working days to appear.

When you can't cancel online

Instead of the button, your ticket explains why, with the organiser's email address where they've given one:

• It's now too close to the event to cancel online. If you can't attend, contact the organiser (you're past the last step of the policy).
• This organiser doesn't offer refunds if you cancel. If you can't attend, contact the organiser (the event has no cancellation policy).
• The event's first session has started, so you can no longer cancel your place yourself. If you need to, contact the organiser

If you press cancel and see This booking can't be cancelled and refunded online at the moment. Contact the organiser, the organiser's Stripe account isn't connected to Sympozium any more, so the organiser has to make the refund.

Refunds from the organiser

You may receive money back without cancelling yourself:

• The organiser cancels the event. You get a full refund, by email headed Event cancelled: [event name]. For a free place, your place is simply cancelled. If your refund can't be issued automatically, the email says so and the organiser will contact you about it. Please don't travel to the event.
• The organiser refunds your booking in full. You'll get an email headed Refund issued: [event name], and your ticket shows as Refunded.
• The organiser refunds part of your booking, for example as a goodwill gesture. You'll get an email headed Part refund issued: [event name]. Your booking still stands: your place and your ticket are unchanged.

Refunds go back to the card you paid with and may take 5 to 10 working days to appear. If the organisation took your payment through its own Stripe account, the email says Refunded by [organisation], which took your payment.

Your programme

Each event you hold a ticket for has its own programme page, showing the sessions that apply to you.

1. Go to your Dashboard and press Programme next to the event. On the day, press Open programme on the Today card.
2. You can also press Open your programme on the event page, or Programme on your ticket.

What you'll see:

• At the top, Your programme, the event, dates and venue, the group you're in (if any), and Your ticket and Directions buttons.
• On the day, a card showing what's Live now (with its room and speakers) and what's Up next.
• A timeline of each day: times, session titles, rooms and speakers, and directions to each room where the organiser has added them. Breaks show as slim rows. Sessions just for faculty aren't shown.
• If you're in a group: your group's sessions and the sessions for everyone. When other groups have sessions at the same time, switch on Show all groups to see them too. It's off each time you open the page.
• Once you're checked in: each session's handouts, and the event's own files under Event materials.
• If the organiser collects feedback: Rate buttons and a Your certificate (or Your feedback) card. See "Give feedback" below.

Keep a copy on your phone. Venue Wi-Fi can fail. Press Download programme (PDF) above the timeline to save a copy you can open without a connection. It shows what your page shows (every group's sessions, if Show all groups is on). If the organiser changes the programme later, download it again.

If the page says The programme hasn't been published yet., check back nearer the time.

Join an online event

For online and hybrid events, you join from Sympozium. The meeting link itself is never emailed: it opens only for the ticket holder.

1. Sign in, then open My Tickets and your ticket for the event. Join online is also on the event page and on your programme.
2. Press Join online (on your ticket for the whole event, or beside a session in the programme when a session has its own link).
3. The first time you join, you'll see Before you join: "Joining checks you in to the event. Please confirm you're attending." Tick the box ("I confirm I am attending this event in person (or online, for online events). Checking in for an event I'm not attending is dishonest and may be reported to my organisation.") and press Join online.
4. You're taken to the meeting. After the first time, Join online takes you straight there.

Invited but not booked yet? Use Accept and join in your invitation (see "Online and hybrid events: Accept and join" above).

When the link opens

• The link opens 15 minutes before the start, so you have time to check your sound and camera: 15 minutes before the first session for the event's own link, or before the session for a session's own link. Until then, your ticket, the event page and your programme say where and when it will appear, for example Your Join online button appears here from 13:45 on 22 October.
• After the event's last day, it shows Join link closed.

Good to know:

• Joining online checks you in, just as being checked in at the door does. That unlocks handouts, feedback and your certificate.
• Your booking confirmation email, and a reminder the evening before each day of an online or hybrid event (from 18:00, event time), tell you where to find Join online and when it appears. The reminder lists that day's sessions and has an Open your programme button.
• If the link isn't ready, your ticket explains, for example The organiser hasn't added a join link yet. Please check back closer to the time or contact them.

Check yourself in

Some events have a screen at the registration desk showing a QR code. You can scan it to check yourself in instead of queueing.

1. Point your phone's camera at the QR code on the screen and open the link.
2. Sign in if asked, with the account you booked with.
3. On Confirm you're here, tick the box ("I confirm I am attending this event in person …") and press Check me in.
4. You'll see You're checked in, with the time. Press Open your programme to see your day.

Good to know:

• The code changes every minute. If you see That code has changed (for example because signing in took a while), scan the screen again. After scanning, tick the box and press Check me in within 10 minutes, or you'll be asked to scan again.
• When it's open: from 2 hours before the day's first session until the end of that day. Before then, you'll see Self check-in isn't open yet with the opening time; the desk can check you in sooner.
• No ticket on this account means you're signed in with a different email address from the one you booked with. Sign in with that one, or go to the desk.
• Too many tries means wait 10 minutes and scan again, or go to the desk.
• Scanning again once you're checked in changes nothing: you'll see You're already checked in.
• No phone, or it isn't working? The desk can check you in by your QR code or name.
• Checking in unlocks your handouts and feedback, and counts towards your certificate.

Open handouts and event files

Organisers and speakers can share handouts and other files. You can open them once you're checked in, and they stay available to you afterwards. Pre-course materials are different: you can open them before the event (see the next section).

1. Open your programme (or the event page).
2. A session's files are listed under that session in the programme.
3. Files for the whole event are under Event materials on your programme, and under Files for this event in the Tickets box on the event page.
4. Press a file's name. PDFs, pictures and MP4 videos open in a new tab; other files (PowerPoint, Word, Excel and so on) download to your device.

Once checked in, you can open the shared files for every session, not just the ones you attend. A speaker's slides are shared only if the speaker or organiser chooses to.

Open pre-course materials

Some organisers share materials to read or do before the event, such as pre-reading, a reading list or a quiz. You don't need to be checked in for these.

1. Open My Tickets and press your ticket.
2. The files are listed under Before the course.
3. Press a file's name. PDFs, pictures and MP4 videos open in a new tab; other files download to your device.

If there's no Before the course section, the organiser hasn't shared any pre-course materials.

Give feedback

If the organiser collects feedback, you rate sessions as the day goes on, then give your overall feedback at the end. You need to be checked in. Some private events don't collect feedback.

Rate sessions

1. Open your programme.
2. Once a session has started, it shows a Rate button (before then, Feedback opens at …). Sessions marked with the certificate icon are needed for your certificate. Sessions where feedback is optional show Rate (optional) instead (before then, Optional feedback from …). Some sessions don't ask for feedback at all.
3. Choose 1 to 5 stars under How was this session?, add a Comment (optional) if you like, and press Save.
4. The session then shows Rated, with Edit if you want to change it.

While a session is on, you can also rate it from the Live now card (Rate this session). A session needed for your certificate can't be skipped once you've opened it: save a rating to close the box.

The Your certificate card shows how many required sessions you've rated (for example 2 of 5 required sessions rated), with a link to any that are ready to rate now.

Give your overall feedback

1. When every session has finished and every required session is rated, the card shows Complete your event feedback. Press it. (You can also press Leave feedback on your ticket or on My Tickets.)
2. Rate any sessions still listed under Sessions.
3. Under Overall, give an Overall rating, answer Would you recommend this event?, and optionally fill in What went well? (optional) and What could be improved? (optional).
4. Optionally tick I'm happy for the organisers to contact me about my feedback.
5. Press Submit feedback. You'll see "Thank you — your feedback has been recorded."

Good to know:

• Submit your overall feedback after the last session. Once you submit, you can't rate any further sessions.
• You can edit your feedback for 7 days after submitting it (View/edit your feedback), even once your certificate has been issued. The page tells you the date the window closes. After that, you can still view it.
• The morning after the event, you'll get an email asking for your feedback, with up to 2 reminders a week apart until it's done. At events with certificates, the email lists exactly what's still needed.

Get your certificate

If an event issues certificates of attendance, yours is issued automatically. You don't need to ask for one.

When it's issued

The event has finished when its last session for attendees on the last day ends. From then on, your certificate is issued as soon as all of these are true:

• you were checked in (at the desk, by scanning the registration screen, or by joining online);
• your account has your first and last name;
• you've submitted your overall feedback and rated every session marked with the certificate icon.

If everything was already done during the event, the certificate follows within about 15 minutes of the last session ending. If you finish your feedback later, it follows straight after.

Some private events don't issue certificates.

If your name is missing

After the event you'll get an email headed Add your name to receive your certificate, with a link to add it. If it's still missing 3 days later, you'll get one reminder. These emails stop once the certificate is issued.

Check your name, title and post-nominals under My account → Profile before the event ends. They're printed on the certificate as they are when it's issued.

Download it

• It's emailed to you as a PDF, headed Your CPD certificate: [event name], or Your certificate of attendance: [event name] for an event without CPD.
• It's also on your ticket and on My Tickets: press Download certificate. It stays there permanently.

What's on it

Your name (with your title and post-nominals, if you've added them), the event, its dates and venue, the event director or directors, the date it was issued, and the Certificate reference (top right; the same as your ticket reference). If the event carries CPD, it shows the CPD amount in a seal and, where given, the accrediting body and approval reference. An event without CPD gives a plain certificate of attendance.

If something's wrong

• Wrong name on your certificate? Correct it under My account → Profile, then ask the organiser to re-issue it. You'll get an email headed Your updated CPD certificate: [event name] (or Your updated certificate of attendance: [event name]) with the new copy, which keeps the same reference. Your ticket then says Re-issued on ….
• Think you should have a certificate but don't? Contact the organiser. Event staff can release a certificate by hand, for example if you had trouble with the feedback form.
• If someone needs to confirm your certificate is genuine, they can ask the organiser, quoting the certificate reference.

Your attendance record

Your attendance record lists every event you've been checked in to, for example for your appraisal or revalidation.

1. Go to My Tickets.
2. Under Your attendance record, press View your attendance record.
3. You'll see each event's dates and organisation, a total for each series you attend (for example "BLS: 8 of 10 sessions"), and Download certificate for any certificates.
4. Press Print or save as PDF to keep a copy.

The record shows check-ins as each organisation recorded them. It is not a certificate or a CPD record.

If an event is hidden or cancelled

• If an event has been cancelled, its page says This event has been cancelled, and you'll have been emailed about any refund.
• If an event has been taken down, its page says This event isn't available. If you already have a ticket, you can still find it under My Tickets.