Through collaboration and customization, ProjectionNet ensured a flawless experience.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) annual Clinical Congress is one of the largest medical meetings in the world. With more than 10,000 attendees and over 3,000 different presentations in 32 concurrent rooms, the event is the epicenter of surgical education and collaboration each year.
Since 2024, ACS has partnered with Projection to support the annual meeting. Projection’s customizable presentation management system, ProjectionNet, integrates directly with the organization’s abstract and event management platform to deliver a seamless experience for both speakers and their audience.
Complex Needs of Modern Meetings
The Clinical Congress presentation process is complex. Thousands of abstracts and videos flow through multiple review committees before being scheduled into sessions months later. ACS must account for different presentation formats including posters, individual session speakers, panels, keynotes, videos and other multimedia, as well as multiple file types like PDFs, PowerPoints, and MP4s.
Elaura Dunning, Scientific Forum Administrator, ACS
Many of the presenters are medical students or early-career professionals sharing their work on a national stage for the first time, often requiring additional support. More experienced presenters expect a simple process. On-site, speakers change, slides update, and timing shifts. ACS needed an intuitive system with real-time adaptive capabilities.
“Talks and presentations at the meeting are a huge part of attendance, and a big focus for us. We want it to be a non-issue, as smooth as possible, because when there are bumps, it impacts the experience for everyone.” — Elaura Dunning, Scientific Forum Administrator, American College of Surgeons
ProjectionNet
In the months leading up to the Clinical Congress, Projection worked with ACS to strategize, configure, and test ProjectionNet to ensure it was uniquely tailored to ACS’s workflows. The primary goal was to preserve the familiar experience presenters expected while adding automation and control behind the scenes.
Customized elements included:
1. Seamless Integration
- Single Sign-On: One login for both abstract submission and presentation upload tools.
- Streamlined Pre-submission: A filter tool simplified the experience for speakers by presenting options related to their specific role, such as presenter or moderator.
- Custom API integration: Connected ProjectionNet with ACS’s abstract and event management platform for seamless dataflow.
- Automated file routing: Ensures every presentation file lands in the right room, at the right time, tied to the right session – automatically and reliably – even when schedules change.
2. Onsite Tools
- Onsite Uploader: Gives presenters a fast, secure way to upload final files on-site, ensuring their latest version is ready in the room without delays or manual intervention.
- Launcher: Offline-capable interface for launching presentations in the room with Presenter View for all file types (PowerPoint, PDF, and videos).
- Dynamic Polling Slide Integration: Automates the display of polling, evaluation, disclosure, or sponsorship slides based on the live schedule.
3. User Experience & Support
- Moderator Tool: Secure web-based portal for moderators to remotely review, download, and rehearse only the presentations associated with their assigned sessions.
- High-touch presenter support: Projection’s onsite team provided a personalized check-in experience and hands-on assistance in the Speaker Ready Room, extending the customer support provided by ACS staff.
The result was a fully-integrated system designed to handle the intricacies of such a large conference with minimal disruption to presenters and attendees.
“We would have been totally lost without the team at Projection. They were instrumental in making everything mesh with our current system so the speakers got the easiest experience possible.” — Elaura Dunning, Scientific Forum Administrator, American College of Surgeons
Wins and Next Steps
The 2025 Clinical Congress marked another year of seamless delivery and strong collaboration between ACS and Projection. Thousands of presentations were processed smoothly, and presenters experienced a reliable, stress-free workflow from upload to delivery.
Notable results:
- Outstanding satisfaction: ACS rated Projection Excellent across all service categories and Greatly Exceeded Expectations
- 0 disruptions: No major reported issues or complaints from speakers or attendees.
- Elevated brand experience: Modernized production reinforced ACS’s reputation as a premier association.
- Optimized operations: With refined workflows and strategic tech enhancements, year two of Clinical Congress delivered elevated operational efficiency.
Marisa Villalba, Senior Meeting Planner, ACS
Together, ACS and Projection continue to refine ProjectionNet and its data integrations, building on a proven model of collaboration, customization, and reliability.
“The relationship is the biggest perk. Our Projection team takes the time to understand how we work and customizes every step to fit our needs. They’re always coming back with new ideas, helping us improve each year at a pace that makes sense for us.” — Marisa Villalba, Senior Meeting Planner, American College of Surgeons