Date Time EMBL courses and conferences: learning lessons and looking ahead The coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for those trying to organise scientific courses and conferences. As the scale of the disruption first became clear, EMBL moved quickly to ensure that its events could still go ahead EMBL’s courses and conferences are accessible from your desk. From the earliest days of the pandemic, the uncertainty of the situation and the requirement for physical distancing created a host of challenges. It also raised major questions about new formats. Would the technology stand up to running a conference entirely online? How would participants respond to a virtual course? Would attendees still feel engaged while sat at home?