Why sponsor the Optical Biology Conference?
The Optical Biology Conference is a small, student-led, international retreat focused on optical imaging, microscopy and quantitative biology. It brings together early-career researchers (PhD students and postdocs), technical facility leads and group leaders for two days of science and one day of local visits and industry engagement.
- Targeted & high-quality exposure — intimate format (≈60–100 attendees) ensures long, substantive conversations at poster sessions, coffee breaks and demos.
- International attendees & top institutes — participants and hosts from across Europe and beyond, including UCL (UK), VIB–KU Leuven (Belgium), and NTNU / Kavli (Norway).
- Early-career talent pipeline — meet skilled PhD students in optics, imaging and computation, who are strong candidates for future technical and research roles.
- Skills & capacity building — sponsoring helps fund student organisation, professional development and travel bursaries that strengthen the next generation of imaging scientists.
- Flexible engagement — financial support, student bursaries, poster prizes, or bespoke activities tailored to your goals.
- Transparent follow-up — post-event sponsor report summarising attendance, visibility, and impact metrics.
Who you'll meet
- PhD students and postdocs with hands-on optical and computational experience.
- Faculty and group leaders from partner institutes (opportunity for strategic collaborations).
- Facility heads and technical staff who run advanced imaging platforms.
- Industry representatives and vendor engineers (Industry Day).
Typical attendee profile: early-career researchers (60–80%), facility staff (5–10%), PIs & group leaders (10–20%), industry representatives (5–10%).
Estimate of need & budget
Estimated total budget for OBC 2026: €15,000.
| Category | Approx. % | Approx. € |
|---|---|---|
| Travel & accommodation (students & speakers) | ~60% | ~€9,000 |
| Catering & social events | ~20% | ~€3,000 |
| Venue, AV & printing | ~10% | ~€1,500 |
| Local trip & miscellaneous | ~10% | ~€1,500 |
We are happy to adapt packages to sponsor priorities (e.g. student bursaries, named prizes).
Sponsorship packages
All packages include: logo on the sponsors slide shown between sessions, acknowledgement during opening & closing remarks, and a short post-event report.
| Level | Suggested contribution | Core benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | €3,000 | Prominent logo on website & programme; logo on event banner; exhibition table in poster area and speaking slot during Industry session. |
| Silver | €1,500 | Logo on website & printed programme; acknowledgement during event; inclusion of literature in welcome pack and speaking slot or exhibition table in poster area during Industry session. |
| Bronze | €1000 | Logo in programme and on sponsor slide; acknowledgement in the programme booklet; speaking slot or exhibition table in poster area during Industry session. |
| Supporter | €500 | Name listed on the website and programme footer; acknowledgement on sponsor slide. |
À la carte & in-kind options
- Welcome Dinner Sponsor — €1,200 (logo in dinner materials, brief welcome acknowledgement)
- Conference Dinner Sponsor — €1,500 (logo at dinner, event acknowledgement)
- Industry Day Session — €1,000 (slot for up to four short industry talks or demos)
- Poster Prize — €300–€500 (branded certificate, announcement at closing)
- Travel bursaries — €400–€600 per student (named bursary on website/programme)
- In-kind — equipment loans / branded materials / catering support (benefits negotiable)
We love bespoke packages — tell us the visibility or engagement you want and we will design a custom package.
Visibility & engagement
Sample sponsor visibility depending on level:
- On-site: exhibition table space in poster hall (Gold / Silver), branded slide between sessions, poster prizes.
- Online & print: logo on the conference one-pager, PDF programme, and post-event report.
- People: short speaking/demo slot (Gold/Industry Day), direct conversations with students and PIs.
Process, deadlines & invoicing
Deadline for confirmed sponsors: ideally three months before the event to ensure logo placement and programme printing. Exact deadlines will be confirmed once dates are finalised.
Invoice & payment: we can issue invoices via the host institute or an organising account. When you confirm a package please indicate billing details and any purchase-order requirements and we will send a formal sponsorship agreement and invoice.
Post-event report: within 4–6 weeks after the conference we will supply a short report summarising attendance and sponsor visibility (logo use, talk/demo attendance, and poster/prize winners where applicable).
Affiliated institutes
The conference is organised by and run in partnership with the following institutes.
Home programme & core organising cohort
Programme funder
2026 host university
Partner
Partner & 2025 host
Download
Sponsorship Information Pack (PDF): Download the PDF
Contact
For sponsorship enquiries, to request a bespoke package, or to receive the formal sponsorship agreement and invoice, please contact:
Email: serkan.shentyurk.24@ucl.ac.uk or michael.schellenberger@ntnu.no