JIST

The Power and Appeal of TOXOCON

As you read this issue of JIST, TOXOCON-6, the 6th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Toxicology would already be under way, or it would all have been over! TOXOCON-6 was decided to be held in Cochin, the picturesque coastal city of Kerala, once again on popular demand.

 

This time around, the conference is being organized in a lovely hotel on the outskirts of Cochin, away from the traffic madness of the city centre and within the beautiful environs of verdant Kerala! The chosen hotel (Hotel WyteFort) has all the facilities for a world class conference, and is easily accessible to the railway and bus stations, as well as the airport for domestic guests and international speakers/delegates who will be travelling by air. The date: 27 May 2012 (Sunday).

 

It is the aim of The Indian Society of Toxicology to demonstrate how an excellent conference (in all respects) can be organized in a 4-star hotel with modest registration fee, so that everybody from PGs to HODs of all relevant departments can attend without going bankrupt!

 

Participation is being strictly restricted to 70 participants, since that is the maximum number the conference hall can accommodate. Within one month of announcing the date, all slots were filled!

 

Theme of the conference: “The Two Sides of Pesticides”.

The “ayes” of TOXOCON-6:

1.      One-day event on a holiday, so that delegates do not lose many days of leave.

2.      Venue: Centrally air-conditioned 4-star facility hotel in the beautiful city of Cochin (Kerala).

3.      Unbelievably low registration fee for delegates (which is even less for PG students).

4.      No external sponsorships from dubious pharmaceutical companies or commercial establishments.

5.      Accommodation at highly subsidized room rates in the same hotel.

6.      Focus strictly on scientific content, with packed lectures and paper presentations.

7.      Strict time management.

8.      An MCQ-based quiz on pesticides (TOXIQUIZ) with cash prizes and award citations.

9.      Best paper and poster awards.

10.   Credit hours from Travancore State Medical Council or Medical Council of India.

11.   Free issue of JIST (Vol 8, No 1, 2012), the indexed journal of IST. Best Paper & Runners Up will be published

1.      (in article form) in the subsequent issue (Vol 8, No 2, 2012).

12.   A special demonstration of POISINDEX software (the best software on poisoning).

13.   Grand banquet on the evening of the conference within the same hotel.

 

The “nayes” of TOXOCON-6:

1.      No wastage of time by sleep-inducing inaugural ceremony or valedictory function with long-winded speeches.

2.      No endless waiting for a “chief guest”.

3.      No shopping or sightseeing during conference hours.

4.      No running around from accommodation to conference venue to banquet venue.

5.      No sweating in sleazy accommodation, nor swooning in a stuffy conference hall.

6.      No long queues for breakfast, lunch and tea, and the sumptuous banquet at the end.