Computing in Cardiology is a well-established international series of annual meetings. In September 2022, we had the honour of organising the first Finnish event of Computing in Cardiology in Tampere.

Due to Covid, the previous two events were mostly held online with fewer than a hundred on-site participants. However, Tampere hosted 350 on-site participants with more than a hundred remote participants online, an overall record. Our goal was to get the CINC community physically back together again and we did it with flying colours. You can say Tampere was a real reboot event for the entire conference series!

I can’t deny I feel a lot hometown pride for Tampere. The city is dynamic, international and very accessible. It’s located in Western Finland, between two beautiful lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi, and only 180 kilometres from the capital Helsinki.

We held the conference at Tampere Hall. It has excellent premises and modern technology for various needs. Tampere Hall is very central, right next to the Tampere Railway Station and close to all kinds of accommodation options and sights. In fact, Tampere Hall is the largest congress centre in the Nordics.

When it comes to congresses, the big picture is what matters. We wanted to provide the audience scientific substance, opportunities for networking among colleagues and a chance to see something new and exciting. Tampere University and the scientists running the local organisation provided an excellent scientific backdrop for the event. CINC traditionally includes a Monday Social Program that features local sights. We had quite a diverse selection, including a sauna event, church boat rowing and a walking tour of the industrial heritage sights of Tampere. 

Finland has a tradition of robust scientific research in general and especially in the fields of the CINC. Having a successful scientific event requires capable local organisers who understand the topic and its traditions. Access to internationally recognised names for the organisation is also key. Another CINC tradition is the Sunday Symposium, a sort of satellite event for the main conference that’s organised by the local scientific community. For the Tampere event, the symposium’s topic was “Novel approaches for personalised ardiac health: from stem cells to wearable technologies”. Speakers from Tampere University were followed by a round table discussion with participants from Finland and abroad.

Finland is known as a reliable host country for events. We are a functioning society with safe and reliable systems, dependable transport services and know-how for organising conferences. On top of that, nature is a part of everyday life even in our cities. 

When we decided to bid for the conference in 2018, the first available slot was 2022. There were a few competing proposals, but we came out on top. I believe the main arguments in our benefit were our strong scientific background and a history of organising successful events by our local team in Tampere.

I have taken part in organising European events in Tampere twice before, and both projects were highly rewarding and educational. Organising an event is a great way of getting recognition in your field for your work as well as your research group and university. It makes for great publicity for everyone. Furthermore, you’re also furthering Finland’s reputation in the science world. Therefore I’m happy to say we received great feedback from our participants. Organising a large conference can be a lot of work, but it surely is very gratifying as well – afterwards.

• Computing in Cardiology 2022 
• Venue: Tampere Hall in Tampere
• Conference dates: 4–7 September 2022
• Organiser: Computing in Cardiology and Tampere University
• Participants: 350 on-site, 110 remote
• Watch the video from the conference.