RCOG 2025: Judging at Scale
ExCeL London, UK · June 2025
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) 2025 World Congress brought together thousands of researchers at ExCeL London, with 2,260 posters presented across three days. For an event of that size and standing, the judging process needed to be manageable and free of friction for the judges being asked to participate.
RCOG has worked with ePostersLive since 2011. For 2025 they brought InstaJudge in to operate the judging portion. Two separate systems needed to run in parallel: one for ePosters and one for Oral Presentations, each with its own criteria, workflow, and reporting structure. Having worked together for over a decade, RCOG knew what SciGen could deliver and trusted our team to create systems that would meet their large-scale judging needs.
2,260
posters presented
63
judges across both systems
2+
judges per submission
Two Systems, Built Around the Event's Needs
The ePoster and Oral Presentation systems were configured differently from the ground up. The ePoster system scored submissions from two Theatres across 24 categories, while Oral Presentations were assessed on multiple days across 7 separate rooms simultaneously. A total of 63 judges participated across both systems, with each judge assigned to specific submissions by the organising team in advance, and a minimum of 2 judges per submission to ensure consistency across the results.
No Paperwork, No Barriers to Participation
Many conferences still rely on paper ballots or spreadsheet-based systems that delay results availability and are prone to human error. At RCOG 2025, judges didn't need to download anything to participate. They didn't need to register an account or remember a password. A QR code was all it took to get started, which they scanned with either their phone or a conference-provided iPad.
Scoring was handled through a simple slider interface, accessible from any device via a web browser. Each submission was rated across its criteria on a scale from Poor to Outstanding, with judges able to move between submissions and work through their list at their own pace. The result was a higher completion rate, instant results, a clean dataset, and a process that respected the time of the people being asked to contribute.
Results in Real Time
Throughout the Congress, the organising team had live access to results on the InstaJudge dashboard. As scores came in, they could monitor coverage, track progress, and ensure no submission was left without sufficient judges. Final winners were determined by the highest average score.
For organisations planning a research event with a judging element, RCOG 2025 demonstrated what a purposefully built, web-based system can handle at scale, and how straightforward the experience can be for everyone involved.