What it’s like to present a poster at Euro Convergence, with Raquel Carnero

| 08 July 2022 | By Ryan Connors 

Euro Convergence, RAPS’ annual gathering of medical device, in vitro diagnostic (IVD) and pharmaceutical regulatory professionals, returned in person to Amsterdam on 11-13 May 2022. More than 500 participants, including 120 industry expert speakers from more than 30 health authorities and notified bodies, made it an event to remember in Amsterdam after two years of virtual conferences.

Delegates submitted a record-breaking 20 posters for Euro Convergence 2022. Raquel Carnero’s submission, “Regulatory intelligence, to protect and to serve your medical device strategy in the world” took home the top prize.

Carnero, a Senior Medical Devices Specialist for IQVIA Regulatory Intelligence, joined RAPS for a quick chat on how this poster project came about, what she likes about her poster and what she enjoyed about Euro Convergence 2022. This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

RAPS: Where did you get the idea for this poster?

Raquel Carnero: Well, you know, after the pandemic and all this time with no face-to-face interaction, there's nothing like an in-person event. I was very happy to have this opportunity, like kind of a window to show your work. I was talking to another colleague in the regulatory intelligence area and I thought it was a great idea to submit a poster this year.

RAPS: What was your favorite part of working on this poster?

Carnero: The poster is a very standard one. I mean, you know, the corporate colors and the message—we wanted the message to be very clear, very professional. But the part I like most is the example, the practical approach that we [have] at the bottom of the poster, there is a cross country table, so you can see the requirements for quality in vitro diagnostics at the end, you can see it across the regions. So, it's showing a little bit of our product in IQVIA regulatory intelligence, but with this approach of you can get it … just in one shot.



The top of the poster is what many people found interesting and worth exploring because the message is where we want to help people and help them with their day-to-day tasks. There are lots of repetitive and very time-consuming tasks that you can get rid of with this tool. So, you know, seeing it in in just one poster with all the availability of the information that you may have with this kind of tool, that's really interesting. That’s what’s helpful. Seeing an example, and not marketing messages, but the real features you can get with it.

RAPS: We tried something new at Euro Convergence this year and delegates were able to judge your poster by walking around and voting on it afterwards. So, what was that experience like, walking around, and knowing people are voting on your work?

Carnero: Yeah, we encouraged people. I was there encouraging people to vote. And it was also great to have this timeslot, you know, morning and afternoon we were there, and we were able to present. So, you were showing your poster, but it was most important to get feedback from people and you were there, and you were just asking if you like [the poster] or you find it interesting. Some other times it was the people approaching you.

 

RAPS: How would you sum up your Euro Convergence experience and your poster experience in one sentence? 

Carnero: The best part was the interaction. I totally agree that webinars have been helpful but presenting a poster and going to a conference is radically different. And we were really missing the interaction.  

The sessions are very interesting. I'd say that this one was very, very important because of the MDR and IVDR implementation. And you need to plan a little bit. You need to plan your conference and go vote for the posters, but also go to the sessions and spend some time to interact and to discuss with your colleagues. 

Sometimes it's much better to stop, take a coffee break and meet somebody new than it is to just keep reading. This is a great opportunity to meet in person and interact.