INVITATION 

The Scientific Programme Committee is pleased to invite delegates to submit their contribution to the SASREG - ISGE / ESGE 2019 congress through the online submission system. Your contribution, once accepted, can be presented at the congress as an oral, poster or video presentation.

The final date for the submission of abstracts is the 11th of October 2018.

Abstracts will then go through a blind review process and authors will be notified by the 11th November 2018 whether their submission has been accepted.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION 

	The Committee reserves the right to decide on the final method of presentation.
	Only abstracts submitted ONLINE will be accepted. Abstracts submitted by fax, email or paper copy will not be considered.
	If an abstract is accepted for presentation, at least one author must pay the registration fee to attend the Congress.
	Please remember that submitting an abstract does NOT automatically register you as a conference delegate. Conference registration must be done online.
	At least one of the named authors on the abstract must register to attend the conference in order for the abstract to be included in the programme.
	All communications about your abstract submission will be sent to the email address you use to submit.
	We recommend that the user ID and email belong to the main author that will be presenting at the conference.
	If you are submitting more than one abstract you can use the same login for each abstract.
	You can alter your abstract at any time up to the deadline.
	Do not include author names in the title or body of your abstract because a 'blind' reviewing process will be used - you can enter the names online during the submission process.
	Abstracts must be submitted in English.
	Abstract text should clearly state Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusions.
	Sources of funding / conflict of interest should be indicated at the bottom of the abstract.
	Abstracts should refer to completed work and not work in progress, should include details of the results to be presented and should not include phrases such as 'the findings will be described'.
	Use standard abbreviations only and place any unusual abbreviation in parenthesis after the full word the first time it appears.
	Use generic names of drugs.
	References should be kept to a minimum and, ideally, should be consistently presented in Vancouver (numbered) style.

REGISTERING AS A USER IN THE ABSTRACT SYSTEM 

1.	Create a new User ID. The system will automatically prompt you with a message to register your details if you have not yet done so.
2.	Enter your name, surname and email and choose a password.
3.	Enter any other personal information, such as address, phone number, qualifications etc.
4.	You will be sent an email confirming your password to access the abstract submission system.

ACCESSING THE SYSTEM 

	Every time you need to access the abstract submission system - either to submit an abstract or to amend it - you must log in.
	Your username is the email address you gave when you logged on to the system.
	You will receive an email confirming your contact details and password.

SUBMITTING AN ABSTRACT 
The congress offers a text-based submission form where you will be required to enter the information regarding your abstract, such as title, authors, biography, etc. Submitting an abstract is a multi-step process and each step asks several questions:

1.	Log in to the submission system when you have prepared your abstract - enter your email address and the password you chose when you registered with the system.
2.	You will be taken to a screen from which the submission process starts. Please read the instructions on this screen carefully. If you want to submit a new abstract you should click the link that says 'Click here to submit a new abstract'.
3.	Submitting an abstract is a multi-step process. Each step asks several questions. Some questions are marked 'required/mandatory' and you will not be able to complete your submission until these questions have been answered
4.	If you have to stop part way through the process your submission will be held in a temporary storage until you return later and complete all of the questions. When you log in again you can click on your incomplete abstract and resume submission.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF AN ABSTRACT 
Enter the title and abstract text, by either copy/pasting from your word file or typing in the information. Remember there is a 50 word limit for the title and 350 word limit for the text. Click "Next" to continue.

TITLE (MAX. 50 WORDS): The title should be as brief as possible but long enough to indicate clearly the nature of the abstract. If you wish to include a subtitle it must be included in this field and included in the 50 word limit.

ABSTRACT (MAX. 350 WORDS): Any abstracts exceeding the word limit will not be accepted.

	References are not required. If you wish to include them, they must be included in the body of your text and included in the 350 word count.
	Special symbols and formatting are to be used sparingly. Once your submission is complete, please read your abstract in full to ensure the symbols are displayed correctly, and if not, please click on the "Insert Symbol" icon on the screen to see the list of available symbols.
	Do not use tables or figures.
	Proposed studies/presentations should be significantly advanced or completed at the time of abstract submission.

Enter information about the authors and affiliations. Click "Next" to continue.

	AUTHORS: You MUST enter the names of all authors here (including yourself if you are an author) in the order in which you wish them to appear in the printed text. Names omitted here will NOT be printed in the author index or the final program. Please ensure the spelling of their names and affiliations is correct.
	PRESENTERS: The system will only allow you to nominate one presenter, which can be yourself (the person submitting the abstract) or any other of the authors.

Enter information about your abstract. Click "Finish" to confirm and finalise your submission.

PRESENTATION FORMAT: Please select if you wish your abstract to be considered for 'Oral Presentation', 'Video Presentation' or 'Poster Presentation'. The Committee reserves the right to decide on the final method of presentation.

If you have answered all the mandatory questions, then your abstract will be assigned a reference number and you will be taken to a summary page.
Enter information about your abstract. Click "Finish" to confirm and finalise your submission.

	REQUIRED FIELDS: Some fields are marked "Required / Mandatory". The system will not accept your abstract until these questions have been answered. If you have not answered all the mandatory questions, your abstract will be held in temporary storage until you return later and complete all the questions
	WORD LIMIT: Please note the system will not accept fields that exceed the word limit and will not allow you to continue until the word limit is met. Check all the details on the summary page are correct, print or save this page and click "Next". Or, click on the "Back ?" to make any changes
	You will be sent a confirmation email with your submission reference number when your abstract has been submitted successfully.

CANCELLING AN ABSTRACT SUBMISSION 
If you wish to withdraw an abstract, please contact the Conference Secretariat and confirm the withdrawal in writing by email or fax.

SUBMITTING MORE THAN ONE ABSTRACT 
If you are submitting more than one abstract, please use the same email address and password for each abstract. Please follow the same steps as above.

AMENDING AN ABSTRACT 
You may wish to change your answers to some of the questions on the submission form, or even to change the abstract file itself.

1.	Log back into the submission system.
2.	You will see the list of abstracts that you have submitted so far. Click on the abstract that you wish to change.
3.	Amending an abstract is just the same as the original submission process except that the online form will be automatically filled in with the answers that you gave previously. You don't have to change an answer if you don't want to.
4.	When you reach the final steps and click 'Finish' you will be sent an email confirming that your abstract has been amended.

QUERIES 
If you have any questions regarding submitting an abstract, please contact the Secretariat
Lethishah@turnersconferences.co.za 

Click here to submit your abstract

or visit the congress website 
CLICK HERE

Closing Date: 11 October 2018

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE CONGRESS WEBSITE

Conference Secretariat 
Turners Conferences & Conventions Pty Ltd
PO Box 1935, Durban, 4000
Tel: +27 31 368 8000
Email: info@turnersconferences.co.za