By submitting an abstract or a session proposal for FEMS MICRO 2027 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, (5-8 July 2027), you are agreeing on behalf of all authors and session contributors, to the following terms and conditions. Don’t forget to also check our AI Guidelines below. A detailed overview of the terms and conditions will be available on the submission portal.

Requirements 

• Submissions must be complete and in English 

• Late or incomplete proposals cannot be considered 

• All proposals will be reviewed by the FEMS MICRO Programme Committee 

Submissions & Topics   

• You can submit no more than two proposals: 

  • One under a scientific topic track (Eco Innovations, Health Horizons, or Biotechnology) 

  • One under the Engagement & Growth topic track

Participation & Commitment

• FEMS MICRO 2027 is an in-person event, and all contributors are expected to attend and present onsite. Please note that accepted submissions do not include financial support (such as free registration, travel, or accommodation). The submitter is responsible for ensuring that all collaborators are aware of and agree to their inclusion in the proposal.  

Content & Integrity

• Submissions should be scientifically relevant and non-commercial.

• Active promotion of products, services, or commercial entities is not permitted. 

FEMS MICRO copyright policy 

In consideration of the acceptance of an abstract and any related materials submitted in connection with a FEMS meeting or conference (the “Presentation Materials”), the submitter (“attendee”) grants FEMS a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use, reproduce, publish, distribute, publicly display, archive, and summarise the Presentation Materials, in whole or in part, in both print and electronic formats, for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Authors will be attributed. 

By submitting Presentation Materials, the attendee represents and warrants that: 

• The materials are original, or the attendee has obtained the necessary rights to use them; 

• The materials do not infringe any copyright, personal, proprietary, or other rights of any third party. 

The attendee is responsible for obtaining all required permissions prior to submission to grant the rights to FEMS listed in the top paragraph. 

All submitted work must comply with applicable national and international legislation and ethical standards, including those relating to research involving humans and animals. FEMS reserves the right to reject any submission that does not meet these requirements. 

FEMS acknowledges that, in some jurisdictions, copyright protection may not apply to certain types of Presentation Materials. In such cases, this license will not apply; however, all other terms and conditions of submission remain in effect.   

Guidelines for using AI for abstract submissions 

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools (such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, or similar systems) can support the preparation of scientific texts. However, their use must be responsible, transparent, and limited, in order to maintain the integrity, originality, and scientific accuracy of submitted work.  

AI tools should support human scientific authorship and judgement, not replace it. Authors remain fully responsible for all submitted content to FEMS MICRO 2027. 

Please follow these guidelines:  

A) Use AI to refine language, not to generate content

• AI tools may be used to improve language, clarity, grammar, and structure of any submission . 

• AI should not be used to generate scientific content, including hypotheses, data interpretation, results or conclusions. 

• Ensure that the core research contributions and findings presented are entirely your own, and that AI is only used to refine how these are communicated. 

B) Maintain originality and intellectual ownership

• Authors must ensure that all submitted content reflects their own work.  

• AI-generated text should not be used in a way that obscures authorship or replaces the author’s voice. 

• Submissions must comply with plagiarism and originality standards, including when AI tools are used. 

• AI tools cannot be listed as authors or contributors. 

C) Verify accuracy of technical terminology and factcheck all information

• AI systems may produce incorrect, incomplete, or fabricated information (“hallucinations”).  

• Authors must: 

• Independently verify all statements, data, and references 

• Ensure correct use of technical terminology and scientific concepts 

• Avoid relying on AI for factual claims without validation 

• Avoid accepting AI-recommended changes to technical terms without proper review to prevent any loss of precision in the scientific content.  

D) Protect confidential and sensitive information

• Do not input unpublished data, confidential results, or personal/sensitive information into AI tools, unless you are certain this complies with data protection and institutional policies.  

• Some AI systems may store or reuse input data, which may pose risks to intellectual property and privacy.  

E) Ensure transparency through disclosure

• Any use of AI tools must be clearly disclosed during the submission process. 

• Disclosure should specify which tool(s) were used, and for what purpose (e.g. language editing, summarization). 

F) Final review and co-author approval

• Authors must carefully proofread and review any AI-assisted text.  

• All co-authors must review the final submission, and agree on its content and accuracy.  

• The submitting author is responsible for compliance with these guidelines.