EPS-HEP 2025 conference app — managing a 700+ contribution scientific program with Indico sync

The European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Physics (EPS-HEP 2025) is one of the flagship international conferences in particle physics, bringing together researchers from experimental and theoretical communities worldwide. The 2025 edition took place at the Palais du Pharo in Marseille, France, from 7 to 11 July 2025, welcoming 798 registered participants.

The scientific programme was exceptionally dense: 124 sessions, 684 oral contributions, and 102 posters, distributed across multiple parallel tracks covering topics such as top and electroweak physics, dark matter, quantum field theory, accelerators, instrumentation, and public outreach. Managing such a programme is not only a logistical challenge for organisers, but also a daily navigation challenge for attendees.

The Challenge: A Large, Dynamic, Indico-Driven Scientific Programme

EPS-HEP relies on Indico as its authoritative system for submissions, scheduling, and programme updates. While Indico is extremely powerful, its web interface is not optimised for fast on-site use on mobile devices, particularly in venues with inconsistent connectivity.

The programme combined:

• Parallel plenary and topical sessions
• More than one hundred posters presented in shared halls
• Special sessions such as ERC funding briefings and public outreach events
• Frequent non-scientific timetable blocks (registration, breaks, social events)

Without a mobile-first agenda, participants would have been forced to rely on static PDFs or the Indico website, both of which become inefficient during busy conference days.

Why EPS-HEP Selected HEPCon

The Local Organising Committee selected HEPCon as the official mobile app and web agenda platform because it was designed specifically for conferences with complex, Indico-based scientific programmes.

Key decision criteria included:

• Faithful representation of the Indico timetable structure
• Near real-time programme updates without manual duplication
• Reliable offline access in the venue
• Clear navigation across days, tracks, sessions, and contributions
• Professional sponsor visibility with measurable impact

Implementation: Indico Synchronisation and Offline-First Delivery

HEPCon was integrated directly with the EPS-HEP Indico instance, ingesting the complete timetable and preserving the natural hierarchy: tracks → sessions → contributions → posters.

The agenda was delivered through native iOS and Android apps and a fast web agenda, all of which remained usable offline. Participants could search for speakers, browse abstracts, and build personal schedules even in areas with limited connectivity.

Handling Programme Granularity

EPS-HEP included sessions with only a few highly specialised contributions, alongside large plenaries and poster blocks with dozens of entries. HEPCon treated each timetable block explicitly, ensuring that:

• Scientific sessions displayed all associated talks and posters
• Non-scientific blocks were clearly labelled and separated
• Poster sessions allowed exploration of all 102 posters by topic

On-Site Communication and Sponsor Visibility

When last-minute changes occurred, organisers could rely on push notifications to communicate essential updates. Sponsors were integrated through discrete banner placements, supported by analytics dashboards to quantify exposure.

Outcome

The result was a smoother on-site experience for both attendees and organisers, reduced operational overhead, and a reliable single source of truth for the programme throughout the event.

“HEPCon delivered a smooth agenda experience and saved us time on daily updates.”