NPG launches interactive global science calendar

    Nature Publishing Group (NPG) has launched an expanded online calendar of global scientific events. The calendar provides users with a new way to search for science events, which can also be personalized and synced to a personal online or mobile calendar. The calendar is hosted onnature.com.

    The calendar provides users with an innovative way to find important dates in science, as well as events that have been specifically selected by Nature editors. Content includes:

    • Conferences
    • Training courses
    • Careers events
    • Journal publication dates
    • International observances
    • Congress
    • Historical anniversaries
    • Astronomical events
    • Webinars/virtual events

    Users can synchronize their personal calendar automatically with the events calendar using the iCal feed. Feeds can be tailored by a number of preferences including subject area, location and type of event, to match their interests. The iCal feed is supported by Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook 2007 and Apple iCal.

    The idea for the calendar was put forward by Dr Andrew Jermy, Senior Editor, Nature Reviews Microbiology, through a scheme run by NPG’s parent company, Macmillan Publishers Ltd, to encourage innovative ideas.

    “Given my experiences of searching for key dates in the scientific calendar, both as an editor and as a scientist, the ability to generate personalized feeds to sync parts of our events calendar with that of the individual user will be of great value to the scientific community,” said Dr Andrew Jermy.