Dear participants of the DPG Spring Meeting in Hannover,

Due to the deteriorating situation regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19), the DPG Executive Board, after consulting with the organisers of the DPG Spring Meeting in Hannover as well as with the local authorities, has decided – most reluctantly – to call off the conference this year.

The DPG crisis management, together with those involved in the organisation of the conferences, carefully monitored the course of the spread of the coronavirus. In doing so, it considered the "General Principles of Risk Assessment and Recommended Action for Major Events" of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the recommendations of the German Federal Minister of Health regarding major events. Thus, no other decision was possible than to cancel the event. Given the dynamic development in the spread of the virus we do not want to take incalculable risks for all those involved. Health and well-being of the participants of the DPG Spring Meeting, but also those of the population at the conference location, lie very close to our hearts.

The DPG Executive Board particularly regrets the loss of scientific communication. Due to increasing travel restrictions, scientific exchange on an international level would have been considerably restricted anyway. The DPG will seek for new formats to ease this loss of scientific exchange.

This development was not foreseeable and now challenges DPG extraordinarily. You understandably have many questions. You will find some compiled answers below. We appreciate your understanding and patience and kindly ask you to refrain from sending individual enquiries to the DPG Head Office.

We continuously keep you informed on the DPG website www.dpg-physik.de, our social media channels and this conference website.

Stay healthy!

Yours sincerely,

Dieter Meschede
President of the DPG

 

Answers on important questions

 

Will my already paid conference fee be refunded?

We are pleased to inform you that the already paid conference fees will be refunded in full in the same form in which the payment was made to the DPG. This means that:

 

• Payments made by individual bank transfer will be refunded to the bank account from which they were originally made. The purpose of the transfer is indicated according to the following model:

 Tagung Hannover Erstattung Mustermann, Max, TN 111111

 

• Payments made by combined bank transfer with a notification of the payment will be refunded to the bank account from which they were originally made. Transfers received by us with several participant numbers in the intended purpose are subject to refunds by individual transfer according to the above information.

 

• Payments made by credit card will be credited back to the credit card with which the payment was originally made. Please do not make any complaints to your bank. This process will slow down a refund.

 

The reimbursement of the conference fees has been completed in the meantime. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to Beatrice Hensel ().

 

Will I be reimbursed for ticket costs for Deutsche Bahn (DB)?

Please contact the Deutsche Bahn sales offices or the DB Customer Dialogue directly. Further information on this topic is also available here.

 

Can I still cancel my hotel room?

Please contact the provider with whom you have booked the hotel directly. This can be either directly the hotel or the Hannover Marketing und Tourismus GmbH.

 

I have applied for a grant within the communication programme of the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation. Will I still receive funding?

We are very sorry to let you know that due to the cancellation of the conference a funding is not possible.

 

I need an official letter of cancellation. Where can I get this?

You can download an official cancellation letter here.