Terms & Conditions

SOMS – Scientific Organisation of Medical Students – is a nonprofit student Organisation, founded at Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, in 1987. We stand for the values that help a society evolve: integrity, professionalism, constructive criticism.

STEPS is an event of the Scientific Organisation of Medical Students (SOMS) that is meant to complement the MEDICS experience.. It is an innovative and dynamic project which aims to provide novel and inspiring ideas for the medical and biomedical students’ community and also for young doctors or PhD students.

SOMS is the organiser of STEPS 2025

The official website of STEPS 2025 is www.medicsteps.com. The owner of the official website is SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students – www.soms.ro).

For the purpose of these Terms & Conditions “we”, “our”, “the organisers” refers to the STEPS 2025 organisers and “you”, “the participant”, “he/she” refers to a participant at STEPS 2025.

In order to participate at STEPS, it is mandatory to register on the official website and to create a personal account.

It is in the participant’s responsibility to verify the accuracy of the provided data. The data entered by the participant during the registration procedure will be used to generate his/her Certificate of Participation, his/her personal participation badge and any other printed or electronic material needed for the purpose of the event as well as for contacting the participant. See more in our Privacy Policy.

The official language of STEPS is ENGLISH. All the events will be held in English only, if not specifically stated otherwise. All the communication with the participants will be made in English ONLY, if not specifically stated otherwise. By accepting these Terms & Conditions and by participating at this event, the participant fully assumes that he/she has a good understanding and command of the English language. STEPS organisers are not liable for any problems, misunderstandings, losses or damages that may appear due to the participant’s poor English language skills.

Entrance to all the event’s venues  can be made only with the official badge containing the participant’s name. If the participant fails to present a valid official participation badge (regardless of the reason), he/she will be denied access to the respective venue and/or event (scientific or social). No refund will be given in this case. In case of lost or stolen official participation badge, the participant has to immediately contact a member of the STEPS staff or send an email to [email protected]. A new official participation badge will be issued ONE more time ONLY.

STEPS is a non-smoking event. It is therefore strictly forbidden to smoke on the event’s premises with the exception of the clearly marked special smoking areas. Smoking on the event’s premises (with the exception of the clearly marked special smoking areas) will result in a ban from any STEPS 2025 events. No refund will be given in this situation. It is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol during scientific events and on the workshops’ premises, except for the opening and closing ceremony and other social events. Any breach of this rule will result in an immediate eviction from STEPS 2025 premises, a permanent ban from any STEPS or SOMS events, the cancellation of the participant’s personal account and of any booking that he/she made. No refund will be given in this situation. Any verbal or physical abuse, antisocial behaviour or unlawful conduct towards a member of the STEPS staff, a trainer, a speaker, other participants, partners’ staff or sponsors will result in an immediate eviction from STEPS 2025 premises, a permanent ban from any STEPS or SOMS events, the cancellation of the participant’s personal account and of any booking that he/she previously made. No refunds can be claimed in the above situations. STEPS 2025 organisers can and will collaborate with the relevant authorities if such situations arise.

The Terms & Conditions may suffer partial alterations at any time. Any alteration made to the Terms & Conditions will be announced by email to each registered participant. If the participant does not agree with the changes made to the Terms & Conditions, he/she can send a formal request in no more than 48 hours (from the time he/she received the email about the changes that were made) at [email protected] in which he/she can demand the termination of his/her registration at the event. In this case, the participant will be entitled to a refund of any previously paid fees provided that the participant respects the Refund policy (see also VIII. Refund policy). Continued use of the website after the revision of the Terms & Conditions indicates that the participant has read, understood, and agreed to the revised Terms & Conditions.

The Romanian laws apply. To the extent allowed by law, Romania is the place of performance and jurisdiction for all claims. The organiser is only liable for claims arising from physical injuries or from property damages due to intent or gross negligence of the organiser. Any further claims are not considered. STEPS organisers are striving to select only the best partners. However, the organiser is not liable for claims arising from physical injuries, intoxication, disease, or deaths caused by a third-party action (including but not restricted to demonstrations, serving of food and/or beverages, special activities, workshops, tours, presentations, etc). This shall not affect further claims against third parties.

The organiser is not liable for claims arising from physical injuries due to the event’s venues. The organiser is not liable for the loss or theft of objects or motor vehicles brought along, except in cases of intent or grossly negligent causation. This shall not affect further claims against persons and/or companies charged with the excursions/events related to the event.

In order to participate at STEPS, it is mandatory to register on the official website and to create a personal account. Delivery: Participants will receive a payment confirmation via email after completing the transaction, and an email with their Ticket validation, along with instructions for their event booking possibilities.

STEPS Participants:

• • Can be a medical or biomedical student;
  • Can be a resident physician or an attending physician;
  • Can be a researcher in biomedical and biotechnology fields;
  • Can be representatives of the medical industry;
  • Can be members of the press;
  • Is entitled to access the events premises and to participate in all scientific and social events for the entire duration of the event, as long as the access regulations are respected (see chapter IV – Events).
  • Receive a Certificate of Participation

In order to register as a STEPS participant it is necessary to:

• • register on the official STEPS website;
  • pay the participation fee BEFORE the general payment deadline (by accessing the “Payment” section in the personal account).

All participants are required to respect the deadlines shown on the official website. Any changes to the deadlines will be announced on our website, on our official social media pages, and by e-mail to the participants who have registered up to that moment. STEPS 2025 organisers are entitled, at their discretion and without prior notice, to modify any deadlines. Any change of the STEPS 2025 deadlines is not considered a change of the Terms & Conditions.

The project involves skill training sessions. These include two types of events:

1. Medical skills training sessions
2. Non-medical skills training sessions

1. MEDICAL SKILLS TRAINING SESSIONS

STEPS 2025 includes medical skills training sessions in the form of workshops.

The aforementioned are included in one of the following medical categories:

1. Fundamental Sciences
2. Clinical Medicine
3. Surgery

In order to attend any of the scientific events, all participants must have a personal account on the official website and must have previously paid the participation fee before the general payment deadline as stated on the official website. The following attendance rules apply:

• Workshops – all participants can participate without paying any additional fee (apart from the participation fee) to a single workshop. Participants can take part in extra workshops by paying an additional workshop fee (see also Tickets). In order to receive the Certificate of Participation, the participant must attend all the workshops that he/she booked and to which he/she was admitted. Participating in a workshop is possible only after booking a seat from the personal account on the official website and after receiving the acceptance email.

The workshops are not restricted to specific years of study, but each one is addressed to specific years of study, as stated on the Workshops page. We STRONGLY suggest the participants keep our recommendations in mind.

We are not liable for the participant not understanding parts of the workshops if he/she decides to book a workshop outside the recommended year of study.

It is in the participant’s responsibility to check for the starting hours and the location of the workshop and to make sure he/she can be present at the time and place indicated by the organisers at least 15 minutes before the scheduled starting time of the workshop. Access to workshops is strictly prohibited after the workshop has started. STEPS 2025 organisers are not liable and no refund will be given for the participants not being able to attend a workshop due to participants’ own scheduling mistakes.

The participant is free to book any Workshop, as long as there are available places (the number of available places at any given Workshop is limited). The seats will be offered in the order of booking (first-come, first-served; according to the timestamp) – this means that all the participants who paid their fees have equal chances, regardless of whether it is their first, mandatory workshop included in the Participation Ticket or their extra, additional workshop.

STEPS 2025 has a “pay before you book any workshop” policy and all the participants must comply with the workshop booking procedure which is stated below.

Booking procedure:

To book a workshop a passive participant must:

1. Register and create an account on our official website (www.medicsteps.com).
2. Pay the corresponding Participation Fee (early, regular or late fee, according to the deadlines stated on the official website). The participants are advised that we accept online payments only.
3. Log into his/her account and book a workshop before the workshop booking deadline stated on the official website. Once booked, he/she can change his/her option ONLY 2 times.
4. The same rules apply for booking an extra workshop after paying the extra workshop fee.

 Extra workshop for all participants:

1.  The participants need to log into their personal account and make sure to have an active account (this means that they paid the corresponding participation fee before);
2.  Pay the Additional Workshop Ticket (see Tickets on the official website) before the general payment deadline. Please be advised that we accept online payments only;
3.  Book an extra workshop before the workshop booking deadline stated on the official website. Once booked, the participants can change their option ONLY 2 times.

Make sure that you comply with the above-stated booking rules for the first workshop. A participant’s booking may be canceled and no refunds will be issued if he/she does not comply with the above booking rules for the first workshop.

Please allow enough time between the booked workshops. It is in the participant’s responsibility to make sure that his/her workshops do not overlap and that he/she can be in time for all the workshops (taking into consideration the time needed for transport between locations and that he/she must be present at the workshop’s location 15 minutes before the start of the event). We do not take any liability for the participant’s failure to schedule his/her workshops properly and we do not offer any refunds in this case.

STEPS 2025 organisers may change at short notice (less than 48 hours before the start of the event) the starting hour and/or place of any of the workshops due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students). In this case, the participant who has booked, has been admitted to several (two or more) workshops, and can no longer attend one of the workshops due to events overlapping, will be contacted by our team and he/she can either choose another suitable workshop (provided that there are available places) OR he/she can choose to be refunded the Additional Workshop Ticket.

We will not grant access to workshops to any participants who have not previously booked that given event.

Cancellation and refund rules for workshops are stated in VIII. Refund policy.

The official language of the event is ENGLISH. There will be no scientific events held in another language if not specifically stated otherwise. Although STEPS carefully selects English-speaking lecturers and/or trainers, we are not accountable for any problems, misunderstandings, losses, or damages that may occur due to the lecturers’ and/or trainers’ poor use of English. STEPS will NOT issue any refund in this situation (see also VIII. Refund policy).

There is a minimum of 3 (three) participants in order for a scientific event to take place. STEPS 2025 organisers reserve their right to cancel at short notice any scientific event that has less than 3 (three) attendees (XI. Refund policy applies). STEPS organisers can decide to continue, in special circumstances, with a scientific event that has less than 3 (three) attendees (no claims can arise from this decision).

2.NON-MEDICAL SKILLS TRAINING SESSIONS

STEPS 2025 includes the following types of non-medical skills training sessions:

1. Soft skills development sessions (training for time management, leadership, public speaking, roundtable discussions regarding career development, etc.)
2. Scientific presentation contests
3. Social events

STEPS participants are entitled to access to one non-medical training session of their choosing. Access to the opening ceremony will be permitted to all participants based on the participation badge (either printed or electronic), without paying any additional fee and without prior reservation. There may be some non-medical skills training sessions with a limited number of seats available. If this is the case, these events and the exact number of seats will be announced on the official website. Seat reservations can be made by participants from their personal account on the website, the seats being occupied according to the chronological order of the reservations, taking into account the limited number of seats available. The organisers reserve their right to cancel some social events on short notice due to the small number of participants or unforeseen or exceptional situations (see also XI. Event Cancellation and Force Majeure).

Certificates of Participation will be available to download for all participants from the personal account on the official STEPS 2025 website in no more than two weeks’ time after the event’s end (provided that they comply with the below participation rules). Electronic Certificates of Participation bear the same legal validity as the printed versions. In order to access the Electronic Certificate of Participation, a participant must log into his/her personal account on the official STEPS 2025 website and complete the feedback form. After completing the feedback form, the Electronic Certificate of Participation will become available for download in the personal STEPS 2025 account (provided the participant complies with the participation rules). Electronic Certificates of Participation will be available to download for a maximum of 5 (five) months from the time the participant receives it. Afterwards, no further access can be guaranteed by the organisers and no refunds will be issued for the failure of downloading the Electronic Certificate of Participation. If a participant requires a hard copy of his/her Certificate of Participation, he/she can request one ONLY by paying a special fee stated on the official website.

The Certificate of Participation hardcopy will be sent to the participant at the address provided by the participant at the time of registration (the address can be changed from the personal account on the official STEPS website any time before the end of the event) in no more than 1 (one) month after you complete the feedback form. STEPS 2025 organisers cannot guarantee the timely delivery of the hard copy. It is in the responsibility of the participant (either passive or presenting author) to make sure that he/she provides a full and accurate address. STEPS organisers are not liable for the failure of delivery in case of an incorrect or incomplete address. If the Certificate of Participation hardcopy fails to arrive at the paying participant’s address (either passive or presenting author) due to an incorrect or incomplete address, due to postal services problems, or if it was damaged during the transport, STEPS organisers will send it again ONLY ONE MORE TIME – for every request after this second delivery we will charge another fee. STEPS organisers are not responsible for any delayed, lost, or damaged Certificate of Participation hardcopies owing to postal carriers' or third parties’ fault. No refund of the hardcopy fee will be issued in this case.

The Certificates of Participation will be awarded to all the Participants  if they participated in all the workshops for which they previously reserved a seat and were accepted for and if they completed the official event feedback form. The official congress feedback form must be completed in NO MORE THAN ONE MONTH after the closing ceremony of STEPS 2025. No claims for a Certificate of Participation can be made by a participant after the aforementioned deadline. No refund of any previously paid fee will be given in this situation.

Failure to comply with all of the above rules results in not receiving the Certificate of Participation. The same rules apply for the Certificate of Participation hardcopy as well.

It is the participant’s sole responsibility to make sure his/her badge is scanned and subsequently, his/her participation is recorded in all the events that she/he takes part in. No further claims will be considered and no refunds will be issued if the participant does not meet the participation criteria due to the badge not being scanned.

Due to the Romanian College of Physicians’ governing rules, all CME points will be received only by doctors (junior doctors or senior doctors) irrespective of their status, providing that they comply with the above rules. No CME points can be granted to students.

There are two main fee categories:

1. Participation fees
2. Special fees

Participation fees include:

1. Early fee – this is the participation fee paid by a passive participant before the early fee deadline. The Early Access Ticket is non-refundable. Refund policy terms apply (see also VIII. Refund policy);
2. Regular fee– this is the participation fee paid by a passive participant before the regular fee deadline;
3. Late fee – this is the participation fee paid by a passive participant after the regular fee deadline and before the late fee (general payment) deadline.

Special fees include:

1. Certificate of Participation hardcopy fee – this is the fee paid by a participant to receive a hardcopy of the Certificate of Participation at the provided postal address. The Electronic Certificate of Participation is free, being included in the participation fee. No refunds will be issued by the STEPS 2025 organisers for the Certificate of Participation hardcopy fee regardless of the reason and/or situation;
2. Additional workshop fee – this fee can be paid by a participant who wants to book and attend an extra workshop. The participant must pay the additional workshop fee before the general payment deadline (as stated on the official website). Booking of the extra workshop can be done only before the workshop booking deadline (stated on the official website). Refund policy applies (see also VIII. Refund policy).
3. Other fees – this refers to any other fees in connection with the event (included, but not restricted to social events, parties, exhibitions, tours, services offered by third parties etc.). These fees are non-refundable except otherwise stated.

The exact fees can be found on the official website, in the ''Tickets'' section and within the “Payment” section of each personal account. NO WORKSHOP CAN BE BOOKED PRIOR TO PAYING THE PARTICIPATION FEE.

The payment must be made taking into account the deadlines stated on the official website in the “Tickets” section. The fees paid after the deadline or incomplete payments will not be taken into account, will not be refunded, and will not grant entrance to the event.

The fees include: Entrance to all booked medical and non-medical training sessions during the official period of the event according to IV. Events section listed in Terms & Conditions above, electronic certificate of participation.

The fees do not include: participation to special social events that require payment of any tax (as stated on the official website), transportation, any visa application related costs and accommodation.

In order to pay, all participants must register, log into their accounts and access the “Payment” section.

Payments can be made online only with a debit or credit card. There is no bank commission for the online payment on our website with a debit/credit card.

Confirmation of all payments and activation of the STEPS 2025 account will happen immediately for all online payments;

Booking an extra workshop will be possible only after the participant has paid the extra workshop ticket before the general payment deadline.

STEPS 2025 organisers do not take any responsibility in case the confirmation of any payment and/or subsequent activation of the personal account is delayed due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (e.g. bank holidays, national holidays, downtime of the banks or internet provider, downtime of the online payment provider, strikes etc).

STEPS 2025 organisers are entitled, at their discretion and without prior notice, to change or modify any participation or special fee and/or any fee deadline. These changes do not affect the participants who already paid and received their payment confirmation. Any changes to the fees and/or fees deadlines will be announced on the official website and on the official social media pages of the event and are not considered an alteration to the present Terms & Conditions.

STEPS 2025 organisers have in mind, as their main priority, the safety of all the transactions. Therefore, any fraud, suspicion of fraud by, but not limited to, stolen bank credentials, stolen credit or debit cards, stolen identity, fake bank accounts, or any other unlawful attempt will result in the inactivation of the responsible accounts without any further explanation, the cancellation of any previously booked workshop and the permanent ban of the respective individuals from any event organised by the Scientific Organisation of Medical Students (SOMS). No refund will be given. Any previously issued visa will be withdrawn. In this case, the Romanian authorities will be notified by the organisers and we will be forced to disclose at their request (according to the Romanian law) any personal data they may need to solve the legal case.

All the online payments made with a debit/credit card are processed outside of our website, through the online payment solutions offered by the authorised online payment provider – Netopia Sistem SRL. NO bank card data (card type, card number, expiration date, CVV2, etc.) will be processed by the STEPS 2025 organisers or enter their possession. Once on the online payment provider – Netopia Sistem SRL – platform, the participant is under the provider’s own terms & conditions and privacy policy, which may be different from ours. STEPS 2025 organisers are not liable for any losses (personal data, credit/debit card data, money etc) caused by the online payment provider’s fault. No fees or other penalties can be claimed in this situation from us. This shall not affect further claims against persons and/or companies charged with the online payment procedure. For security purposes:

1. Netopia Sistem SRL guarantees the security of IT systems. Bank card data (card type, card number, expiration date, CVV2, etc.) will not be transferred or stored on STEPS servers or on Netopia Sistem SRL servers.
2. In the case of 3D Secure Payment for Visa or MasterCard cards, the data related to the participant’s card is entered directly into Visa or MasterCard systems, and if the card has been issued by a bank certified in the 3D Secure system, authorisation of the transaction is done only after the participant’s authentication in this system – the introduction of a secret code/password known only to him/her, similar to the PIN code for ATM transactions.

STEPS 2025 organisers will do everything possible (according to the Romanian law) to help the participants with the visa application.

STEPS 2025 organisers will assist with a visa invitation letter in support of a visa application only after the participant has registered and paid the congress fee in full. Once his/her account has been activated, he/she can request a visa invitation letter at any time by logging into his/her account and going to the “Visa” tab. The participant will need to fill the form and provide the required details.

The participant consents to the processing of personal data in connection with the visa application (see also X. Privacy Policy). The organiser may add the personal information to its database, which is confidential and will be treated in accordance with the Privacy Policy. Also, the organiser may disclose the participant’s data to the relevant authorities in order to process the visa invitation letter.

Visa invitation letter requests are processed in 2 working days after the participant has correctly completed the form – some exceptions may apply; the letter is submitted to the participant via the email address provided at registration and also to relevant authorities.

• • Visa invitation letters will only be issued for the period of the event and for entry into Romania. No other date and/or country requests will be supported.
  • Applying for a Romanian visa and visa issuance is beyond our control. We are not liable for visa costs, shipping, processing and/or issuance.
  • Hardcopies will only be provided on demand. If the participant needs a hardcopy, we will cover the costs of sending it using regular postal services. STEPS cannot guarantee its proper delivery. In case the letter gets lost, we will send it again only once. If the participant wishes to have the letter sent to him/her by another postal service (like DHL), he/she will have to cover the additional cost.
  • Non-Ukrainian Nationals applying for a Romanian visa in Ukraine: we will be sending ALL the visa invitation letters 6 weeks before the congress (mid-February), directly to the Romanian Embassy/Consulate, using an express delivery company (such as DHL). The participants will be asked to specify the Romanian Embassy/Consulate where they will make their application in the visa form on the official website. All participants who request a visa invitation letter will have it sent directly at the indicated Romanian Embassy/Consulate during mid-February. Any participant who makes a visa invitation request afterwards will have it sent at the indicated Romanian Embassy/Consulate using regular postal services, but we cannot guarantee its proper delivery. The above terms apply only to non-Ukrainian Nationals applying for a Romanian visa in Ukraine.
  • STEPS 2025 organisers are not liable for any mistake made in the completion of the visa request form, nor for any damages and losses that may occur in this situation. STEPS organisers will not answer to any claims that may arise due to this. Any costs to repair (referring to, but not limited to shipping of a new visa invitation letter, international calls etc) will be in the participant’s responsibility.
  • No visa invitation letter requests will be processed after March 1 2025.
  • Specific visa terms & conditions may apply. STEPS organisers are entitled to modify or add at any time and without prior notice any visa terms & conditions for specific situations, countries and/or regions (irrespective of the reason). These specific visa terms will be published on the official website. These do not affect the validity of these Terms & Conditions. The introduction and/or modification of these specific visa terms do not represent a change to these General Terms & Conditions. When the specific visa terms differ from those determined in the General Terms & Conditions, the specific visa terms prevail.

STEPS 2025 organisers are not liable for any costs arising from the refusal of the visa application by the Romanian authorities (referring to, but not restricted to accommodation costs, visa application costs, other administrative costs, travel costs, insurance costs, medical costs etc.). STEPS 2025 will NOT be able to refund any participation fee after the visa application letter has been sent to the applicant and/or to the Romanian authorities apart from the ones stated in the general and specific refund terms in these Terms & Conditions.

STEPS 2025 organisers are entitled to refuse the issuance of the visa invitation letter if they or the Romanian authorities, have the reasonable suspicion of any fraudulent attempt (referring to, but not limited to using a false identity, providing false personal details, paying with stollen or false debit/credit card or bank details etc.) to obtain a visa or a mischievous attempt to obtain a visa for reasons other than strictly participating at STEPS 2025. In case we detect such attempts, the participant’s workshop booking will be canceled, his/her account will become inactive and he/she will not be able to get any refund or participate at STEPS 2025.

A participant’s refusal to collaborate with STEPS 2025 organisers in order to fully establish his/her identity and to provide the details needed to issue a visa invitation letter may determine a refusal to issue a visa invitation letter. No refund of any previously paid fee will be given in this situation.

If a participant chooses to cancel his/her participation at our event after receiving the Romanian visa we will immediately inform the Romanian authorities. In this case the visa may be withdrawn and/or they may be forced to leave Romania by the relevant Romanian authorities. STEPS 2025 is not responsible for any claims and/or costs arising from this situation.

GENERAL REFUND TERMS

Fees are refundable on demand as long as the participant complies to the below general and specific refund rules and an official request is made at [email protected] stating the name and bank account in which the money will be transferred.

We will only refund via online bank transfer. Cash refunding will not be available. All the bank commissions will be deducted from the refunded sum. We will transfer the money in the indicated bank account in no more than 5 working days.

If the participant chooses to apply for a refund of the participation fee (apart from the refund of only the extra workshop fee), he/she will lose the participant status and will no longer be able to participate at STEPS 2025 (furthermore, you will not receive any goodie bag, abstract book, promotional materials or certificate of participation).

NO refunds will be given for Early Access Ticket, except for the cancellation of a workshop due to STEEPS 2025 organisers’ fault as stated in the section “Specific refund terms”.

We are not able to make any other refunds apart from the ones stated below in the “Specific refund terms” subsection. We will not take into consideration any refund requests made during the events days and/or after the specified refund deadlines below except for the cancellation of a workshop due to STEPS 2025 organisers’ fault as stated in the section “Specific refund terms”.

SPECIFIC REFUND TERMS

• • In case a participant books a workshop that gets cancelled due to STEPS 2025 organisers’ fault, the participant can book any other suitable workshop before the workshop booking deadline (stated on the official website) or in no more than 48 hours after the cancellation is announced (if the cancellation happens after the workshop booking deadline) and after consulting with our team OR is entitled to ask for a FULL refund of the previously paid fees at any time during the conference. In this case we will not deduct any additional handling fee apart from the bank commissions. This DOES NOT apply to the changing of the trainer, timetable, workshop’s description and/or location of the workshop. If the participant chooses to attend another workshop (in place of the cancelled one) he/she will not receive any further refunds. The above rules APPLY to the early access ticket as well.
  • In case a participant paid the participation fee and did not find an interesting workshop and/or does not want to take part in STEPS 2025 anymore, he/she is entitled to a refund as long as an official request is made before the general payment deadline (general fee deadline). In this case we will deduct an additional handling fee of 10 EUR from the refunded sum. This DOES NOT apply to the early access ticket.
  • In case a participant paid the extra workshop fee and does not find any interesting available workshop and/or does not want to take a second workshop anymore he/she can ask for a full refund of only the extra workshop fee as long as an official request is made before the general payment deadline – general fee deadline (23:59 GMT +2). NO additional handling fee is deducted in this case apart from the bank commissions. Refund of the extra workshop ticket is independent of other refunds.
  • Cancellation of the second workshop (this DOES NOT apply to the changing of the trainer, timetable, workshop’s description and/or location of the workshop) due to STEPS 2025 organisers’ fault entitles the participant to a full refund of ONLY the extra workshop fee IF THE PARTICIPANT DOES NOT WANT to book another workshop in its place. The booking of another extra workshop (instead of the cancelled one) can be done before the workshop booking deadline (stated on the official website) or in no more than 48 hours after the cancellation is announced (if the cancellation happens after the workshop booking deadline) and after consulting with our team. If the participant chooses to attend another workshop (in place of the cancelled one) he/she will not receive any further refunds.
  • STEPS 2025 organisers might need to change at short notice the starting hour, trainer and/or place of any of the workshops due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students). In this case, the participant, who has booked and has been admitted to two or three workshops and can no longer attend one of the workshops due to overlapping of the workshops (caused by changes in the programme and/or location at short notice – less than 48 hours) can either go to another suitable workshop OR can choose to be refunded the extra workshop ticket. NO additional handling fee will be deducted in this case apart from the bank commissions. Refund of the extra workshop ticket is independent of other refunds. If the participant chooses to attend another workshop (in place of the cancelled one) he/she will not receive any further refunds.

NO REFUNDS will be made:

• • to participants that paid the early access ticket. This does not include the cancellation of the booked workshop due to STEPS 2025 organisers’ fault as stated above. The above specific refund terms apply;
  • to participants whose accounts have been terminated because of important breaches of these Terms & Conditions (relating to, but not limited to fraud or suspicion of fraud, malicious use of the website, actions that may cause any damage to STEPS organisers, to SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students), to other participants at STEPS, to STEPS’ partners or sponsors, to third parties involved in STEPS etc);
  • to participants that were banned at STEPS due to anti-social behaviour, violent behaviour towards the STEPS staff, trainers, speakers or other participants at the conference or any other serious breach of any provision of these Terms & Conditions during or before the conference;
  • to participants that are denied access to STEPS events and/or venues due to failure of presenting a valid official participation badge (either printed or electronic) and/or valid id card – National ID card or Passport – (irrespective of the reason);
  • for failure of proper scheduling of the workshop/workshops due to participants’ own fault (including, but not restricted to overlapping of the first workshop with the extra workshop, impossibility of being in time for a workshop, not finding the workshop’s location etc.);
  • to participants that apply for a visa, receive a visa invitation letter from the STEPS 2025 organisers and then decide to cancel their participation at STEPS 2025;
  • to participants that fraudulently apply for a visa, or who are under reasonable suspicion (from the Romanian authorities or STEPS organisers) of trying to participate at the conference with the sole reason of receiving an entry visa (in Romania) with purposes other than to strictly participate at STEPS 2025;
  • for the refusal of the visa application or for any other related costs arising from the late arrival at the participant’s address or at the Romanian consulate in the applicant’s country of the visa invitation letter due to reasons outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (referring to, but not restricted to loss of the document, failure to deliver or late deliver of the visa invitation letter due to postal services, natural catastrophe, strike, war, force majeure etc.);
  • for any costs arising from the refusal of the visa application by the Romanian authorities (referring to, but not restricted to accommodation costs, visa application costs, other administrative costs, travel costs, insurance costs, medical costs etc.);
  • for any request of a visa invitation letter made after the official visa invitation letter request deadline (as stated in visa terms – VIII. Visa);
  • for any requests regarding accommodation. A refund of any accommodation costs can be made only by the partner hotels providing that the participant complies to the hotel’s own refund policy; STEPS 2025 organisers do not take any liability for damage, theft or any other loss caused by partner hotels and no refunds will be issued;
  • for any changes that occur in the conference program or in the opening and closing ceremonies program and/or content;
  • for any cancellations or changing of schedule, trainer or venue;
  • for any changes occurring in the description or content of the workshops and events;
  • for any discrepancies between the description on the official website or social media pages of any event at STEPS 2025 and what actually happens or is presented at the real event;
  • for any problems, misunderstandings, losses or damages that may occur due to the lecturers’, trainers’, STEPS 2025 staff’s or third parties’ staff’s poor use of the English language;
  • for any changes of the STEPS 2025 venues;
  • for the hardcopy of the Certificate of Participation fee regardless of the reason and/or situation;
  • for the failure of downloading the Electronic Certificate of Participation before the deadlines stated in these Terms & Conditions and on the official website;
  • to participants that do not receive a Certificate of Participation (electronic and/or paid hardcopy) due to failure of completing the official congress feedback form in one month’s time from the closing ceremony of STEPS 2025;
  • for any incomplete fees;
  • for fees paid after the general payment deadline (as stated on the official website);
  • for scientific or special social events cancelled due to unforeseen or exceptional situations (see also XI. Event Cancellation and Force Majeure);
  • for any downtime of the official website due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (e.g. natural catastrophe, strike, force majeure, server provider down time, cyber attacks etc);
  • for any claims and costs arising from delayed confirmation of payment and or activation of the personal account due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (eg. bank holidays, national holidays, downtime of the banks, downtime of the online payment provider, strikes, downtime of the official website, delays caused by the website provider etc);
  • for any damages that may occur to the participants by third parties’ fault (referring to, but not limited to online payment providers, website designers, website administrators, email providers, catering services, bank services, official partners, official sponsors etc);
  • for any material or moral damages that may occur to the participants due to the speakers’ and/or trainers’ behaviour, speeches or actions;

For visa applicants: STEPS 2025 is not responsible for the success of a participant’s visa application and cannot grant any special refund of the participation fee apart from the ones stated above in case of visa application refusal by the Romanian authorities irrespective of the reasons of refusal.

STEPS 2025 organisers are entitled to run contests (scientific or of other nature) or promotions before, during and after STEPS 2025.

Excluded from participation are staff and relatives of the STEPS 2025 organisers and cohabiting partners or family of the aforementioned staff members, as well as any participants/suppliers in respect of the particular competition (including advertising agencies, advertisers, sponsors or producers).

The participant must provide accurate, current and complete information when participating in the competition. STEPS 2025 organisers may request a winner, before presenting the award or prize, to provide proof of their identity and residence information.

The decision of STEPS 2025 organisers is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding results and the awarding of the prize. The prize is personal and is registered in the name of the winner.

The prize is not transferrable, exchangeable or payable in cash or other products or services. In case of refusal or non-acceptance of the prize or conditions that are inherent to the competition, the prize will not be awarded. In that case, STEPS 2025 organisers are entitled to choose another winner. No refunds can be given for prizes won in a contest or promotion organized by STEPS even if that prize refers to, but it is not restricted to free places at STEPS 2025, free extra workshops, reductions of the participating fees or similar.

If the prize includes travel/accommodation abroad for which a passport or ID card is required, the participant must be in possession of a valid passport or a valid ID card to receive the prize. The prize is not awarded when failing this condition.

The prize is awarded in its current state. STEPS 2025 organisers are not responsible for any visible or hidden defects in the prize nor for any damage during delivery (shipping) of the prize.

The handling of the delivery of the prize is arranged by STEPS 2025 organisers, advertiser/sponsor or another appointed third party. STEPS 2025 is not directly responsible for the delivery of the prize. The date of delivery of the prize will be determined in consultation with the supplier of the prize.

STEPS 2025 organisers are not responsible for any defects caused by delivery or shipping companies (e.g. delays, strikes, damage or loss) with respect to the delivery of the prize. When the winner, or a roommate, cohabitant or neighbour, isn’t able to receive the prize, the winner will pick up the prize later on (e.g. post office, etc.)

STEPS 2025 organisers shall not be held liable if the prize is not collected or received by the winner or is collected by an unauthorised person, even when the delivery or shipping company has not left any notification or notice in any form.

Use of the awarded prize is at the expense and risk of the winner. STEPS 2025 organisers can not be held liable for use of the prize by the winner under the General and/or Specific conditions for competitions.

STEPS 2025 organisers are in no way responsible for any damages arising from participation in the competition or for any technical malfunctions, failures or delays with respect to participation in the competition or the appointment of the winner.

STEPS 2025 organisers have the right to disqualify participants if they have reasonable belief that the participants are not acting in conformity with the General and/or specific Terms & Conditions or if the participant is otherwise fraudulently accessing the competition or unfairly influencing the course of the competition.

Special Terms and Conditions may apply for particular contests and/or promotions held by STEPS 2025 organisers. These do not affect the validity of these Terms & Conditions. Any modification to the Terms & Conditions of specific contests or promotions are not considered an alteration to the STEPS 2025 Terms & Conditions.

When the General Terms & Conditions for contests and promotions differ from those determined in the Specific Terms and Conditions for a certain contest (scientific or of other nature) or promotion, the specific Terms and Conditions prevail.

The protection of your privacy as a participant at STEPS 2025 has maximum priority, in particular pertaining to your personal data. Please read carefully and agree to our Privacy Policy.

Use of photos, image rights – The participants are herewith informed that photos, videos and audio recording of the attendees are being created at the event. This material will be published on the internet, official social media pages, professional journals and/or other publications during and after the conference. By participating at this event and accepting these Terms & Conditions you agree with the publishing of the photos, videos and audio recording made during the event . If you don’t wish to appear in any photos, videos or audio recording made during the conference you must send a special request to [email protected] or using the contact form on the official website at least 20 days before the event start. Any request after the aforementioned deadline will not be taken into consideration and no compensation will be offered for the use of the recorded material.

In case the event cannot be organized or is subject to change due to reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (e.g. natural catastrophe, strike, economical crisis, emergency state, war, nuclear, chemical or biological war or force majeure etc.), no claim for refund of the (proportionate) registration fees or for compensation of any (material) losses can be made.

The event organiser does not take any responsibility for the cancellation or change of scientific events due to trainers’ or partner institutions’ faults and no fees or other penalties can be claimed.

We reserve the right to cancel at short notice any scientific event if a minimum number of 3 participants is not reached. In this case the general and specific refund terms apply (see VIII. Refund policy). We reserve the right to cancel at short notice any scientific event if any reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (e.g. natural catastrophe, strike, economical crisis, force majeure, emergency state, war, nuclear, chemical or biological war, venue closing, interdictions by authorities, etc.) occur. No fees or other penalties can be claimed in this situation.

We reserve the right to cancel at short notice any social event if a certain minimum number of participants is not reached or if any reasons which are outside of the sphere of responsibility of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) (e.g. natural catastrophe, strike, economical crisis, force majeure, venue closing, interdictions by authorities, etc.) occur. No fees or other penalties can be claimed in this situation.

Any change or cancellation of any of the conference’s events will be announced on the STEPS 2025 official website and official social media pages and through the email addresses provided at registration.

The official website of STEPS 2025 is www.medicsteps.com. The owner of the official website is SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students).

a) Content

All text, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, logos, sounds, music, artwork and computer code (collectively, “content”), including but not limited to the design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, “look and feel” and arrangement of such content, contained on the site is owned, controlled or licensed by or to the Scientific Organisation of Medical Students (SOMS), and is protected by copyright and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws.

Except as expressly provided in these Terms & Conditions, no part of the site and no content may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, encoded, translated, transmitted or distributed in any way (including “mirroring”) to any other computer, server, website or other medium for publication or distribution or for any commercial enterprise, without SOMS’ (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) express prior written consent.

b) Accounts & security

In order to participate at STEPS it is mandatory to register on the official website and to create a personal account. The participants are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the information they hold for their account, including their password, and for any and all activity that occurs under their account as a result of them failing to keep this information secure and confidential. The participants agree to notify STEPS organisers immediately of any unauthorised use of their account or password, or any other breach of security. The participants may be held liable for losses incurred by STEPS, SOMS or any other user of or visitor to the site due to someone else using their password or account as a result of them failing to keep their account information secure and confidential (see also X. Privacy Policy).

A participant or visitor of the site may not use anyone else’s password or account at any time without the express permission and consent of the holder of that password or account. STEPS cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the failure to comply with these obligations.

We will use the participants’ personal data only as necessary for the purposes of our conference (see also X. Privacy Policy).

Additionally, by using the website, the participants acknowledge and agree that Internet transmissions are never completely private or secure. They understand that any message or information they send to the site may be read or intercepted by others, even if there is a special notice that a particular transmission (for example, credit card information) is encrypted.

c) Limits of use

Any participant and/or visitor of the website is forbidden to use any “deep-link”, “page-scrape”, “robot”, “spider” or other automatic device, program, algorithm or methodology, or any similar or equivalent manual process, to access, acquire, copy or monitor any portion of the site or any content, or in any way reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the site or any content, to obtain or attempt to obtain any materials, documents or information through any means not purposely made available through the website. STEPS organisers reserve the right to bar any such activity.

A participant/visitor of our website may not attempt to gain unauthorised access to any portion or feature of the website, or any other systems or networks connected to the site or to any STEPS server provider, or to any of the services offered on or through the site, by hacking, password “mining” or any other illegitimate means.

A participant/visitor of our website is not allowed to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the site or any network connected to the site, nor breach the security or authentication measures on the site or any network connected to the site. A participant/visitor of our website may not reverse look-up, trace or seek to trace any information on any other user of or visitor to the website, or any other participant at STEPS 2025, including any STEPS account not owned by the participant, to its source, or exploit the website or any service or information made available or offered by or through the website, in any way where the purpose is to reveal any information, including but not limited to personal identification or information, other than your own information, as provided for by the website.

The participants agree that they will not take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the infrastructure of the website or networks connected to the website.

The participants/visitors of our website agree not to use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the website or any transaction being conducted on the website, or with any other person’s use of the website.

A participant/visitor of our website may not forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any message or transmittal he/she sends to STEPS organisers on or through the website or any service offered on or through the website. A participant/visitor of our website may not pretend that he/she is, or that he/she represents, someone else, or impersonate any other individual or entity.

A participant/visitor of our website may not use the website or any of its content for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms & Conditions, or to solicit the performance of any illegal activity or other activity which infringes the rights of SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) or others.

d) External links

This website may contain links to other independent third-party websites (“Linked Sites”). These Linked Sites are provided solely as a convenience to our visitors. Such Linked Sites are not under SOMS’ control, and SOMS (Scientific Organisation of Medical Students) is not responsible for and does not endorse the content of such Linked Sites, including any information or materials contained on such Linked Sites. The participant will need to make his/her own independent judgment regarding the interaction with these Linked Sites.

e) Disclaimers

STEPS DOES NOT promise that the website or any of its content or feature will be error free. We are not liable for any discrepancies between events (conferences, keynote lectures, workshops, presentations, social events, tours etc) or any other contest or activity’s description and the reality. No refunds can be claimed for such differences. STEPS DOES NOT promise that any defects will be corrected or that the participant’s use of the website will provide specific results. The website is delivered on an “as-is” and “as-available” basis. All information on the website is subject to change without prior notice (any other rule regarding this issue from the Terms & Conditions applies). STEPS cannot ensure that any files or other data the participants download from the website will be free of viruses, contamination or destructive features. STEPS organisers disclaim any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties related to the participant’s use of the site. The participant (either passive or as a presenting author) assumes full responsibility for the use of this website or any of the linked sites. If the participant is dissatisfied with the use of this website he/she can stop using it. This disclaimer applies to any damages, liability or injuries caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer/ handheld device virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction of or unauthorised access to, alteration of, or use, whether for breach of contract, negligence or any other cause of action. STEPS organisers are entitled to modify, suspend or terminate operation of or access to the entire website or to any portion of it at any time, without prior notice.