Have you been to a conference yet? Rooms and rooms of concurrent sessions, hundreds of posters in the hallways, thousands of people walking around. For PhD students, their very first conference can be an exciting experience while also very overwhelming. What can you do to make the most of the conference experience? \u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Many young researchers feel invisible at conferences. Yes, you will learn a lot, but will anyone talk to you?\u00a0 Many researchers are, after all, introverts too! This early in one\u2019s career, it is understandable that one may feel apprehensive \u2013 one may feel like senior scholars will not notice them. Truly, yes, if you are just one of countless students, you will need to make an extra effort to network. In the end, even if you make a lasting impression on one person, the efforts are worthwhile! In this article, I will tell you some of my own experiences and will also share some insights and tips on what you can do to make the most of a conference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
First, my story: I can never forget my very first conference \u2013 the Association for Chemosensory Sciences conference in Florida. There was so much preparation that went into this for over six months! From getting the experiments done to writing an abstract, to getting it accepted to registering and planning to attend to making a poster, printing it out and carrying it to the venue! All those months of planning and now it was time\u2026.to go to the meeting!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I was strictly told by my PhD advisor that I should not share any confidential information during my poster presentation. However, he said that it is a good place to make new connections- as senior professors who come to the poster may be in the same field, and they would be the ones reviewing your papers and grants. This was my first conference, and it was a very niche conference in Chemosensory Sciences. Everyone was studying smell and taste \u2013 there were scientists from the food and beverage industry, perfume institutes and many diverse areas of research. This too was intimidating, as I came from a molecular biology background and my research presentation was about biomarkers I had discovered by taking biopsies from the olfactory tissue. So, I was not really studying smell and taste, but I was using smell as a diagnostic tool to predict disease. Now, how could I connect with others interested in my science? I am an introvert, so it would have been impossible for me to make connections without some effort.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
It was a good thing the conference was small, as it allowed me to get used to being at a conference before being \u201cthrown to the sharks\u201d as my advisor used to say.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
If the conference is a small one,<\/strong> here are some things you can do to prepare in advance so that you make the most of the conference:<\/p>\r\n 1. Take one-page colour printouts of my poster and keep them attached to the poster board so people can take a copy home. The poster copy can have your contact information on it.<\/p>\r\n 2. Having a QR code on your poster which takes the reader to your research data, supplementary materials or contact information. It is easy and makes continued networking easier.<\/p>\r\n 3. If you are not presenting a poster, but simply attending, try to ask a question in a Q&A session.<\/p>\r\n 4. You can approach a speaker after their talk and tell them what you liked\/learned from their lecture.<\/p>\r\n 5. See if there are networking events like speed mentoring or young researcher sessions where the setting may be more informal.<\/p>\r\n 6. Attend pre-conference workshops designed for skill-based learning. That way, before the conference, you will already know many people in a more interactive setting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Now, going back to my PhD experience: My advisor was very old-fashioned and had been to many big conferences where he felt people were there to get research data and ideas from you \u2013 and may even complete your experiments before you could finish! Posters\/abstracts are always unpublished data, and they would not be accepted in the conference if there was already a published paper. So, it was tricky \u2013 to share only some superficial information without all the details. But as an early career researcher how can you make good connections with others if you keep so much secrecy? This was something I learned to balance. My advisor felt that another larger meeting \u2013 Society for Neuroscience \u2013 was not suitable for PhD students as we would get lost. I did feel left out, as many others from surrounding labs would go to this huge annual Society for Neuroscience meeting every year \u2013 it would have over 30,000 people attending- and I never got to go. Today, I can understand my advisor\u2019s logic- if we did not have a strategy in place, we may have gotten overwhelmed at such a large meeting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If the conference is a big one<\/strong>, here is what you can do to prepare for this and make the most of the experience:<\/p>\r\n 1. Large conferences usually have parallel sessions going on. Pick which sessions are of most interest to you and try to sit in the front few rows.<\/p>\r\n 2. See if there are any smaller roundtables, workshops or mentoring sessions. Be sure to go to some of these \u2013 and speak up.<\/p>\r\n 3. If you have your advisor with you at the conference, ask them to introduce you to people. Maybe they will do some networking and send people to your poster.<\/p>\r\n 4. In a big conference, it is very difficult to know if anyone will notice you \u2013 you need to seek out opportunities to be noticed! If there are platform presentations or poster competitions, try to get selected there.<\/p>\r\n 5. Visit other people\u2019s posters \u2013 this is a great way to connect without all the formality.<\/p>\r\n 6. If you have the opportunity, volunteer for the conference activities \u2013 many very large conferences have outreach opportunities like awareness walks, children\u2019s hands-on events, public awareness talks or other events that are associated with the conference. This is a great way to work closely with other researchers in a more informal (and sometimes fun!) setting. You may have to reach out in advance to the organizers if you want to volunteer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n To avoid being invisible at conferences as a PhD student, consider the following strategies. <\/strong>By implementing these strategies, you can enhance your networking opportunities and build meaningful relationships at academic conferences.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Know your research well and practice your presentations. Familiarize yourself with the conference program and create a personalized schedule. Effective conference networking starts two weeks before the event. Read through the program and identify a few researchers whose work directly relates to yours. Read their work \u2013 think about how it relates to your research and come up with some interesting questions to ask. Identify a few people you are interested in meeting, and a month or so before the conference, send an email introducing yourself and asking if they have time to chat during one of the coffee\/tea breaks. Scheduling meetings means that you are really interested in talking one-on-one rather than in big group settings. If you let them know that you are a PhD student, they will usually be happy to talk to you about their research.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Prepare what you want to say to different audiences and practice your introduction out loud. It is said that when someone asks you, \u201cwhat do you do?\u201d they usually have only 90-seconds of attention to give you. You should be well prepared with what you will say. Focus on the research \u2013 something that can spark interest and lead to further conversation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n An outline of your introduction could be like this:<\/p>\r\n 1. Who are you?<\/p>\r\n 2. What problem are you solving?<\/p>\r\n 3. What is your unique approach?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Approach presenters during coffee breaks and use social events like dinners to connect with attendees. The welcome reception is another opportunity \u2013 plan to talk with multiple people at each of these events rather than staying close to your lab mates. You can even sit with people whom you do not know \u2013 break out of your comfort zone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Send a brief follow-up within 48 hours to reinforce your connections made at the conference. That way they will not forget you easily and you can even bring up something that you talked about or something new \u2013 like a visit to their lab to learn some techniques, or a potential collaboration, or a postdoctoral opportunity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n It is believed that the strongest networks are built not by the most extroverted students \u2013 but rather, by the ones who are most consistent.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n These are just some of the things you can do when you go to a conference to help make the most of the experience. Conferences are for learning \u2013 not just the facts and data \u2013 but to learn how to make lasting connections. After a conference, continue to engage with the researchers you met. You can cite their papers when appropriate. Resharing their preprints or commenting on them is another way to engage. Many senior faculty use this method too- when they publish something new, they send a personal email a small group of researchers that it is most relevant to. You will be noticed, visible and remembered for months and years after the conference by following some of these simple yet deliberate steps. Over time, this builds credibility, respect and potential opportunities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Remember this: for a PhD student, presenting one\u2019s research is only part of the reason for attending international conferences. The rest of your efforts need to be around building a professional network that will secure your future post-doc positions, grant collaborations, and faculty recommendations. Keep this in mind long before you travel to the conference, be prepared, stay proactive and maximize your conference experience!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you been to a conference yet? Rooms and rooms of concurrent sessions, hundreds of posters in the hallways, thousands of people walking around. For PhD students, their very first conference can be an exciting experience while also very overwhelming. What can you do to make the most of the conference experience? \u00a0 Feeling invisible […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2830,"featured_media":49072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[330,6628],"new_categories":[],"new_tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-49029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editage-insights-category","tag-conference-presentation","tag-phd-student"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBig vs small conferences<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Networking at big conferences<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Tips to make an impact at conferences<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Prepare Thoroughly<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Master the 90-Second Introduction<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Engage in Conversations<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Follow Up<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n