Whilst speaking to a final year student recently, I learned that she is soon to attend her first scientific conference. How she has managed to sneak under her supervisor’s radar this long I’m not sure, perhaps she’s even better than me at avoiding e-mails inviting abstracts for conferences.
A conversation ensued that made me realise that a) I’ve been to too many conferences and b) that this means I have acquired some useful knowledge. So I thought I would share some of it here…
1. Submitting an abstract
If this is your first conference, then the chances are you’ll either have winged it in with no responsibilities, or your supervisor has persuaded you to submit a poster. Whilst ‘submitting an abstract’ sounds intimidating, this is really a polite way of determining if your research will fit into the conference’s scope. So read the information they give you and make sure you tailor what you write to the conference’s scope, especially if it’s a slightly different audience than you normally engage with. There’s no point churning out acronyms and jargon terms to an audience unfamiliar with them!
TOP TIP? Make sure you make your research sounds interesting. If you can use the words ‘cancer’, ‘obesity’, ‘sustainability’ or ‘climate change’ so much the better.
2. The poster session
Having spent hours slaving over your poster, it will probably be hung on a numbered board. At some point in the proceedings you will be required to spend a period of time standing awkwardly by your poster attempting to persuade passers-by to read it. If you are lucky you are part of a large research consortium which means you have an audience for your poster; you may succeed in partaking in some interesting chats about your research. Otherwise you can clutch your cup of tea whilst glaring daggers at posters whose subject is more photogenic than yours or chuckling smugly at the posters whose designer clearly didn’t read the poster specifications and are thus too big/ too small/ the wrong orientation and hanging awkwardly off the sides of the board.
TOP TIP? Don’t sweat it, it’ll be fine. Next year you’ll have to do a talk…
3. Socialising
Last year there was a general consensus in a lab meeting that we would all attend a particular conference, one of the larger ones in our field. I dutifully submitted an abstract and applied for a grant. I booked my train ticket and arranged for the cat to be fed while I was away. About a month beforehand I discovered that no one else had actually got round to registering, so I would be Billy no-mates for the three day duration. Sob.
As it turned out this was a complete blessing. When I got my conference pack in the post I highlighted sessions with less enthusiasm than normal, but when I arrived I found it much easier to do what I wanted without feeling swayed to stay with the collective. Having no one to chat with also forced me to mingle much more widely, and I ended up making a few very good contacts which developed into some fantastic highlights on my CV. It also meant that any fear I may have had about socialising was well and truly conquered. Being able to eat obscene volumes of prawn tempura without being judged was also a plus.
TOP TIP? Make sure you get the most out of your conference, even if it means abandoning your colleagues from time to time. Go forth and mingle!
4. Eating
This is perhaps one of my least favourite aspects of conferences. While I am a great fan of food, I am not a fan of attempting to balance a plate of mini quiches, salad and sausage rolls whilst attempting to make polite conversation with people who may potentially affect my future employment prospects. Spraying someone with crumbs or getting lettuce stuck in my teeth are very real possibilities that fill me with dread. Personally I prefer to eat whilst pretending to peruse posters before attempting potentially important conversations.
TOP TIP? If such a conversation is unavoidable avoid salad (they never cut it to mouth-sized pieces, resulting in unflattering mouth-cramming situations), and garlic (for obvious reasons) at all costs.
5. Drinking
I have yet to work this one out. On one hand, alcohol is often supplied free for the obvious purpose of persuading scientists to socialise. However, it is a fine balance between getting your money’s worth and acting like an inebriated idiot in front of potential future employers. Whilst there is every chance that they may chuckle at the foibles of PhD life, there is also the possibility of unexpectedly meeting them at an interview. Answers on a postcard please!
TOP TIP? If you’re not attending with your lab buddies, remember to make some friends during the conference. This makes liberating the leftover wine at the end much less socially awkward
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