These are pieces written to desribe what it is like working in science.
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Useful tips on going to conferences
Finding a conference
large conferences are good for getting an overview of what is current and what
areas are currently 'hot'
small conferences can give you better opportunities to interact with others and
may be more focused and relevant to your area of interest
Before you go
make sure that you know the deadline for submission of abstracts
investigate all possible funding opportunities, such as travel grants and
scholarships, and check the deadlines for applications
the British Society
for Immunology (BSI) requires a year's membership before you can apply to them
for travel grants
be aware of expenses claims before hand, know who you will
be claiming from and how long it might take as flights are expensive and
payment can sometimes be delayed
choose your accommodation carefully, a long
walk to the conference can be a pain, but it is nice to be able to see some
sights while in a new location
book your hotel early as good places go
quickly
sharing rooms with other people can save money, but think about who
you want to share with!
practise talks with an audience before you go to the
conference so that you can ensure correct text size and colour on a large
screen and so you are aware of how long the talk is
carefully check the
specifications for posters and make sure that you take them to be printed in
plenty of time
don't try to fit too much into talks or posters, keep them
simple enough so that you get your point across, but in depth enough so that
they are interesting
be aware of the type of file you are required to upload
if you are giving a talk and save it in multiple formats, for example CD,
memory stick, and on the hard drive of your laptop, decreasing the possibility
that the you will lose the file before giving the talk
have a good look
through the program before you go, this will reduce the likelihood of you
missing a talk/poster that is relevant/interesting to you
While you are there
don't over-do it, going to fewer sessions that will be very useful to you will
be more useful that filling each day going to talks and reading posters
looking at interesting posters early in the meeting means that you can be ready
to ask the authors questions when they are available
networking is important
to get the most out of meetings, you can use the people that your principal
investigator (P.I.) knows to learn more about your field, and meeting new
people by yourself will also expand your knowledge
talking to Ph.D. students
and postdocs from a lab that you may want to work in in the future is a very
good way to find out what the P.I. is like
try and ask questions about the
things you are interested in
When you come back
present a summary of talks that you found interesting to your colleagues,
especially if they weren't at the meeting
fill in your expenses claims
promptly, and keep a record until you are paid
