Comments for Surviving Conferences

Comment on 9. General Tips by Darren Comber

Darren Comber — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:09:04 +0000

I always take time to talk with the secretarial, support and other conference organisation ‘ground staff’. They usually know who to ask if you need something sorting out behind the scenes. Folk on the ground rarely get the thanks they deserve for keeping events running smoothly – make someone’s day by saying thank you!

Comment on 9. General Tips by Leonie Barnett

Leonie Barnett — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:00:08 +0000

I like to grab photocopies of posters I particularly like aesthetically – they give me a folio of ideas for presenting future posters. Trends change all the time, and its good to keep up to date with what you think are the best looking posters at a conference. You can also loan the folio to other people when they are designing their posters.

Comment on 6. After the conference by Leonie Barnett

Leonie Barnett — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:54:50 +0000

One habit I now try to do is to send a short greeting email to people I particularly ‘clicked’ with at a meeting (whether socially or research-wise); pretty much just to say hello and how nice it was to meet them (and to send them anything they were interested in receiving, etc.). It also makes sure they have your email address correctly if they are someone you want to collaborate with later on. I now have some email contacts that surface every 6 months or so (usually when planning the next conference), but also got contacted about one joint research project through this practice after sending a copy of a poster.

Comment on 1. Pre conference preparation by Leonie Barnett

Leonie Barnett — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:45:21 +0000

Check out whether they are looking for volunteer helpers – often students or other network members are used for registration desks, gofers, traffic controllers, etc. This can have two positive impacts: 1. you get to meet (and be known by) the organisers as well as other students from around the country (or world), and 2. you usually get discounted (or free) registration to the meeting. There are no doubt other benefits to this, and I certainly recommend volunteering if you can. Saving on rego can allow you to spend more on accommodation close to the venue (also a recommendation of mine as it saves valuable travel time).

Comment on Surviving Conferences: Tips and tricks for conference goers by Martin Poulter

Martin Poulter — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:13:19 +0000

Formatting suggestion: could we have “next” buttons at the foot of each section so it’s easier to read through the whole thing in sequence?

Comment on 4. Lunch and Breaks by michelle haynes

michelle haynes — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:42:00 +0000

if you have ordered a special meal make sure you get there early or jump the queue. the vegetarian food tends to be eaten very quickly, usually by non-vegetarians.

Comment on 1. Pre conference preparation by Michelle Haynes

Michelle Haynes — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:40:45 +0000

if you have special dietary requirements make sure you let the organisers know in advance. my experience is that vegetarian or vegan food is not a problem as long as you have let them know before you arrive. it’s usually better than the standard meal as well

Comment on 1. Pre conference preparation by Karin Stokes

Karin Stokes — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:22:10 +0000

This may seem simplistic, but I have made it a practice to register and pay my fares to conferences as early as possible. There are amazing discounts available if you don’t wait till the last minute before buying travel tickets, and accommodation, apart from the conference early-bird offers – my last international trip cost less than $1500 for the entire conference.

Comment on 1. Pre conference preparation by Rachael Carkett

Rachael Carkett — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:29:30 +0000

If you are unsure it is wise to check there will be a hard copy of the conference sessions/abstracts either in advance and/or on arrival. I went to a conference in Europe a few years ago and its aim was to be paperless I think. Choices for the sessions were supposed to have been made online in advance. I (along with several other delegates) didn’t do this assuming we could make the choices on arrival/registration drawing upon the conference proceedings. Eventually the conference organisers were able to give us a handout of the session titles and names of presenters, but not the abstracts. As you can imagine, it made it very difficult to make any informed choices.

Comment on 3. Going to sessions by Laura Dean

Laura Dean — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:37:18 +0000

If a session isn’t proving useful for you then try to think about another person in your organistion who might benefit – make some notes for them for when you get back. Try to think of the range of staff who work with you and find someone who would find it useful. It might be for someone you have never spoken with before, but that opens a dialogue and they will surely reciprocate with useful information for you in the fullness of time.