6.10.2015

PhD Wednesday: Preparing for a Scientific Conference Part 2


Welcome to the second installment of PhD Wednesdays! Part 2 of "How to Prepare for a Scientific Meeting." Check out my previous post for more tips on preparing for scientific meetings, especially small specialty meetings.

  
Can I just say again how awesome Scientific Meetings are for summer travel? Living on a grad student budget, with the ever present feeling that you should be writing, reading, doing experiments, or otherwise advancing toward your PhD, taking extended time off can feel all but impossible. Conferences let you take time off and check out a new city, at the same time "getting work done", for FREE! I just realized that I didn't talk about this at all in the last post, but its the best part! So here is a bonus tip to get this post started: 




BONUS Tip: Stop and Smell the Roses

Take some time to enjoy the city separate from the conference! I usually attend the Cold Spring Harbor Retrovirus meeting in Long Island, NY. I always go up a few days early or stay a few days late to visit friends in NYC, its my favorite part of the trip. Unfortunately, your program will probably not cover your expenses during this time but you should still take some time away from the science to enjoy the meeting locale (even the big speakers will do it, so let loose!) 


Smelling the roses in NYC during CSHL Retroviruses (2014)

In the last post, I shared some of things I have found helpful in getting ready for the small specialty conference. Here, Im going to focus on the large general interest meeting.  I've had the opportunity to attend two general interest meetings, both with 3000+ attendees and wide variety of research topics. This can feel intimidating but it is great if you're looking learn about cutting edge research outside of your field or if you want to find a job, fellowship, or internship. The size of the meeting will also let you share your work with a broader audience, opening the door for collaborations and job opportunities. The size of these meetings can also have some downsides, but hopefully these tips will help you get the most out your next big meeting!  

Tip #1: Have a Purpose

At a large meeting you won't be able to go to every session, every poster, or find time to meet with interesting speakers over meals. The best way to manage the meeting is to have a purpose. Ask yourself 'Why do I want to attend this meeting?' To share my research and learn? To connect with people outside of my field? To identify potential post-doc mentors? To find a job? To network with other students and scientists? Once you identify your goal, plan your meeting activities around this goal. Picking a narrow purpose will help you quickly eliminate less important sessions and focus your energy on a few key events.


Tip #2: Make a Schedule

Once you've identified your purpose, now its time to make your schedule. If you are lucky your meeting will have an app. I recently attended ASM2015, and they provided a very convenient iPhone app that allowed me to schedule official meeting events (in purple) and personal events (in blue). I took time each night to make a schedule for the next day, prioritizing events according to my purpose of identifying potential post-doc mentors. You could also make a schedule for the entire meeting at once, but making one each night worked well for me. Even if you can't make a digital list, making a note of the most important sessions will keep you from feeling overwhelmed each day. 

Screenshot of ASM2015 app

Tip #3: Check out the Vendors

Vendors are another great part of bigger meetings. You might have heard about all the free stuff you can get at the vendor fair (t-shirts, desk gadgets, and pens galore!). But there much more important reasons to attend the fair:
  • You can get a job: I landed my first internship at Novartis by attending the vendor fair at a big meeting. I made a connection with a recruiter and was able to land an internship by following up with him in the summer. You might need to be a little more enterprising. If the companies are not directly recruiting at the vendor fair do some research. Check out the companies presenting at the fair before you go, look at their careers page for openings or internship programs. Take a few copies of your resume and BE BOLD the company reps will appreciate your initiative and will remember you the next time you send an email!
  • Learn about new techniques and products for your lab: The main reason vendors come to these meeting is to sell their products, if you have time check out some of the equipment or services offered. They may have specials on things your lab might need.
  • Ok..free stuff: Ok there is a lot of free stuff at these things, and you might lucky to win the nicer prizes like iPads or software. 

Tip #4: Attend Workshops, Seminars, and Networking Sessions

Larger meetings will often have non-research related workshops or seminars. These can be especially useful if your institution doesn't have career-development workshops or networking events. Even if they do, these workshops are a great way to break up the monotony of data-talks during the meeting and meet new people in a relaxed environment. If your goal is to network, get a job, or if you will be graduating soon go to these events!


Ready to talk science!

Whew! These were long posts, but I hope you found them helpful. These tips are by no means exhaustive but they should be helpful in getting you started on your summer conference travel! How do you prepare for your conferences? Do you have any routines or tips that help you manage at a large meeting? What your favorite places to travel for meetings?

Happy Wednesday!





No comments:

Post a Comment