How to get the most out of attending research conferences

Research conference presentation

How to get the most out of attending research conferences

Pre

-Look at the program: Search for key players names or keywords.

-Contact people to meet for lunch or dinner

-Look at attractions of the conference location

During

-Have your business cards ready (e.g. in the back of your name badge holder).

-Observe examples of good and bad presentation strategies.

-Take notes of cutting edge research findings and methods (that you might use for your own work)

-Network and socialise: meet new people, meet old friends, connect other people, talk to mentors.

-Identify hot topics (for possible future research/ grant proposals).

-Extend your horizon by attending talks from areas other than your own research.
-Take breaks. Going to events non-stop is exhausting. Go see some sights of the location.

Post

-Send follow-up emails to people you talked to.

-Go through your notes and extract valuable information.

-Share interesting notes with the community, e.g. blog.

-Read interesting papers presented at the conference.

Additional tips on successfully navigating conferences can be found here: http://www.gradhacker.org/2012/06/25/successfully-navigating-conferences/