Big conference: how to make full use of it

Like fellow student Michael, I am also going to SMBE in Barcelona this year. I will be presenting a poster (sigh, when will I ever be able to present a talk? ).

I always loved going to conferences, perhaps even more than anyone. Why? Being in a small family business (boss no 1, boss no 2 aka boss no 1’s wife, and me), this is one of the few chances to meet and shout out my ideas. In my 2.5 years of Phd I have gone to 1 winter school, 5 workshops and 2 conferences. I have met some amazing people, though they may not remember me after all. As long as I remember them and  learnt lots of new ideas, that’s fine!

I would like to share things I learnt from going to these conferences, to help anyone making full use of conferences. First I’d like say that I am an extremely intravert person, so obviously meeting people can be a bit tricky for me. Some of the points below may be obvious to some, but they are all my personal experiences.

1. Prepare for the conference
   Not just poster/talks (this is more like a must). Know who you want to meet. As a PhD student, I would like to meet some fellow PhD students who would be struggling to write up and are considering the next career stage. Or, you have read someone’s paper and you would like to speak to them about the paper. Or, you encountered some problem implementing someone’s model. Even a potential collaboration. Conference is surprisingly short in terms of meeting people, so be prepared.
2. Know how to introduce yourself, at the right place and right time
   Now you know who you would like to meet. Find the person and wait for the chance to introduce yourself and ask the question. Be patient. If you want to ask the big guns you would need to join the queue. Trust me, it would be worth it (e.g., saves you much more time he explains to you than you read his paper another twenty times). And be brief when introducing yourself, and jump straight into the question (like “Hi! My name is Jason, and I got a question with regard to xxx”).
   
   Real case 1: I remembered last year some student asks a professor a question in the toilet. It didn’t turn out well..
   
   Real case 2: In my first conference I needed so badly to ask a question to a professor from Oxford, I stalked him throughout the coffee break. He was always with someone, so it would be rude interrupting them. In the end I gave up, but being such a kind person he is (or maybe he was a bit freaked out by me), he actually came to me and asks what I wanted. With his help I was able to use his work to publish my first paper.
3. Choose the question carefully; don’t ask open-ended questions
   Conference is sort of like speed dating. You find the person who doesn’t have a lot of time for you, ask a question, and get a answer. So don’t ask questions like “what’s the meaning of life?” If you ask an interesting question and click! He would be more likely to ask you questions back! And don’t ask questions like “Can I be a post doc in your lab?”, leave that after the conference.
4. Don’t be let down by the big results
   This probably doesn’t apply to everyone. I get disappointed by many things, like doing a poster instead of the talk. And sometimes I envy what people have come up in the conferences. These results are always amazing, with an aura radiating around them. And then you start to blame yourself, “%£$%&$%£%$3…”. Well, don’t be. One thing I realised is that you can’t do anything (although being a bioinformatician you are always constantly tempted), learn to appreciate them, and perhaps adapt their theories into your own research.
5. No big lunch/No overdrinking
   This also gets mentioned in various articles. I know it’s hard.. but I absolutly agree, given I am a big eater. If you eat too much, you won’t have the concentration to sit the rest of the afternoon (no matter how much coffee you drink). I had some embarrassing experiences…
6. Speak strictly to what you know
   Don’t bullshit or bluff or comment on things you have absolutely no idea of. Or don’t try to relate the conversation to something you already know. You will get your turn. This merely is a personal reflection, as I had some conversations which everything I said, the person would say “ah, this is interesting, but what I did in species x was…”, rather than open discussion of possible ideas.
7. Take notes and follow up straight after
   Don’t wait. Tidy notes. Start new analysis straight away if you can. Start send emails. Otherwise you will forget in 2 weeks and it would be no point to waste the money to the conference.
8. Be yourself
   Whether you are intra/extravert, geek/nongeek, fashionable/dull… be yourself. Don’t try so hard pleasing others. Again, people know and you would make them uneasy. Everyone’s interesting in their own way, so just be yourself. If you don’t like being with the people you form group with, go to another one. Or rather, go back and tidy your notes. Make yourself useful if you think you can’t cope with some people.
9. Enjoy!
   You get to visit a new city. You are meeting people whose papers/textbooks you have read throughout your research. You meet your own peers who are also struggling to work/write thesis/papers. People are friendly (overfriendly I would say) and critise you with no hard feelings. Even sometimes (only sometimes) you get a compliment from someone saying your research is interesting, that would make it two! What’s not to enjoy?

This probably doesn’t apply to everyone, especially if you have already someone in the group to go with. I am glad that this year I actually know quite a few people (yes, even the professor I stalked would be in this conference). Hence, enjoy when you are in a conference!