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These are pieces written to desribe what it is like working in science.

This work is copyright and may not be used, copied, stored or transmitted outside the University, for commercial purposes, without prior written consent.

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

Lab members. December 2007.

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