GETTING THE BEST OUT OF CONFERENCES Prof. Dr Tomris Ozben Chair,IFCC Committee on Congresses&Conferences Akdeniz University Medical Faculty Department of Clinical Biochemistry 07070 Antalya Turkey Email:ozben@akdeniz.edu.tr
GETTING THE BEST OUT OF CONFERENCES What should be the perspective on conferences and how to make the conferences more valuable and engaging experiences. If you re not sure why you re going, or what you want to get out of the experience, you re unlikely to get it. In general professional conferences take a very conservative approach to training and education, and attendees take more responsibility for getting value from the conference.
MEETING ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION NETWORKING MOTIVATION
Organizing an academic conference Topic Venue Date Support of institutions, foundations, society, federation Funding Registration fees Committees (scientific, organizing, technical, social, financial, etc) Program Invited speakers (getting the big names to attend) Promoting the meeting Social events
INTERDISCIPLINARITY Favoring interdisciplinary meetings, is this good and or bad? Arguably, the most dynamic research at disciplinary frontiers and in novel terrains is interdisciplinary.
MEETING OF SENIOR AND YOUNG Favor meetings for both senior and young scientists. Find the possibility of work for young scientists. Provide specific possibilities for young scientists to take part.
DIRECT CONTACT Direct possibility of contact with the experts and authors in the field provides being updated quickly, efficiently and directly on the advances made in the field of the meeting.
POSTER SESSION If we wish presenters to take poster sessions seriously, and if we want the submission of a poster to be seen as a viable alternative to giving a talk, then conference organizers should not treat the presenters as second-class citizens. Poster sessions should be an integral part of the conference program encouraging conference participants to attend the poster sessions. Proper time should be allowed in the program for the poster sessions; appropriate facilities for the setting up and presentation of posters should be provided, poster rooms should not be remote from the rest of the conference. If the dining area is large enough, consider having posters there a good audience is assured! A poster prize is also worthy of consideration.
CONFERENCE SOCIALIZING The more connections new attendees make, the more likely they are to return. Conferences have usually scheduled social events or dinners. These events are often nice, but are usually organized in places and environments where it s really hard to meet new people. Often, people spend most of their time at these events with people they already know, or the people they came to the conference with. Organizers should spend effort to minimize or inhibit this social tendency.
GETTING THE BEST OUT OF A CONFERENCE Set goals before you go Learn from every experience Maintain integrity back at the office
Plan ahead Make a commitment to your colleagues that you will share information with them. Ask your colleagues if they have any questions, and have them review program and highlight topics of interest. Take current projects, concerns of senior managements, potential initiativies, professional development goals for you and your colleagues, and challenging issues you face.
Plan ahead Consider options for effectively sharing them with your colleagues. Write an overview of themes and topics, make a list of contacts in particular topic areas, or create a product comparison. Consider targeting ideas and information at particular interests and current projects of your work. These choices will guide you how you organize and gather information while at the conference.
Split the program among your colleagues attending the conference for the most benefit to your institution If there are other people attending the conference from your institute, get together before you leave for the event and plan ways of splitting up the conference to get the most information back to your institute. Consider the interests of each individual, as well as the needs of their teams or departments.
Plan and Decide Who will get the most from the formal presantations targeted at a particular problem? Who will be able to use panels or overviews of hot topics to assist in the future planning? Who will gain the most from individual conversations on specific projects and programs or products? This considerations will help to decide who should attend which kinds of sessions that the conference offers.
Set realistic expectations Keeping organizational priorities and areas of need in mind, attending a conference gives you the opportunity to assess potential directions available to your organization. With that road map in your head, review your long list of good ideas and be selective. If you do end up implementing even one idea, the time invested in attending the conference should be considered well spent.
Keep yourself on track, both at the conference and afterwards During the conference and afterwards, keep yourself in contact with your colleagues and the people you met, using E-mail which is the most convenient way to remind yourself of to-do s regarding ideas, contacts, and projects and how they relate to your programs.
Write a daily summary of what you learned If you wait to write summaries of your experience and findings after the meeting, this will not happen due to daily workload. So, do it during the meeting. Write summaries that focus on key issues. It also helps to get the information out of your head so that you can focus on the next day s offerings.
Meet people to create a network Introduce yourself and describe your organization or institution at the sessions you attend, to your table companions, finding out some information about each of them. Attend small group meetings which are designed to bring together professionals with a common interest on specific topics and take part in the discussions that will ideally lead to the building of communities of interest and practice.
Attend sessions that will introduce you new ideas Networking with colleagues facing the same challenges and trying to find out solutions can be a rich and fruitful experience. You may benefit from alternative approaches and different strategies that could be applied to current or future concerns.
Set up an action plan upon your return Create a timeline with milestones marking how and when you will take steps to share and act on specific ideas and information you have learned at the meeting.
Share ideas and experiences with your colleagues Your colleagues who need ideas will pick up on the interesting and significant points you share with them.
Apply the new experiences and knowledge you achieved at the conference Conferences give you a chance to get out of the work environment. You should return with renewed enthusiasm to put your efforts and new knowledge you gethered in the right place at your work.
Apply the new experiences and knowledge you achieved at the conference Attending a conference enables you to take a broader view and to regain your perspectives, which may lead to new insights and solutions. You can not change your institution without also changing yourself first. It is vital that you are the first one to change, to do things differently. These changes are indicators of professional development and growth in rapidly changing information technology.
References Ideas to action: Ten hints for getting the most from a conference. Joan Getman and Nikki Reynolds Cornell University in Ithaca, NY Top ten tips: Running an academic conference. Catherine Armstrong. Manchester Metropolitan University, UK Top 10 ways to get the most out of a conference. David Bentley. Career Life Institute. A Word to Conference Organizers concerning poster session Sven Hammarling and Nicholas J. Higham; 2010, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics;3600 Market Street, 6th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19104-2688 USA) Is scientific publishing a criminal activity? David M. GoldbergDepartment of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Banting Institute, 100 College St., Toronto ON, Canada M5G 1X5
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