Tips for attending a conference

There are many great benefits of attending a conference as a student. However, it can also feel overwhelming to define why you should attend, how you can attend, and what to do once you are there. Here are some general tips to help you get to a conference and make the best of your time there

Where to start?

• Talk to your professors, lab mates, and advisor about what conferences are relative to your field.
• Although you do not need to present a poster or oral presentation to attend a meeting, presenting a research project makes the conference more exciting and exposes you to more people. Check out the meeting websites and look at abstract requirements and deadlines.

If you are on a tight budget:

• Cut back on travel and boarding expenses. Some meetings are within driving distance of your city. You can also split hotel room expenses with fellow students who want to attend the conference.
• Most meetings offer discounted student registration.
• Some meetings offer scholarships for students who present abstracts to cover registration and travel expenses.
• Your university and student organizations also offer funding for students traveling to conferences.

Prepare accordingly:

• If you don’t already have some, make yourself some business cards. You can have these printed somewhere or design them yourself with a Word template and print them out on thick paper.
• Clean up (or create) your LinkedIn profile. It is likely people will search for you on LinkedIn after the conference. Make sure your most recent experiences are included.
• Read through the agenda ahead of time and figure out what sessions you want to attend.
• Pack and wear comfortable shoes. Your feet need to last multiple days!
• Pack water and snacks to have with you during the conference. If you have to skip breakfast or delay lunch, snacks can hold you over and keep you energized.

While you’re there:

• Network! Get to know fellow students and mentors. Meet others who are conducting research in your area. Be approachable and don’t be afraid to approach people. You all share a common passion!
• Bring those business cards you made. Everyone asks for business cards. Also, ask for people’s business cards if you intend to keep in touch in the future.
• Take plenty of notes. You may think you’ll remember everything later, but it’s so much new information in a short period of time you will forget by the time you return to your city.

After the conference:

• Follow up with people you met at the conference. Add them on LinkedIn. Shoot them an email to let them know you enjoyed meeting them.
• Write a short summary of the most important things you learned and want to remember a few months later. Your notes may be messy and short, if the hot topics are still in your memory immediately after the conference (I like to do this on the flight home) you can write more complete sentences that will make sense to you in the future.
• These are great networking opportunities to not only meet other students and programs, but to meet some of your role models who you aspire to follow!