post by Giovanni Sciazza (2020 cohort)
Outreaching and networking at conferences
In this blog post, I will talk about two conferences I attended as part of widening study participation and networking with future collaborators. First, I will discuss my preparation process for conferences and outreach, then discuss the two events and conclude with some take-home points for you to have a better experience when outreaching-networking-conferencing.
The first conference I will discuss is the Government Science and Engineering Profession (GSE) conference, and the second is the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) Conference. The GSE conference attendees are civil servants and scientists who work with the civil service from many different Gov’t departments. AoIR attendees were multidisciplinary from a diverse range of disciplines, with a common thread being studying the internet in many different forms and using as many diverse methodologies as possible.
Preparing for the conferences
While conferences last a few days, the preparation process to prepare for a conference is a bit longer. As a PhD candidate, much admin and planning is involved, including applying for travel funding, booking conferences, accommodation and transport. The main aim of attending these two conferences was to widen participation, so before the conferences, I had to make sure my survey and QR codes were ready and stuck to my business cards to maximise the chances of getting more participants to do further interviews.
Another daunting task to prepare for a conference is choosing what to bring with you and what to wear during the conference. There is no specific dress code for the events I went to, so I just wore smart-ish clothing; choose outfits that you feel comfortable in, as going to conferences to outreach, network and recruit participants is already a stressful task, and you don’t want to put more pressure on yourself by wearing something you aren’t comfortable in.
Here, I am not saying to wear pyjamas or tracksuits to a conference; wear something you like and are comfortable in with a smart/casual vibe. I always choose comfy trousers and jeans, a polo or patterned shirt and a jumper if it’s cold.
GSE (London)
The GSE conference was held in the London Science Museum in October; this was the view from one of the conference rooms👇.
Two conferences happened at the same time, GSE and TAS’24 (which I have written another blog post on here), so I could only choose one conference to go to, and I chose the GSE because it was my first civil service conference, the potential of access to policymakers to involve in my studies and also networking with people outside of academia. I really liked this conference, and it was an excellent opportunity to learn more about the GSE profession and current trends in the Civil Service; however, I felt out of place as I was one of the most junior people there, and I was pretty nervous to talk to higher-ups.
The event was organised very well, with the sessions you signed up for written on your pass so as not to miss them. I attended all the sessions I signed up for and learnt so much from these talks. In one of the sessions, a senior civil servant presented work that was close to what I am doing with the PhD in terms of engaging with people about transformative technologies. After the session, I was quite hesitant to approach the person on the panel and went back and forth in my head (and in real life) if I should go and talk to them. In the end, I spoke to them, and it was a fascinating conversation. Why was I so hesitant?
There was a session I wanted to attend, but it happened at the same time as another one I was scheduled to be in, so unfortunately, I could not attend it. Destiny would have me meet this person, and it did! In the last session, I was finding a place to sit, and while going to a seat, I kicked and broke a glass under a chair. One person saw me break the glass, and we laughed about it and started to talk. To my surprise, it was the person who led that session that I missed! We got to talking and sat down while the staff was sorting the broken glass. We had a stimulating conversation about sewage ethics, and it was fascinating to see how ethics is applied in this unusual (to me) area.
The best connections I made during this conference were the people I talked to who were next to me while waiting for the following sessions to start and the person I spoke to after breaking a glass and having to wait for the staff to dispose of the broken glass safely.
I did get some sign-ups for the interviews, but not as many as I would like. That’s how these things go (I think?). Anyway, do not be afraid to talk to people at these events; we are all stressed, trying to network and have fun!
AoIR (Sheffield)
The AoIR conference was held in the University of Sheffield’s Student Union. The aim of this conference was again to network and widen participation.
This conference lasted for a few days and was very interesting and inspiring. On the first day of the conference, I presented at a workshop organised by my supervisor on safeguarding researchers from reactive/hostile online communities. As a meme researcher, I am very mindful of this, and after interviews with participants, concerns were raised in the interviews and later discussed with the supervisors. I presented my experience, including the steps taken to minimise risk and my feelings surrounding my experience. I felt pretty nervous before presenting personal experiences, which I had not shared in a setting like this, but it was a validating experience.
I met with many internet and meme researchers during the conference, which was very exciting. I also met prominent academics in the area to exchange views, struggles and aspirations for the future of internet meme studies. At this conference, I could network and talk to more people than at the previous one, maybe because it was an Internet conference and there were many people at the same level of academia as me.
The best connections I made at this conference were queuing for a drink and the reception, waiting for the bathroom, walking around looking for people and meeting more people, and dinners, coffee breaks and in-between sessions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I had fun outreaching and networking, but it is a mentally draining job. I made connections in the weirdest places by breaking glasses and talking to queuing for a drink. I think networking is difficult, but once you understand we are all here for the same purpose, all stressed and struggling to make connections, it lowers expectations and makes it easier for you to enjoy the conference and make lasting connections. You must also consider your energy, as networking uses lots of energy. Building yourself up to talk to people is as much about yourself as it is about everyone else; we are all in the same position. Also, keep track of people’s names with notes or selfies as you meet many people at these events, and you will end up forgetting people’s names and research interests.
Go out there and network! It’s as difficult for you as everyone else! We are all in the same boat!