Attending conferences is a great way to share your research with a wider audience, meet other researchers and PhD students, and learn scientific discussion. That is what I learned this week while attending my first international conference! For a video, click here for my YouTube channel. Submitting an abstract Each conference has its requirements, so check them carefully before preparing, and submitting your abstract. As a PhD student, you can usually give a paper presentation (a talk with presentation slides) or a poster presentation (introducing a printed poster and discussing it with others). The following details are according to my experience at the PLL5 conference. You usually submit a short abstract and based on that, the organizing committee will choose who are invited to the conference to present their work. How easy it is to be chosen, depends a lot on the conference, some are more competitive than others. You can try to apply to a few conferences and then decide which one(s) to attend when you get the news. In the abstract I believe it is important to show the importance of your search, how it matches the conference, and interesting aspects of the research. Requirements of the abstract might vary, so be sure to follow the requirements carefully. Attending the conference Once you get food news, you can register for the conference, and start planning your trip. Check if you can or should apply for funding from your university or private foundations. Be sure to register on time and ask the conference organizers if there is anything unclear. Tips regarding the conference program and attending presentations Conference expenses Conference expenses can vary a lot depending on the conference fees, flight tickets, accommodation, and expenses during the conference. To give you just some idea of what to expect, I have listed below my expenses during a conference in Madrid. I got a partial travel grant from the Turku University Foundation I am very grateful for. As you can see from the table above, it covered almost exactly half of the expenses. I tried to keep expenses low by buying simple lunch from the supermarket when possible, and avoiding expensive restaurants. I always took public transportation or walked to locations. For accommodation in Madrid, I chose a simple hostel with a private room close to a metro station. As many attendees were also PhD students or attending the conference with their own money, it was also natural to discuss the expenses, and choose restaurants that matched everyone’s budget. As my university department usually only gives travel grants to those close to graduation, I will most likely have to rely on other types of funding next year as well. Often funding results come after everything is already paid, so I can realistically only plan one international conference per year. Making connections I am an introvert, and not the first one to raise my hand, but I found it easy to connect with others during the conference. Now it has been said that PLL is the friendliest conference there is, and I have yet to have experiences from other conferences, but I hope these few tips can be helpful. I was honored to meet so many distinguished scholars, researchers, and other PhD students at the conference. We had lunch together, chatted during coffee breaks, and navigated the local public transportation together. One of the best parts of the conference was truly the people. I am amazed how welcoming everyone was, and how the more experienced scholars were genuinely willing to help us PhD students by inviting us to the community. In conclusion, international conferences are an amazing opportunity to showcase your research, and to connect with the research community in your field. Above are the tips I wish I had before I attended, I hope they can be helpful for other PhD students attending conferences for the first time as well. Already looking forward to the next conference! Video about the conference, click to my YouTube! The post Attending international conferences as a PhD student first appeared on Sara Jaaksola.

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