When I was young, my dad would take me to conferences where he was a sponsor. I’d wander the exhibition area, watching him chat with visitors. He works in the health sector, and at that time, I saw the participants as giants with briefcases, deeply engaged in discussions that seemed to shape important decisions. I imagined them making groundbreaking discoveries that would save humanity, although those big announcements never came – at least not while I was there. As I grew up, I realised that conferences weren’t just about discoveries—they were spaces for like-minded people to share ideas and connect. I also learned that we can make the most of our conference time and get some real results. Maybe not exactly groundbreaking, but close enough!
I’ve always enjoyed attending conferences and forums, where I can dive into academic discussions, expand my knowledge, and see how research impacts students’ learning. I especially enjoy watching speakers sum up years of work in just 10-15 minutes or a Pecha Kucha session.
Often, I learn something new, find new connections, and hear ideas I’ve never encountered or insights that connect with my work. However, there are also times when I leave a session feeling like it never happened – perhaps because I chose the wrong one, was still processing the previous talk, or was just drained by the end of the conference.
As we approach conference season, I’ve been wondering how to make most of my time without getting overwhelmed. ChatGPT suggested that I research speakers, practise my elevator pitch, schedule casual catch-ups with key contacts, be present in social media, take care of myself, and maintain connection. These are really good tips, but as someone who values the authentic human touch, I asked some colleagues about their advice based on their own experiences, and they shared ideas that inspired me more!
⌚️ Optimise your time
Whether attending in person or online, Ash Barber (OER Collective Project Officer) recommends starting with a clear daily schedule to make the most of your time. Outline what you’ll be doing each day, including essential sessions and breaks to recharge. Use a spreadsheet to distinguish between must-attend and optional sessions, allowing for quick changes if needed.
For online conferences, Ash suggests an effective approach for capturing insights:
- Set up a document with headings: Organise your notes by creating a document with pre-defined headings for each session or topic. This structure makes it easy to navigate and stay focused.
- Highlight key takeaways: As you take notes, use highlights to emphasise important points, quotes, or insights. This helps you quickly identify the most valuable information later.
- Leverage for reports or blogs: After the event, use your structured and highlighted notes as a ready-to-go resource for writing reports, summaries, or blog posts about the conference.
Here’s a screenshot of Ash’s conference note-taking set up:
🙋 Advice for first-timers
When I asked Camille Dickson-Deane what kind of advice she would give for conference attendees, she shared some invaluable tips for navigating conferences for first timers:
A great tip to attending a conference, especially if you are a first-timer to that specific conference is remembering that there is MORE in numbers. Most conferences release an attendee list and on that list you can search for people from your university, your country, your region and sometimes, via disciplines.
This is a sure way to meet others who you may feel a wee bit more comfortable around. By using this, you create a sense of familiarity whereby you can then email attendees and arrange to meet them so that you can attend the conference together. A great benefit to this can be using your newfound friends to divide and conquer which sessions you all would attend or simply attend it together and share notes on how the information would benefit you all differently – it’s a WIN-WIN situation.
Camille Dickson-Deane, DHoS (Research), School of Professional Practice and Leadership
🧊 Break the ice
Keith Heggart (Senior Lecturer, School of International Studies and Education) had some excellent pointers for connecting with other attendees and being focused about how you spend your time.
- Take Tim Tams and use them as conversation starters at break times (thanks Amanda White).
- Plan your attendance – i.e. don’t try to see it all. Instead, pick a stream you want to follow, or specific presentations. This helps you be targeted.
- Be active: write a blog, use social media, engage in the questions and comments.
- Don’t miss out on the social events – they are where lots can happen.
- If someone does a presentation that you like (even if they are a Distinguished Prof) tell them! Everyone likes to be told they’re doing a good job.
🤝 Don’t just attend – get involved!
Melinda Lewis encourages everyone not just to attend conferences, but to take part – which can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
My suggestions are to get involved! Look out for conference announcements and plan. Submit your work individually or within a team and consider the preferred mode, presentation, poster, Pecha Kucha, workshop, birds of a feather, and be open to engage with feedback. Seek out opportunities to raise your profile by meeting members of scholarly communities.
Secondly, join the conference organising committee to learn how decisions are made. Join or lead a special interest group (SIG) and continue to contribute. I prefer in-person conferences and enjoy exploring new places and meeting people. However, I am grateful for opportunities to volunteer (kind not cash) and always look for events in my local city, particularly where travel may not possible and/or funding not available.
Melinda Lewis, Senior Lecturer, Teaching Learning and Curriculum Unit
Finish the year with a conference
If you take a look in our Events page, you’ll find upcoming conference and events to attend, including the 2024 UTS Learning and Teaching Forum on 29 November, and FFYE Forum – Enhancing Student Transition: A Focus on Relational-Based Strategies Inside and Outside the Classroom on 20 November. Why not register and try out some of these ideas?