Find the right conference
Attending a conference is a great opportunity to present your research, hear about current research in your field and meet fellow scholars. With busy schedules and tight budgets doctoral researchers think carefully about which conferences to attend. Finding out what, when and where upcoming conferences are taking place is the first step. Most will have two rounds of promotion: the call for papers followed by the invitation for delegates to sign up, so there is usually plenty of time to discover forthcoming events. Conference organisers tend to promote through a range of channels and there are a number of ways that you can find out about conferences in your subject area:
Your colleagues
The people you work with and see around campus are an invaluable source of information. Ask your colleagues and your supervisors which conferences they attend or organise, and find out if they know about conferences that are relevant to your research. Talk to scholars working in other disciplines too, try using training courses and events as an opportunity to learn which conferences your fellow researchers attend. Online research communities such as Academia.edu, ResearchGate and Piirus are a useful way to extend your research network. Making online connections with researchers with similar interests increases your chances of discovering the latest conference news in your field.
Your school/department
Many conference organisers advertise by contacting academics or University departments directly, and your Research & Enterprise Co-ordinator will share this information with doctoral researchers. So, read those emails and keep an eye on notice boards in your department, common rooms and the Research Hive.
Conference databases
There are a number of conference databases that are freely available to search online, they rely on conference organisers adding details of events. You can search by keyword, subject area or location. In many cases you can create an account for free and set up alerts for specific topics or keywords, so that you will be notified when new conferences matching your search criteria are advertised.
Twitter
Twitter is one of the largest social networks in the world and many researchers use it to promote their work and connect with others. Follow interesting people, organisations and research groups to see their tweets in your news feed, this is a great way to find out about upcoming conferences.
Conference organisers usually establish a hashtag to help twitter users track tweets about a conference in real time. This is particularly useful if you’re not able to attend an event you are interested in, conference tweets often include details of the speakers, key points and links to slides and proceedings.
Organise your own conference!
Using these tools you should be able to find out about conferences that are relevant to your research. If you haven’t found your dream conference perhaps you could consider organising your own. For some useful guidance take a look at Tips for organising your own conference” on the Research Hive Blog, and if you’re looking for some funding for a conference you’re organising that will benefit a broad range of researchers, you can also apply to the Doctoral School’s Researcher-Led Initiative (RLI) Fund.
- Bethany Logan (Research Support Supervisor - The Library)
Just had a paper or presentation accepted for a conference taking place overseas? You may be eligible to apply for a Doctoral Overseas Conference (DOC) Grant from the Doctoral School.
These grants support overseas conference attendance for doctoral researchers at Sussex who will be active participants in the conference with either a paper or presentation accepted. Payment includes a contribution towards travel costs, accommodation and conference fees only - expenses for visas or subsistence are not included.
Funding is limited to a maximum amount of £1,000 for any one student during the period of their registration.
The current call closes on 30th September 2015
For further information including details of how to apply, please visit www.sussex.ac.uk/doctoralschool/internal/funding/doctoraloverseasconferencegrant
Develop your Sussex Online Profile (in case someone looks you up)
Before attending a conference, it’s really important to think about how the people you will meet can stay in touch and find out more about you and your work. An effective way of doing this is to set up and develop your Sussex Online Researcher Profile, which rank highly in web search results.
Sussex Online Profiles are available to all doctoral researchers and are a really good way of promoting yourself to the academic community and wider public.
By setting up and developing your Sussex Online Profile, you’ll be able to present yourself through your departmental webpages, and you’ll also appear alongside other doctoral researchers from across the University in the Directory of Doctoral Researchers on the Doctoral School website.
For more information on how to set up and develop your online profile using Sussex Direct, take a look at our Developing your Sussex Online Profile online module.
You can find out more about promoting yourself and your research online in our Building your academic Web presence online module.
Conference Resources and Top Tips
We’ve collected together a range of online links with lots of useful information about conferences - from planning and preparing your presentation, to making the most of the event.
Planning and preparing for your conference
Patter - Survival essentials, questions of etiquette, dealing with questions - see Professor Pat Thomson's conference blog for some helpful tips in preparing
theguardian: How to make the most of academic conferences – five tips – Do the legwork, don’t put your entire thesis in your paper, plan the conference like a military operation and other helpful tips
gradhacker: Preparing for Conferences - 'Athletes practice; academics prepare' - Advice on preparing for a conference from the gradhacker
The Thesis Whisperer: Four Ways to Rock your Next Talk – Read about four ways to rock at public speaking
TED – Get inspired by TED talks
Technology Enhanced Learning at Sussex: Using Creative Commons images in your teaching – Whatever images you use in your presentations, take care not to breach copyright
The London School of Economics and Political Science: Your essential 'how-to' guide to using Prezi in an academic environment – Prezi or PowerPoint?
Technology Enhanced Learning at Sussex Blog: Top tips for designing presentations - Design your slides for the person sitting in the back row and other useful tips for presentation design
PhD Posters: Gallery – Get some inspiration for your academic poster
Elsevier: Infographic: Tips for designing better research posters – The do’s and don’ts of preparing posters
Sussex Estates and Facilities: Services for students - Organise printing your poster and contact/business card
Making the most of the event
The Research Whisperer: Build your conference karma – How to be a great conference participant
theguardian: Live-tweeting at academic conferences: 10 rules of thumb and Social Media for Learning: Tips for tweeting at conferences – Does the conference have a hashtag? Consider your twitter etiquette…
The Research Whisperer: Networking and other academic hobbies – ‘A successful networker is responsive, active, dependable, and has initiative’
Read about other peoples’ experiences
My First Time: Researchers' First Experiences in Academia - My first time...submitting to a conference, giving a conference paper, going to an international conference…
Resources from the Sussex Research Hive Blog
Back in January, the Sussex Research Hive Scholars hosted a Doctoral Discussions event on Conferences and Networking. Read the event review here on the Hive Blog.
And for those of your involved in organising a conference, some tips from our Hive Scholars.
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