Researchers often focus on laboratory work and publishing their papers. This makes them forget the most important part of a successful career: professional networking! One of the ways to leave the laboratory and meet new colleagues is to organize a scientific conference or workshop.
Differences between Scientific Conference and Workshop
Conferences are usually larger events that focus on presenting research, while workshops are smaller events that teach a skill or method in a practical way. In this DoNotEdit article, we will discuss some of the benefits of organizing a scientific conference or workshop as the most important scientific event for researchers.
What Makes an Event Successful?
Many factors contribute to the success of a conference or workshop. As an organizer, you may easily focus on the smallest details and worry that the venue, the catering, or the travel arrangements will make or ruin your event. However, people actually attend conferences to create networks, exchange ideas, and engage in the professional development of their research.
While you can choose a specific theme, many organizers choose something general such as “emerging trends in…”. This is to ensure a large pool of paper submissions. Having many submissions to choose from increases the chances of featuring good research.
Why Should I Organize a Conference?
The idea of organizing a scientific conference or workshop may seem quite overwhelming. However, before saying no, consider the benefits of organizing a conference for you as a researcher.
Events are a great way to network, and organizing a conference or workshop will give you professional networking opportunities. You will be in contact with all the speakers and have the opportunity to interact personally. This opportunity can open the door to building personal relationships with professionals that will help advance your career in the future.
Event organizing can help you develop your soft skills. Communication, teamwork, and organization are all valuable skills for your career advancement.
You can control the list of discussed topics. This is not always possible as funding organizations may have their own requirements for your events. But in general, as the organizer, you can highlight some of the more recent articles or research. You can introduce someone whose ideas you think should be given more attention and whose words are influential in your field of activity.
If you are active in organizing the conference, you can play an important role in editing any of the final papers that result from the event. This can increase your publishing history.
Final Tips
Event financing can be obtained in different ways. You can apply for sponsorship from governments, companies, or universities. Many conferences charge a fee to attend to offset the costs of organizing. However, make sure that the fee is reasonable and in line with other similar conferences in the field. Otherwise, you run the risk of appearing predatory.
If you don’t have the resources to start your own event from scratch, you can bid to organize an existing conference. Many fields have annual conferences that different institutions take turns bidding to host, such as INEBRIA or the WGO conference. INEBRIA brings together practitioners and academics from around the world to share their research and experiences through symposiums, workshops, and presentations.
If you want to know about research impact, read “How Can You Create Global Impact with Your Research?” article.
Have you ever organized a scientific conference or workshop? Did it help your career? Share your experiences in the comments below.