This article is intended to
spread awareness among young researchers, students, scholars and academicians,
the different ways of discovering academic conferences to attend relevant to
their specific field of study. It is a well-known fact that it is immensely
important for young students and researchers looking to achieve success in
their work and career, to go to
international conferences in order spread awareness about their research and also to
connect with peers. But the question as to what the best methods to find an
academic conference are still remains unanswered to a large extent. There are
usually two kinds of conferences. The first category includes all conferences
that are organized by the same group of conference organizers and held each
year, perhaps in a different place or with a slightly different theme from
preceding years. The other type of conference is a unique and isolated event.
One is likely to use the same sources of information to learn about both sorts
of conferences, but they are without a doubt more likely to know when an annual
conference will be held each year. This can be done by registering to become a
part of the mailing lists of popular conference organizers.
Explained in detail below are the various ways in which one
can get to know about academic conferences that have been scheduled and ready
to take place.
●
Conference
Announcements
There are
usually two types of conference advertising. The first is a call for paper
submissions - inviting interested parties to submit proposals for their
research papers. This is done anywhere from a year to a few months before the
conference, depending upon the nature of the conference. Then, when the list of
speakers has been finalized, another series of advertisements inviting
delegates to register is circulated. These advertisements typically offer
information on the conference itself, accommodation, travel arrangements, etc.
●
Word Of Mouth
(Spread Of Info By Colleagues and Acquaintances)
As in many
academic fields, one’s personal contacts (colleagues, thesis supervisors, and
other academic authorities) are one of the best sources of information on
either conference that they organize themselves or are relevant to your field.
It is important to keep in touch with your colleagues and close associated with
order to find out about academic conferences and also reciprocate by doing the
same for them, in case you get to know about a conference yourself!
●
Academic
Departments
Anyone who is
employed at a university department is likely to have access to information on
upcoming conferences that are scheduled to take place. Many conference
organizers advertise their events by contacting university department heads or
their administrators. Most academic departments maintain their own bulletin
boards or noticeboards where these ads are posted and can be read by department
members. Staff members of certain departments also sometimes use (if the
university regulations permit) the doors and walls of their offices to announce
upcoming conferences that are of interest to their students and other
department members. So, it is vital to take time to look at all the department
notice boards or even pay a visit to the corresponding department of your
university, to acquire up-to-date and accurate details about upcoming academic
conferences in your field.
●
Conference
Alerts Websites
There are a
number of websites these days that have e-mail lists that you can sign up for
that will send you messages about conferences that you are interested in. But,
it can be pretty difficult to find a
conference alerts website that offers accurate, reliable and
up-to-date information! International Conference Alerts is well-known and
widely recognized across the world, in places like Germany, Italy, the United
States Of America, Canada, Dubai, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, and more, as
a trusted conference alerts website. At
internationalconferencealerts.com,
one can find detailed lists of all the conferences that are scheduled to take
place in their field of interest. One can choose to subscribe to
conference alerts via email that are
absolutely free of cost, as per their preferred location as well as preferred
field/fields of interest. There is also the provision for conference organizers
to post information about their upcoming events, to our existing list of
conferences.
● Registering With Known Conference
Organizers
Most conference
organizers maintain electronic mailing lists that help in keeping their members
informed of upcoming events that are scheduled to take place in their field.
They often send newsletters at regular intervals or simply send emails as and
when new information arrives.
● Regularly Perusing Through Popular Journals
and Publications
This is perhaps
one of the best ways to find out about conferences because if there are ads in
a magazine that one subscribes to or is interested in, then they are more
likely to be interested in conferences that advertised within. However, it is
crucial to check out only the latest issues because journals can take a long
time to reach libraries and their subscribers. This means that more often than
not, by the time the journal reaches its subscribers, not much time is likely
to be left to respond to a conference advertisement. For those who peruse
through such journals in a library, the latest issues are often kept elsewhere
on a separate shelf, so it is important to ask the librarian if you cannot find
them.
Now that you are aware of the
numerous ways to find out about upcoming conferences in your field of interest,
near your location, you must know about how to spot a good academic conference
that is worth attending. Listed below are the details that one needs to pay attention
to, in order to decide upon good international
conferences to attend.
● Location
Much like in
real estate, the venue of an academic conference may carry more weight than the
content that is likely to be presented at the event. A place with too many
local attractions could indicate low content, as organizers rely on tourist
distractions to compensate for the low quality of the content and speakers at
the event.
● Shorter Conferences Are More Effective
Academic
conferences, in particular, face the challenge of having so many potential
presenters that the event can last several days. International conferences generally tend to be longer in order to
justify the extended travel time that most participants endure. In such cases,
the content can be easily managed via parallel tracks with the availability of
presentation materials for missed sessions after the conference. However, when
it comes to academic conferences, those with shorter and more concentrated
sessions should be sought after!
● Effective Use Of Technology
With parallel
runs, delegates most often find that it is impossible to attend each and every
session. A decent academic conference makes effective use of modern technology
to facilitate high-quality presentations as well as the availability of
articles, PowerPoint presentations, and more, after the end of the conference.
● Look For Conferences That Present More
Opportunities For Networking Than Cramming Unnecessary Content
Most delegates
at academic conferences are there to meet people and exchange ideas, not to be
crammed with a bevy of unnecessary and mundane presentations. Every good
academic conference offers participants numerous opportunities for networking.
Even in this digital age, productive collaboration can still depend on
face-to-face interaction.
● Keep Your Ultimate Goal In Mind
The best
academic conferences never lose sight of the fact that everything is about the
delegates. If you have clear goals to reach and have requested budget approval
in order to attend an academic conference that you are interested in attending,
it is important not to compromise when it comes to -
1. Keeping
up-to-date with the latest developments in your field/fields of interest,
2. Networking
with like-minded peers who share the same passion as you do,
3. Finding
potential research collaborators who are involved in similar research work as
yours,
4. Acquiring
potential financial partners with vested interested in your work.
It is important to remember that
if you cannot find an academic conference that meets every one of the needs
mentioned above, then it is best that you consider waiting for the next year.
Wasting precious money and time on conferences that will contribute very little
to the furtherance of your career and your research work, by failing to pay
attention to details can prove to be detrimental to the career of a young
researcher, scholar, and student.
