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Ten simple rules for attending your first conference

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Conferences are a mainstay of most scientific disciplines, where scientists of all career stages come together to share cutting-edge ideas and approaches.If you do research, chances are you will attend one or more of these meetings in your career.Conferences are a microcosm of their discipline, and while conferences offer different perspectives in different disciplines, they all offer experiences that range from a casual chat waiting in line for coffee to watching someone present their groundbreaking, hot-off-the-press research.Here, we share tips for trainees and their mentors.Our recommendations are based on our experiences of attending conferences and mentoring students to improve their conference experiences.As you head to your first scientific conference, these rules will help you navigate the conference environment and make the most of your experience. In-person conferencesScientific meetings have historically been in person, where all attendees travel to one location to share and learn about recent work in the field.Conferences, especially when well organized, can provide valuable opportunities to meet and interact with other researchers.Our rules include considerations for all parts of attending an in-person meeting, including deciding whether to attend and present research, navigating travel and the conference schedule, and debriefing after the conference. Virtual conferencesDuring the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (CAU : PleasenotethatCOVID À 19hasbeendefinedasCoronaviru OVID-19) pandemic, many conferences have been and continue to be offered remotely [1][2][3].Even before 2020, some conferences had already moved to a virtual format in response to climate change [4] and/or travel bans [5], noting the environmental, financial, and geopolitical challenges posed by in-person meetings.Virtual conferences are more inclusive than their in-person counterparts in many ways: More people can attend them from all over the world, virtual meetings are less costly and easier to organize, and attendees can participate from the comfort of their homes [3,[6][7][8].Given that virtual conferences are becoming more commonplace [3,7-10], we include considerations for each rule when attending one.

Source: PLoS Computational Biology

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009133

Authors: Elizabeth Leininger, Kelly Shaw, Niema Moshiri, Kelly Neiles, Getiria Onsongo, Anna Ritz