AS CARTA @ 10 Scientific Conference draws near, we caught up with one of the presenters, Alamukii Nanfizat. Here, she shares her thoughts on Scientific Conferences and what a participant should look forward to.
How do Scientific Conferences help researchers to advance their work? And why do you think it is important to attend and present in one?
Scientific conferences create avenues for researchers to meet renowned specialists in their research area, network with other researchers, exchange ideas, and air opinions about topics of interest that can lead to genuine collaboration. A lot of good research ideas have started over a cup of coffee at conferences. It is an excellent platform to find mentors in different areas of specialization for early career researchers.
When allowed to submit papers either through oral or poster presentations, researchers get the chance of first-hand peer review that helps widen the scope of the proposed research. It allows a researcher to publicize research findings and innovations to the scientific community. It is usually a two-way thing; the presenter learns from the audience’s feedback while the audience also learning from the presenter’s research. Scientific conferences allow researchers to learn new technology, research methodologies, and presentation skills as well.
What do you hope to achieve from the CARTA @ 10 Scientific Conference?
I hope to network and learn from the different research presentations. I hope to learn innovations in the scientific community to apply to my research and improve on it. I want to share some of my research findings and widen the scope of my research from the feedback I get on my presentation. I also hope to meet scientists in my research field, learn from their research, and see how we can collaborate.
Why is it important for researchers to build connections and collaborate more?
Collaboration is one of the fundamental forces that drive research; building connections strengthens you as a researcher, allows you to have international recognition and exposure, adds to your research ideas, capacity and widens your research horizon.
After the conference, what do you think the participants should do to maximize the benefit?
At the end of a conference, participants should endeavor to follow up on their connections, for instance, sending a warm message through emails and reminding your network of the discussion you heard during the conference. Follow up on the ideas, create a sharing platform for learning, and research grant opportunities within your network. Without consistent follow up, you might lose the connection, and the collaboration might not be initiated. As a mentee approaching a mentor, a polite message to them sharing your concerns and ideas after reintroducing yourself can lead to a career upgrade, visitation to a laboratory for training, and other learning opportunities.
