Seven Tips for a Ph.D. Students Attending their 1st International Conference (or you don't have to be a wallflower)
I remember my first international conference well.
I was excited. I'd survived the first year & half of graduate school. I figured that I knew the ropes - right?
I could not have been more wrong.
That first conference upended my understanding of what was expected in my field.
Where I was being trained as a positivist, quant jock, I ran into interpretivist, qualitative philosophers - who sneered at my training.
Where I thought my uni was pretty good, I ran into people who could not differentiate a major American uni from a local community college.
Where I thought I understood the social order, I ran into people that had high-status titles in my world - that were not high-status.
Worse.
I ran into the inverse - people with low-status titles in my world - who were high-status in theirs.
I had no idea how to respond.
I was super confused.
I quickly learned to be nice to everyone or risk offending someone.
So helpful tips for an international conference first-timer.
First, rest up.
Conferences can be exhausting.
You need to be well-rested before you enter the maelstrom of presentations, social events, & more.
Second, dump your assumptions.
Everything you know about academic pecking orders no longer applies.
Your hierarchy of journals may not matter to the aggressive person at the bar from Russia.
Your hierarchy of schools won't matter to the mild-mannered person from Denmark.
Your hierarchy of schools will not map to the Game of Thrones played by the Germans.
Get rid of the "hierarchy" you know & be nice to everyone.
Third, open your ears.
You will hear a dizzying array of ideas.
What people find interesting, & how they study that, is a fantastic tapestry in any discipline.
You can learn a lot just by listening.
Fourth, forget rank & titles.
PhD student, Lecturer, Professor & more do not map to the salaries, status, or roles that you know, especially as you cross national borders.
Now that you are rested, dumped your assumptions, practiced listening, & recognized you don't understand the social order, you are ready to make friends.
Fifth, take some time to find people you find interesting.
Interesting does not mean famous. Most famous academics are ... hm. A bit boring?
Interesting means approachable, a good storyteller, & interested in similar research topics.
Sixth, show up.
If you are off seeing the sights, you will not meet people & make friends.
Show up to coffee breaks so you can meet people, & follow up at social events.
Finally, have a good time.
If you are open-minded, you will find a community populated by personalities, genius, and fun.
Academic conferences are the one place where everyone belongs - if you are going to find a place you fit - an international academic conference is it.
Best of luck!
P.S. More later on, how to invest post-conference time in a future post.
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