International Professional Contacts: Conferences

STARTING UP

Ex. 1. Look at these sayings. Which of the ideas do you agree with?

• Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.

Salvador Dali (1904 – 1989), Spanish artist

• Professionalism: It's NOT the job you DO. It's HOW you DO the job.
• If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?

Scott Adams (b. 1957), American cartoonist

 

Ex. 2. What are the purposes of professional conferences? Think about the following:

• information
• making contacts
• meeting colleagues
• delivering new ideas
• sharing and discussing ideas
• sightseeing

 

Ex. 3. Discuss the questions.

1. How much does a conference cost? What does a conference budget cover? Who pays for a conference?
2. Should conference committees charge participants for coffee breakes? Why do they do it? What is the role of informal contacts during a formal event?

VOCABULARY

 

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

Ex. 1. Every day we hear similar meaning words such as workshops, summits, symposiums, seminars and conferences and easily get confused as the terminology is rather confusing. Complete the sentences [46]  using the correct word in brackets and learn the difference.

Seminars are ………………………(educating, educative, educational) events that feature one or more subject matter experts delivering information primarily via lecture and discussion.

Workshops tend to be smaller and more ……………………. (intensative, intensive, intense) than seminars. This format often involves students practicing their new skills during the event under the watchful eye of the instructor.

Hands-On Workshops typically involve …………………… (participants, participates, participles) doing work on a particular issue during the program. The promise is that when they leave, they will have at least a rough plan or tools in place to address the challenge.

Conferences often features keynote presentations delivered to all ……………….. (attendees, attendants, attended) as well as multiple break-out sessions. …………….. (Attendees, attendants, attended) often expect to receive information about industry trends and developments.

A Symposium is typically a more formal or ………………… (academical, academician, academese, academic) gathering, featuring multiple experts delivering short presentations on a particular topic.

A Summit is a …………….. (gather, gatherer, gathering) of the highest level of leaders and experts.

 

READING

Conferences: Why to Attend and How to Benefit

by Shanna E. Smith and Caroline T. Rankin [47]

According to a recent survey, most graduate students feel conferences are useful as a method of meeting people who are interested in similar research areas, and cite the low-key and close-knit atmosphere of professional conferences as a primary motivating factor for their attendance. Many new graduate students, however, may be unsure about whether a particular conference is worth the time and money, the anemia of traveling to an unknown place, and the anxiety of meeting new people. In order to encourage them, we discuss some of the benefits of conference attendance, and offer advice on how to get the most from these professional meetings.

Why are Conferences Useful?

Conference presentations require you to set research deadlines

Between the demands of classwork, teaching assistantships, and family obligations, it may sometimes seem as though your research is slipping through the cracks. To keep your research “on the front burner,” it is useful to set deadlines for yourself, and a conference presentation provides an excellent way to do this. Do not feel that you cannot present at a conference until you have completed your entire dissertation. On the contrary, a small slice of your eventual dissertation will be easier for you to prepare, will create a more focused presentation, and will serve as an effective motivator for you to tackle the next research hurdle. If you do not feel comfortable presenting a paper in front of a large audience, you can submit a poster presentation; this will force you to complete just as much research, without raising the spectre of public speaking.

Conferences help you feel integrated with the academic community

At conferences, you will meet people who are interested in the same topic of research and discuss theoretical and methodological ideas. You will talk to participants about their own schools and departments, gathering information about places where you might eventually wish to work. You will learn more about famous names in your field, and find that they, too, are normal human beings, who were once graduate students like you. You will attend a variety of presentations and learn more about areas of your discipline that are not researched in your home department. Many presentations will inspire you with new ideas, while a few will be obviously ill-prepared. Both types can be quite useful. You will probably realize that your ideas are more significant, relatively speaking, than you thought. A common reaction is ‘I could write a better paper than this!” All these experiences will help you feel as though you are an active, knowledgeable, and valuable member of your professional field.