EXPERT COMMENT LAST UPDATED : 23 MARCH 2018
Being a researcher in our School of Social Sciences involves a lot of things, including presenting your work to your peers.
Here, PhD researcher Shona Robinson-Edwards talks us through her first experience of presenting a research paper of hers to an International conference.
Presenting a research paper at an international conference is a mile stone for any academic, even more exciting for a second year PhD researcher embarking on this element of academia. An international conference encourages the communication between people of many different nationalities [1]. Looking back at my experience naivety is the word that comes to mind – I envisaged speaking at an international conference to be much more challenging than delivering weekly lectures and seminars in my usual academic setting, however surprisingly I was wrong.
But let’s start with the basics, academic conferences are usually annual events, and the ‘call for papers’ is the start of the application process. At this stage you will need to provide a short abstract about the research you seek to present, this is then sent to the conference organisers and once approved the real work begins. As a PhD researcher organising your first international conference can be quite complex in relation to applying for funding.
First of all it is crucial that you have the backing from your supervisors, this is needed as they will have to co-sign your funding application. The next stage is to submit a funding application form to the Doctoral Research College, they will make the decision on whether to fund your application (or not).
Once this is all done and approved the search for the best hotel within your allocated budget commences – a top tip, most times the conference organisers provide discounted fees at the hotel where the conference is taking place, so utilise this opportunity. In between the excitement and organisation, time is needed to prepare your presentation, and importantly to practise it. I used PowerPoint and would often practise my presentation in front of family and friends, this helps to prepare for the real thing.
Another task is ensuring that you have the correct travel and visa documents required for the country you are travelling to, I went to the United States so had to complete the Electronic System for Travel Authorization form (ESTA) – please be aware that this has to be done prior to your departure, if not you can be refused entry – and of course the last thing you want to do is miss your opportunity to speak in front of top academics in your field.
And before I forget, my advice would be to bring some sort of proof that you are speaking at a conference in your hand luggage. After a long flight and looking a little worse for wear – I was asked ‘what is the purpose of your visit’, I replied with enthusiasm ‘I’m here to present at a homicide and criminal justice conference’ – I then presented my acceptance letter and a copy of the conference programme and proceeded – it makes life easier.
Boarding the flight and checking into the hotel is exciting, but a full days rest is needed to semi recover from the long haul flight and delays. It was then official, I arrived at the conference to see my name typed in what seemed like bold letters (Shona Robinson – Edwards, Birmingham City University) the first day was filled with introductions, discussions and the revelation of some very impressive academic CV’s, at this time I had a few publications but nothing to shout from the roof tops about. Nether the less this broke the ice for the subsequent days, and there was much excitement and speculation to see what the up and coming days would entail.
For those who describe themselves as quiet, shy or even introvert, do not worry - naturally I’m a shy person too. My advice would be to embrace this opportunity, academia will always involve public speaking of some sort this may be in the form of lectures, seminars and most times you will have to present and sometimes defend your research. To put it nicely it’s something that all academics have to do, as time goes on your confidence will grow.
I found speaking at an international conference more relaxing than what I originally envisioned. There was less pressure – although well-known academics were in the audience none of them knew me. In hindsightI find presenting in front of supervisors and colleagues to be more nerve racking than presenting in front of strangers, but maybe this is me. Additionally the fact that my research was in its early stages provided some additional relief. I knew that I would benefit from the comments of scholars within my field of research, so there was nothing to lose - a win win situation.
I do not want to come across to blasé, yes I was nervous, and shaky during the first few minutes of my presentation, but after the initial nerves there was no stopping me, in fact I presented twice, different research topics of course. The question and answer segment of the presentation is what I looked forward to the most. Some of the most frequent questions related to ontology, epistemology and methodology. It felt like I was in the spotlight for a short time, when in reality I was speaking for 45 minutes, which included questions – this should have been 30 minutes but surprise surprise I went over.
It is very encouraging when academics approach you after your presentation providing encouragement, advice and exchanging details. That reminds me I had some business cards personalised, which included my name, research area, institution and email address – these came in very handy throughout my time at the conference. The prospect of future research collaborations with academics across the globe is great. Another nice aspect of the conference life is meeting new people, we ate breakfast and lunch together, went on excursions and discussed many topics within academia and beyond.
So in a nutshell speaking at an international conference is a life changing experience, which can help one to build confidence, network and become more independent. Preparation is key and sound subject knowledge is a must, this will come naturally as those conducting research tend to know their subject area inside out. So if you’re heading across the globe to speak at a conference get ready for lights, camera, action.
- United Nations (2017). Speaking at a Conference. Available at https://outreach.un.org/mun/content/speaking-conference. Date accessed [02/01/2018].
The content above is the opinion of the author(s), and does not represent the views or opinions of Birmingham City University.