Conference & Symposium

Conference & Symposium

Conference & Symposium

Conference and Symposium are the best place to explore and promote you research. It can be used efficiently to smoothen your research journey. Here are some tips on how to utilize conference and symposium for one’s research. 

Conference

An academic conference is a one-day or multiday event during which researchers present their work to each other. Conferences are an important way researchers stay connected to others in their field and learn about cutting-edge scholarship.

Symposium

Symposium is an academic event, where the participants – representatives of the academic or scientific world, present their achievements or reflections on a particular subject. The symposium can be easily described as a small conference or an academic gathering of experts to debate over new developments and discoveries in the field.  National or international symposiums are always in the center of attention of academia and scientists.

Importance of Conference
  • You can present your academic paper

One of the best benefits of Academic conferences is that you can present the paper of your research work, in front of tons of people. These people are in the same field of study and research that you are. When you present all these researchers can give you feedback. You can exchange ideas about the research. You will find new scientist friends who can help you develop your projects further. This point is fabulous for your resume. 

  • Killing your fears

Most of the researchers and speakers had a lot of fears of speech in the beginning of their academic path. By taking benefits of academic conferences you get a lot of points and an extra benefit: you get this chance to speak in front of tons of people. After several events, you realize that speaking to foreigners, researches and giving a speech, is as easy as talking on your cell phone. So we recommend you to submit for our virtual events, even in the pandemic days.

  • Meet peers

At conferences you get to meet like-minded people who share your passion and interest. How awesome is that?! Many PhD students tend to spend their time at the library and the lab – alone, but at conferences you get to see who else is researching in your field, you can network and even make new friends.

  • Publishing your paper

One of the best benefits of academic conferences is that the host will publish your article. The selected research papers will be indexed in the Journals. Even if your paper was not selected you can charge to publish it. All the papers of the academic conference will be published in the conference publication with an ISBN.

  • Socialize with professionals in your field

When you attend an academic conference you will meet advanced researchers, as well as senior professionals, scholars and professors. One of the Fabulous benefits of academic conferences is that you can open up some conversations about their presentations; Ask them for more information about a specific topic; Talk about your opinion. Please don’t panic about socializing with professionals; most of the after events are informal and friendly. You can get the contact information to be in touch.

  • Finding the newest Data

As an academic researcher you must find out what is new in your field of study. One of the best benefits of academic conferences is to keep you updated about new findings.

  • Practical advice

Some conferences, like the LAHP summer camp, don’t just offer discussions about new (and sometimes abstract) ideas, but they also offer practical advice on more hands-on issues such as getting your research published, or on audience engagement and impact.

  • Research ideas

When you take part in a scientific event you get a lot of benefits. One of them is fabulous for your scientific path. All the participants have a lot of information about your filed OD study and research. You can listen to them and gather information and ideas for future research works. All these benefits of academic conference will sum up to your CV, and after 3-5 years, you will be a professional researcher.

 Importance of Symposium
  • Generate your idea

First, generate a list of ideas or themes that your symposium could be organized around. Start with your own research projects. What broader questions are you studying, and how can other researchers inform this question with their related work? Your proposed theme or question will ideally be broad enough for other researchers doing similar work to relate to, and will allow for a variety of perspectives. For example, if you study relationships, perhaps you may want to organize a symposium around factors that influence first impressions.

  •  Recruit presenters, early

With your theme or idea in mind, start recruiting potential presenters. Reach out to your field (and your reference lists) for graduate students or faculty members who you know are conducting work related to your symposium topic. Although you may know several colleagues at your own department who have related research interests, try to diversify your proposal by recruiting potential speakers outside your institution — especially those from different subfields who may be able to offer a different data, theoretical or population perspective. Whose work do you admire? Your advisors or colleagues may also be able to provide suggestions. Although some reviews are blind, your submission may be bolstered by inviting a more senior or distinguished faculty member to speak. A symposium will generally require three or four presenters: although some people you reach out to will politely decline the offer, you also do not want to send too many emails out at once, in case too many people accept.

  • Synthesize your abstract

After all your presenters have been chosen and agreed to participate, you will need to write the proposal for the symposium. Often this consists of an extended abstract of the proposed symposium. As well, many conferences also require additional abstracts that summarize each individual presentation. Use this opportunity to show conference reviewers that your topic is novel, important and relevant to attendees. What gap does your symposium topic fill? What questions or ideas does it elucidate or unify? Highlight the cross-cutting question or theme that your presenters will address, and each presentation’s main findings and implications. You will want to identify the commonalities across all of your work as well as the unique contributions that each presenter’s perspective brings, whether in population studies, methodology used or processes targeted. This part may take some thought and discussion with your collaborators, as you may need to conceptualize and frame each of your talks in a way that is most congruent with the theme or question. During this process, individual presenters may also need to submit information about their individual presentations, like a brief description of their work that is shared with attendees.

As well, you will want to determine the order in which the presentations will best flow. For example, you may want research that is broader or best illustrates the concepts or questions involved to go first; research that tests more specific mechanisms may be best suited later in the symposium. Finally, don’t forget to give your symposium an eye-catching title that stands out amongst all the other programming during the conference.

  • Independently Submitted Papers

If the organizers do not plan to publish the symposium in a formal proceeding, you can still publish your talk. In this case, you (the author) will be responsible for locating a suitable journal to submit your manuscript. Many, but not all, journals accept these types of papers. Some journals publish mini-reviews which are a suitable format for your symposium-based research articles. If you are invited to participate in a symposium in which the organizers do not plan to publish proceedings, you should begin exploring how and where you can publish your talk as you develop it; plan ahead. Basically, your paper will be a mini-review of a research topic. This is an excellent means to further your publication track record and reach a wider audience.  Note, it is considered unethical to submit a manuscript for publication before participating in the symposium.

  •  Prepare for the symposium — together

If your symposium is accepted, the work is not over. As the chair, you will want to prepare well and work together with the other presenters to ensure a cohesive show on the day of the symposium. For example, when preparing for individual presentations, presenters may want to share notes and slides with each other and discuss how talks can best be framed to the symposium theme. Closer to the symposium date, you will want to collate all the slides of all your presenters (and triple check that the technology works smoothly). As the chair, you will want to determine how you will introduce the overall symposium and each speaker to the audience. Finally, there will be some important logistical decisions to be made. For example, based on the total time allotted, how much time will each presenter have to speak? Will questions be taken at the end of each presentation or only after all presenters have spoken? If there is time, it may be helpful to meet shortly beforehand to rehearse or discuss anticipated audience questions. In all, working with your other team members is key to preparing for a successful symposium.

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