From 23-28 April, EGU 2023 took place in Vienna, Austria. The annual event focuses on on bringing together geoscientists from all over the world to share their research. This year ARCTIK had multiple projects participating in the conference including MYRIAD-EU, PolarRES, RECEIPT, EOSC Future, GoNexus and I4C.
The event highlighted the importance of open science and open access research. For many, EGU provided the perfect opportunity to make connections with similar research projects and provided a platform for Early Career Researchers to get more involved! However, events like EGU are never easy to navigate below we provide list of tips and tricks for EU projects attending EGU and similar conferences!
1. Build your network
Why not connect up with similar projects? By identifying these groups you can build the groundwork for future collaborations and start conversations related to cross-project knowledge sharing possibilties! Although Impetus4Change (I4C) is a relatively young project, they utilised the event to communicate about their goals while reaching out to similarly focused projects. To ensure lasting connections are made it is a good idea to consider the following:
- Be transparent about your project and the challenges you are facing. You never know what insights others may have!
- Follow up with these connections after the event. Express your appreciation for the shared interaction, and start a conversation about exploring future collaboration opportunities!
2. Utilise social media
Utilise social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, or conference-specific hashtags to share updates, insights, and engage in online discussions. Focusing on social media channels can help expand your network and connect with researchers who are not physically present at the conference. GoNexus showcased their research by utilising multiple relevant hashtags and retweeting their researchers on their page!
- It is important to utilise the official event hashtag which in this case was #EGU23. Always double check to make sure you are not using incorrect hashtags such as #EGU2023. Incorrect hashtags waste precious characters and reduce your likelihood of being retweeted!
3. Explore the poster halls
Poster sessions provide a great opportunity both for you to explore at your leisure with a cup of coffee and during the poster session to gain more concise research presentations. Check out the poster sessions ahead of time through the online programme, and determine topics of interest. For example, climate storylines which are an increasingly useful and popular means of exploring climate scenarios! The RECIEPT project showcased their climate storylines through a detailed poster presentation however they were also able to demonstrate the interactivity of the research in real-time through incorporation of a laptop.
4. Maximise your lunch break
While chowing down on some food, use the opportunity to explore booths of interest and learn about something new! During lunchtime many booths provide interesting presentations, the smaller group sizes allow for a more social interaction where attendees can loosen up and share ideas. Such was the case with EOSC Future, where members of the project presented their open access platform as part of the ENVRI booth.
5. Organise a session dinner
Where possible link up with similar projects within you research area and session group in an informal setting. Many project groups organised a dinner for their group which provided a perfect de-stressor from the events of EGU and a great setting to meet new people! Members of MYRIAD-EU partook in the multi-risk dinner and PolarRES also held a dinner with CRiCes, a sister project. Good food, interesting conservations sound like the perfect recipe for cross-project research collaboration!