While academic conferences used to mean “mini-vacation with a twist,” Covid-19 has made it impossible to host safe and cost-efficient conferences the old-fashioned way. Just about every big-name conference has made the decision to go virtual this year, which has opened discussions regarding the pros and cons of virtual conferences, and whether or not they still hold the value-for-time that in-person events used to hold.
My favorite experiences in college have been attending academic conferences through school-sponsored travel grants. I have had the opportunity to travel to cities across the country and network with a variety of professionals in many different fields of study. But even if in-person conferences were viable options for this academic year, the prospect of boarding a crowded airplane, traveling to a high-density city, and interacting with hundreds of people every day is incredibly stress-inducing.
As I have advanced in my degree plans, I’ve discovered that there’s less easy grant opportunities for upperclassmen in the routes that I had initially relied on as a freshman and sophomore. Expensive travel plans to national conferences can add up quickly, and trying to figure out how to budget for a plane ride to Montana, book my own hotel room, and calculate meal stipends while working on last-minute details on my presentation poster became an overwhelming project to tackle in the midst of mid-terms last year.
While there can be a multitude of stressors for in-person academic conferences, the solutions to safe and socially distant conferences in this strange time have eliminated the need for those traditional obstacles. Virtual conferences now allow much more flexibility—there’s no more need to take off an entire week of classes or work as you don’t have to account for travel time and long break periods in between panels and workshops. Rather than running across an unfamiliar campus or sprawling hotel to get to your next scheduled panel, you can now pour yourself a cup of coffee and ditch the dreaded networking heels in favor of some cozy socks and slippers. Additionally, with recorded Zoom presentations, you won’t have to choose between two or more panels happening in the same time block (since they always schedule the best ones at the same time)!
Virtual conferences have reduced the amount of difficulties associated with traditional conferences, and have also made them more affordable to participate in. While we lose out on the novel experiences of travel and face-to-face socializing, we gain a lot from the accessibility of Zoom presentations and reduced carbon emissions associated with travel and paper print-outs. You can still present your research and gain valuable connections with professionals across the country, and all for a lower cost! In fact, it’s possible to achieve all of this at no cost.
Our Psi Chi chapter has been hard at work raising funds to build a virtual conference “travel” fund for our Psi Chi members. You are able to apply to our grant for up to $65 for conference registration fees and other associated expenses. Following UWF’s travel guidelines, this grant can only be applied to virtual conferences, so there must be a virtual option for the conference you are interested in. Here’s everything you need to do to apply:
· Write up a one-page description on this google form that details:
- Which conference you are registering to
- The cost of registration
- How this opportunity will aid your personal and professional development
If your application is approved by our leadership board, you will be asked to answer some questions about your experience that we will include in a future blog post! If you have any questions about the application process, email Dr. Strohmetz at dstrohmetz@uwf.edu.