By Lochlan Breckenridge, M.Sc. student at McGill University

In June, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend and present the early results of my Master’s research at the 74^th meeting of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists, thanks to the QCBS Excellence Award. This was the first conference I had ever attended, so I was pretty nervous about how the whole thing would go. I had no idea what to expect before I got there, so I thought I would share what I’ve learned with other graduate students who are preparing to go to their first conferences as well.

• Conferences can be exhausting sometimes!

Don’t get me wrong, attending a conference in your field is an exciting and enriching experience. But after 8 hours of talks in one day, I was left feeling drained. There was so much to learn every day, and so many people to meet. I had spent the last few months working on my data alone, so the flurry of activity was almost overwhelming. When the conference organizers provide free coffee, take advantage of it! At one point, I considered sitting out some of the social events, as I thought they would only tire me out further, but I’m glad to say that I was entirely mistaken.

• There are numerous opportunities to explore your surroundings

One of the best solutions for conference fatigue is to take every opportunity to explore your surroundings. Even though our days were packed full of presentations, we still found time to get away from the crowd and see more of London, Ontario. Our stay in London overlapped with an international food festival, which gave us the chance to witness how diverse and lively the city was. The conference organizers even arranged for us to take a tour of a local business that made cider! Gathering a bunch of microbiologists (who had consumed many free cider samples) around an industry so heavily dependent on microbial activity inspired a great deal of insightful questions, along with plenty of laughs. We even made a brief detour to see Niagara Falls on the drive between Montréal and London. These experiences made the conference so much more memorable, and they were a great way to forge new connections and re-energize after the presentations.

• Poster presentations are a great way to meet other people in your field

After sitting through plenty of talks on medical microbiology, I was getting nervous that I might not make any connections with people studying microbial ecology. As I was setting up my poster, I noticed that my project on bacteria in Arctic soil didn’t have much in common with my neighbours’ projects. However, I was pleasantly surprised when multiple people, who hadn’t given talks and whose posters I had not yet seen, came up to me to say that they were also studying bacteria in permafrost environments! If I hadn’t put up my poster, I don’t think I would have met them. If you’re considering going to your first conference, expect your poster to lead to the most important new connections you make!

• Expect to become a lot closer with your lab mates

Something that I didn’t see coming was the deeper connections I made with the other members of my lab who were at the conference with me. Spending time together outside of our normal environment gave us all a chance to share more about our lives than ever before. I’m very thankful to CSM and QCBS for bringing me closer to my colleagues!