Networking, a skill we all know is important, but often don’t do enough of. Sometimes it is just easier to stay in your comfort zone and stick with who or what you know. As scientists we can’t afford the luxury of a comfort zone, particularly when trying to present your research to the wider scientific community and beyond. Conferences provide a perfect platform from which to show off your work and meet new people who could be potential collaborators in the future. However, having something you have slaved over for the past year scrutinised by complete strangers can be a scary prospect.
The Sedgwick Club Conference was set up in 2014 to allow 4th year undergraduate students and PhD students from Cambridge (or any other institute for that matter) to present their work in an informal setting. It is miniscule in comparison to conferencing behemoths like AGU, but being small doesn’t necessarily make it a bad thing. As a new PhD student in Cambridge, the poster sessions gave me the opportunity to meet a lot more of the undergraduates, as well as get a better idea of the diversity of research that is taking place in the department. From nanomagnetism in pallasites to geophysical oceanography to my own Master’s work on granitoid geobarometry, the place was a plethora of fascinating work at the cutting edge of earth science. Representatives from other institutions were also present including: Imperial College London; University of California, Santa Cruz; Royal Holloway and Shell.
Interspersed throughout the day were talks given from esteemed academics, either from the local natives (Dan McKenzie, Nicky White, Simon Conway Morris and Sasha Turchyn) or a bit further afield (Francis Nimmo from the University of California, Santa Cruz; and Andrew Scott, Royal Holloway). My personal favourite was the talk given by Francis concerning the formation of colossal geysers on the surface of Enceladus; an ice moon of Saturn.
After the conference, we were all treated to a fine dinner courtesy of BP and Shell. Once the drinks started flowing and the conversation turned to things other than rocks (something very difficult for us geologists), friendships were forged and strengthened.
So, what have I learnt from this mini conference? Well, networking isn’t so bad; like all skills it just needs practice and will improve with time. At the end of the day we all have at least one thing in common: an enthusiasm for good science and research!
