Hello

One of my objectives in my first year is to 'network' and one way to do this is at conferences. At the last minute I've found 2 conferences I want to go to but of course they cost lots, and one is in Rome. The first (London) I have rung to ask if there are 'student places' e.g. gratis. They're getting back to me, I have emailed the Rome lot with the same question. Is this the right approach? Aside from flashng some décolletage , how do I wrangle a place on these things?

Cheers

Unfortunately, conferences - unless postgraduate - usually cost! If you have funding from a research council there is usually a pot of money for you to draw on. Otherwise I think it is a case of doing what you are doing - emailing and seeing if there is a way to go for free. Networking - or rather schmoozing - is particularly important in the first year. Finding your niche and marking out the territory for the next three years. However I wouldn't rush into going to expensive conferences early on - I would wait until you have some research under your belt and then attend as a presenter. Good luck. Oh to be a first year again!

Hello Hilly, thanks for the advice, I might email my head of department and see what funding there is. I'm carrying on my dissertation topic so pretty much know what I'm wanting to do, the plan was to attend a few, in the meantime writing up the dissertation for a future conference as well as reading...at least the proposal's in.

I agree with hillyg. I recommend waiting until later in your PhD to attend any 'big' conferences. I went to one 2.5 years into my PhD and even then there were talks in which the only thing I understood fully was "hello, my name is X and I am from the University of Y".

What subject is your phd? I feel, having brewed on this (social science) topic and done it for an undergraduate dissertation, I'm dying to go to one and have a proper industry view, fed up of being drip fed information via limited publication.

I am in microbiology/molecular biology, but in a narrow, applied field. At the conference I went to, there were many talks from semi-related fields that I got lost in, but at the same time managed to learn a lot too. If you are familiar with your area already and can afford to go, by all means go. I don't think it is possible for attending a conference to do you any harm - unless you meet someone on the brink of publishing your exact project!

And Rome is such a great city! I would go just for Rome.