My sup and I are arranging to go abroad to an important specialist conference later on this year to co-present a paper. I'm really excited (and lucky!) about going to it and presenting at it so early in my PhD. We are the only ones from our department going. It is a full 3-day conference (we're attending the whole thing), and by the time we fly out there and back, we'll have been together for 4 days! I'm a little nervous about running out of things to talk about! :-( It's probably a silly thing to be nervous about really. We get on well and I know that there will be other academics there, but I can't help but be nervous!

Has anyone spent a few days alone with their sup? More importantly, could you hold conversation the whole way through? :-)

Hi MissG

What a great opportunity!! You won't be alone with your sup for 4 days - once the conference gets underway, you'll both be networking madly and probably won't see that much of each other. Make the most of it and make some good contacts. I've spent a couple of days alone with my sup, and it was wonderful. We really got to know each other, I got to know her history, and picked up lots of tips about academic life as well as got to know her better as a person. We also had fun! Treasure this - these opportunities are the things you'll remember about your research, and the biggest steps you'll take. Enjoy!