Apart from scientific exchange and networking opportunities, conferences normally provide the chance to go places, to get out of the office, and see something new. But what happens when the conference is taking place in your home town? At your university? On your campus? Does this differ from going to other conferences or not at all? And is participating in such a conference better or worse, or maybe it just feels like another day at the office? These questions came up for during lunch a few weeks ago just before the GeoMinBochum. Now the conference is over let’s explore the good and the bad of a conference “at home”.
The yearly meeting of the German Geological Society and the German Mineralogical Society was hosted at the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) this year and took place on the university campus. I was not involved in the organisation and only attended as a normal participant, still my awareness of this conference rose earlier than of other conferences, simply due to discussions over lunch, emails asking us to contribute, and the general chatter on the office corridors… So I guess the first difference when having a conference “at home” is that the tension in the offices corridors rises earlier.
RUB Conference Centre, where most of the GeoMinBochum took place (Credits: L. Kaerger)
Interestingly, despite the GeoMin being repeated background chatter long beforehand, I was less “hyped” and less excited for it… and somehow felt less prepared… no searching and booking of trains & accommodation, no bag packing, no travelling. Admittedly, that was quite relaxing… but also did not really lead to the mindset: I will be on conference next week. So despite talking about it for months in advance, preparing a session & a talk, making my way to the icebreaker after drinking coffee on Sunday – having spent a completely normal weekend – felt pretty unreal.
…sometimes the office is further away than you think…
Another aspect which made it difficult for me to get in the conference mode, was the proximity between the conference centre and my office. On the Friday before the conference I left some work undone (including my talk for Wednesday – which turned out to be a bit of a mistake), in any case I would be back on campus on Monday and would sure have the chance to get stuff done – after all I was just a few 100 m away from my office. So sitting in the first sessions on Monday, I actually felt a bit of a guilty conscience, because, well shouldn’t I be in the office working right now?
As in every conference, there were some session which did not catch my interest, but instead having a wonder around during that time and recharging a bit, which you might do in places you do not know, I walked over to my office to get some work done (particularly to finish that Wednesday presentation). However, these blocks turned out to be shorter than expected and the way between conference centre and my office to be longer, leading to a bit of a back and forth (I am not counting steps, but I surely reached the “magical” 10.000 on the first day). And although the office corridors appeared unusually calm I know I was not the only one sneaking into the office once in a while; some collegues for work and some simply for the opportunity to fill up their social battery.
Signs guiding the way are necessary even if you are “at home”…. (Credits: L. Kaerger)
So some lessons I learned regarding the proximity of the office: Being able to detach from my everyday office work is harder. Of course it is handy if something urgent comes up, but sometimes the office is further away than you think, so if possible make sure your essential work is done before the conference (e.g. finish that presentation!). Still it is nice to be able to quietly disappear into your office for a break.
Finding your way around campus…
Another advantage of a conference “at home” is you already know your way around campus – or at least you think you do until you realise that this or that event is in a room you have never been to and actually have to follow the signs. So the GeoMin actually got me off my beaten tracks and made me see new parts of a place I thought I knew. Also talking to other participants led to interesting new perspectives on my otherwise so well-known surrounding. For example: How could I forget (or maybe I just repressed it?) what kind of giant 3D puzzle the RUB Campus actually is?
…if the conference site is giant 3D puzzle (Credits: L. Kaerger)
And away from Campus? After all there is also a town to got to and a life to live, which becomes significantly more present when you have a conference at home.
Collecting some voices from my colleagues they sounded somewhat like this: Waking up in your own bed is nice, coming home late in the evening with your breakfast dishes still on the table and other chores to do not so much. Neither is having to take your kids to kindergarten every morning (as you always do), but actually having to rush them because you got to get to the conference. Others stressed that they enjoyed the possibility to have a quite dinner at home and fill up their social battery as they “had enough of the professors yesterday already”.
… or working University? (Credits: L. Kaerger)
New perspective: Lost Place… (Credits: L. Kaerger)
…and around town
Regarding dinner, knowing your way around town also made a major difference, as you do not have to rely on google ratings for restaurants but know what’s a save bet. I also found it to be a good opportunity to test that place you had on your list for a while. Again, exploring places you know with new people often leads to new perspectives and possibly one or two discoveries for the future (after all, as a local, you still have time after the conference to check-out that cool place where the other group enjoyed dinner in yesterday).
The strangest part of the entire five days however was the end of the conference. Closing ceremony, lunch with colleagues and then? No train journey back? No wind down time? Simply climbing back up the stairs to my office and continue with the work from Friday for another half-day as if we came back from a normal lunch break (and nothing happened) just did not feel right at all… Luckily there is still an afternoon coffee break where very important post-conference topics had to be discussed…
…definitely not just another day at the office
So is a conference “at home” better or worse than one away? I guess it depends strongly on what kind of person you are and on your life circumstances. Kids at home? Things to do? “I am so glad it is over and I can get my life back in order.” Things left undone or being someone who needs to recharge their social battery more regularly? Your office is right there to retreat to if needed – although you might no be able to go there as often as you think. But, whatever you type and your circumstances, a conference “at home” is definitely as exhausting as one away, for some more for some less, and is definitely not just another day at the office.
