Let’s Talk Some Serious Business: Attending to a Conference

Last week, I attended to Computers, Privacy and Data Protection – CPDP conference in Brussels with my master’s programme. CPDP is an annual conference where academics, lawyers, practitioners, policy-makers and civil society gathers from all over the world to talk about the latest issues and trends in data protection and privacy field. As a Law and Digital Technologies student, it was an unparalleled opportunity for me to broaden my knowledge and make connections with other people in the field. In the end, I really liked the conference. Therefore, I want to share with you some tips that I used to make the most out of the conference. I hope they will be beneficial for your future conferences.

Prepare your schedule

First and foremost, plan ahead! For the conferences like CPDP where many sessions take place at the same time in different venues, it is very beneficial to choose the sessions you would like to attend beforehand. Otherwise, you might be late or even lose the chance to attend the session you would like to attend. Therefore, it is very beneficial to print or download the schedule of the conference and plan ahead your schedule.

Take your backpack with you

Do not forget to bring your laptop, tablet or notebook with you to the sessions! The palest ink is better than the sharpest memory. During the conferences many of the speakers talk about their experiences and give insights that might be very beneficial for your lectures, dissertations or even professional life. Therefore, you should note them down to find when needed. Also, in their slides, the speakers usually provide useful illustrations, charts and research outcomes. Take pictures of them unless otherwise specified.

Do not hesitate to ask questions

During the Q&A sessions or in the coffee breaks, do not hesitate to ask questions to the speakers or other attendants. Being social and curious always pays off! The more you will talk about your ideas the more people can contribute to your projects. If you would like to talk more and exchange ideas with the speakers after the conference, ask for their contact information. Do not forget that networking is one of the main reasons why conferences are being held in the first place.

Pay attention to stands

There are many flyers, booklets, folders, journals, books and other useful materials are waiting for you at the stands as well as advertising gifts that are quite cool and useful. Hence, pay a visit to the stand area during the conferences. Besides all material things, talk to people at the stands in order to be informed about their projects, companies and institutions.

Do you like to attend conferences? Drop a comment below and let us know about your experiences as well!