8 Strategies for Finding Conferences

The first step in attending a conference is finding one! Although most conferences will continue to accept registrations for attendance until weeks or days beforehand, deadlines for poster and oral presentations typically take place months ahead of time. With this in mind, begin looking for conferences to attend in the Spring during the Fall (and vice versa). A few places you might consider looking include…

• Your Supervisor’s Calendar: Your supervisor has a pulse on the important meetings and conferences in your academic field through their own experiences researching and sharing their work. Start your search for conferences by asking for their suggestions about places to present your research.
• Your Discipline’s Academic Association: Consider joining the academic association for researchers in your discipline; these groups often organize annual conferences that accept submissions from trainees, and may also circulate other opportunities for presenting or publishing your work.
• Your Discipline’s Twitter Community: Besides connecting with colleagues and keeping up with research news, Twitter can also be a great place to find opportunities to share your research in Ontario, across Canada, and beyond! Considering following researchers in your field and the organizations that represent their interests.
• Your Department’s Administrator: Many institutions/faculties will host annual internal conferences/symposia/meetings where research trainees can share their work with classmates and colleagues in related fields. These smaller and more intimate meetings can be a great place to develop confidence in your presentation skills.