WCGALP 2022: A first-time conference experience
Conferences are an essential part of a research career. They provide an opportunity for academics and researchers to test and share ideas, connect with peers, socialise with the professionals in your field, and keep up to date with the newest ideas and data. Sounds impressive, right? Well, as a recent graduate in Animal Sciences working as a junior projects officer at EFFAB, I got to experience my first-ever conference. Tag along to find out how I experienced it!
From 3-8 July 2022, I was lucky enough to join the World Congress of Genetics Applied to Livestock (WCGALP), held every four years, alternating between Europe and the rest of the world. This event is the premier conference for researchers and professionals involved in the genetic improvement of livestock. Of course, I did not know what to expect, but I was very excited after hearing that!
In 2022, the conference occurred in “de Doelen”, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. On all days, parallel sessions took place on different subjects, divided over all the rooms in the venue. I picked out all the sessions that included presentations from scientists of European research projects that we from EFFAB are involved in. I also supplemented my daily diary with topics of interest, such as genomic selection models. All presentations were carefully planned, and I thought it was excellent to see how engaged the audience was.
Next to purely scientific sessions, you could also join company-sponsored lunches, wander around in the exposition area to get in touch with all your favourite (or yet-to-be favourite) companies and organisations or take a moment to digest all that is exciting. On Tuesday, I was happy to join the joint session of the Young Scientist Career Development. As an early career professional, this was a must-see. There were inspiring presentations and motivating pitches, followed by a networking drink. It was heartwarming to learn from our seniors in such a welcoming and easy way!
After all that, you may think… could there possibly be more. The answer is YES! Next to the exciting scientific program, there is also a social program. You can pick and choose which parts of the program you like. As a native Dutchie, I decided not to go on any excursions or tours in Rotterdam. I did join the dinners, of which one was in a Zoo (cool, right!) and one in a church. Both were a fantastic way to enjoy some time off with colleagues, peers and (new) friends.
All in all, I enjoyed my first conference experience. It was an excellent opportunity to learn about the current research, reconnect with your network and add new people to your network. I am ready for the next one!