After spending the week at the #SXSWEDU conference I have some thoughts on what we’re doing with traditional academic conferences and what we could do to make them better.
A rambling thread while I’m at the bar after 8 hours of sessions🧵
A rambling thread while I’m at the bar after 8 hours of sessions🧵
FWIW to start, in my experience @improvingpsych has it most right.
They’re interactive, engaged, and have varied session formats.
But they are the outlier, not the norm.
They’re interactive, engaged, and have varied session formats.
But they are the outlier, not the norm.
In The Times Before The Internet™️ academic conferences served to expose people to new research results — useful!
But now? Academic conference sessions are only opportunities to add lines to a CV.
Why engage in a session when I can read the research you already posted online?
But now? Academic conference sessions are only opportunities to add lines to a CV.
Why engage in a session when I can read the research you already posted online?
But NICOLE it’s about the networking! Yes, obviously. Just plan a group trip & do fun stuff then if it’s not about the research?!?
Oh bc we need cv lines? Boring. 😴
Our obsession with metrics in academia is expensive. Grad students spending 1000s for a line on a cv. Wtf.
Oh bc we need cv lines? Boring. 😴
Our obsession with metrics in academia is expensive. Grad students spending 1000s for a line on a cv. Wtf.
#SXSWEDU instead has only a few standard “talk” sessions of 20 min. And these are for big impactful projects.
The rest are hour long panels where diverse education professionals are discussing key topics in education, creative practical workshops, and interactive roundtables.
The rest are hour long panels where diverse education professionals are discussing key topics in education, creative practical workshops, and interactive roundtables.
#SXSWEDU has so many people from a variety of industries and roles. Academic conferences are a bunch of the same kind of people — researchers.
Get outside your box!
I’m interacting with researchers, presidents, higher ed, k12, tech founders, non-profits, teachers, etc.
Get outside your box!
I’m interacting with researchers, presidents, higher ed, k12, tech founders, non-profits, teachers, etc.
Our standard academic conference is constrained by our hyper-focus on CV lines.
It’s why people find the sessions boring. Most don’t go to the talks and instead spend their time in the halls. It’s why many don’t love online conferences— bc it’s just hours of talks.
It’s why people find the sessions boring. Most don’t go to the talks and instead spend their time in the halls. It’s why many don’t love online conferences— bc it’s just hours of talks.
Let’s reimagine the academic conference. Let’s create programming that mimics our social interactions, brings diverse people and roles together. We can imagine better ways to share research that doesn’t just repeat what we already shared online.
Let’s innovate, not replicate.
Let’s innovate, not replicate.
- panel discussions on key topics
- bring in people that our research impacts & let them speak!
- brainstorming sessions
- poster roundtable sessions
- creative expression
- live podcast recording sessions
- collaborative activities
What else? Can we nix the 15 mintalk already?
- bring in people that our research impacts & let them speak!
- brainstorming sessions
- poster roundtable sessions
- creative expression
- live podcast recording sessions
- collaborative activities
What else? Can we nix the 15 mintalk already?
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