<commit_before><commit_msg>Attempt to fix line breaks in TG post<commit_after>---
layout: post
title: Formally informal conferences
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One of my favourite parts of working as a researcher during the summer (aside from quiet campuses with less students around) definitely has to be the "conference season".
Indeed, I don't need to convince many people that conferences are one of the lively and exciting parts of doing science that rightly mix traveling, networking (and sometimes drinking) and learning about so many new things (and sometimes hangovers).

One of the problems though is that they can sometimes be overwhelming.
It's hard to find a balance between the right amount of networking (how many friends/collaborators do I want to meet and how many new ones do I want to make) and the right amount of learning (which talks do I want to attend and how much can I get from them).
Although everyone has their own technique to deal with these questions, it seems to me that it boils down to the number of people attending the conference and the objectives of the conference organisers.
One solution is to aim conferences towards a more manageable size with a clear emphasis on networking and learning.
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