Between May 13 and 16, our colleague Victoria Di Césare took part in the Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy, hosted at the Georgia Institute of Technology. There, she gave her first-ever oral presentation, sharing part of her PhD research on the representation of local journals in international databases. Below, she reflects on the experience in her own words:
A few weeks ago, Nico and I travelled to the USA to participate in the Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy. This was a particularly special year to join the now classic event held at the Georgia Institute of Technology, as it marked its 10th anniversary. For me, it wasn’t the first time visiting Atlanta for academic reasons, but it was my first time attending ATLC and giving an oral presentation, EVER! We went there to give two different short talks: Nico’s, in collaboration with Julia Melkers, Alick Bird, and Erin Leahey, was titled “Exploring the social organization of the sciences”; mine, also produced with Nico, showcased an ongoing section of my thesis on “The representation of local journals in mainstream databases and its implications for the Global South.” In addition to the usual nerves of presenting at a world-renowned conference, I was seriously concerned about entering the country, given how much the political landscape has changed from last year. Fortunately, I made it through immigration without much more than a glance from the officer. With that still stressful situation behind me, I could now focus all my attention on the nearly three-day-long event.
I attended the morning session with the usual nervous excitement that had been building every time I rehearsed my lines and imagined the exact moment of my presentation
Now writing from home, I can reflect on the overall experience and acknowledge it was absolutely FANTASTIC! But that wasn’t at all my appreciation on the first day. I attended the morning session with the usual nervous excitement that had been building every time I rehearsed my lines and imagined the exact moment of my presentation. But as time went by and some last-minute changes to my slides were necessary, I began to feel increasingly unsure about the work I was about to show, which dealt with the presence and visibility of local journals in OpenAlex, Web of Science and Scopus. Healthy excitement gave way to sheer PANIC, especially after seeing how excellent all the other students and researchers were.
As my session was about to start after lunch, I decided to push through my natural avoidant tendencies and introduced myself to the chair. Just talking to him and the other presenters helped me calm down, as everyone was so nice and genuinely pleased to be there. When I was eventually called up to speak, I approached the dais and admitted my lack of experience to the audience before beginning. My slides showed a few interesting results regarding a stronger presence of the Global North in local journals within the mainstream but, since the session focused on data sources, I felt I could have explained my dataset construction in more detail and explored the policy implications further. Once my time was up, I received a few questions and suggestions about language coverage, use of toponyms, and segmentation into disciplines, which reassured me that the main ideas I wanted to convey had, fortunately, come through.
One of my favourite moments happened during the gala dinner at the Fox Theatre. We went there right after a long day of oral sessions, so I was already feeling quite exhausted from all the paying attention and socializing in a foreign language
Much relieved, though a bit ashamed as my performance didn’t meet my expectations, I resolved to still make the most of the conference. Over the next two days, I attended as many sessions as possible, drew insight from some pretty impressive presentations, talked to students and researchers from around the world, and met some of my absolute academic heroes. One of my favourite moments happened during the gala dinner at the Fox Theatre. We went there right after a long day of oral sessions, so I was already feeling quite exhausted from all the paying attention and socializing in a foreign language. At first, I had planned to have dinner and head back to the hotel for an early night in. But then I got caught in a deeply engaging conversation with another PhD student and a renowned senior scholar. We talked about all sorts of things, from work-life balance and the scope of academic degrees, to the training of young researchers and what it means to study a topic through a sociologist’s eyes.
That moment, along with many other exchanges where I was able to connect with and learn from such a wonderful academic community, completely turned my experience of the conference around, transforming it from a nerve-wracking ordeal into a now treasured memory
Before I realized it, the gala was coming to an end with the three of us still sitting there, sharing experiences and viewpoints from such contrasting backgrounds, cultures, and life stories. That moment, along with many other exchanges where I was able to connect with and learn from such a wonderful academic community, completely turned my experience of the conference around, transforming it from a nerve-wracking ordeal into a now treasured memory. I’m confident I’ll do much better next time.
All images featured in this article were taken by Victoria Di Césare during her stay in Atlanta