Written by Eva Höppe
The Corona pandemic has made personal exchange with the scientific community in the context of conference visits more difficult and at times even brought it to a complete standstill. For about 1.5 years, however, more and more conferences have been held again as face-to-face events - which we are of course very pleased about. For us as a company, attending a conference always involves a lot of planning and is also quite a demanding task - especially if you're an employee who doesn't have a lot of experience yet. In this blog post, our employee Eva, who started at Biomol in December 2021 and for whom conference visits as a company member were new territory, tells us what she experienced at her first conferences.
Conference Visits - A nice Change from Office Work
When I joined Biomol in December 2021, meetings and conferences at which I was to represent our company were already on the agenda, but the ongoing pandemic meant that they were still a long way off. The task sounded quite exciting, but I honestly didn't have a concrete idea of what to expect and whether it would suit me - despite conference reports from my colleagues. Last year, the interest in analog events started to increase again and in September 2022 I went (with tests and masks in my luggage) to the first event of this kind: the GBM Fall Conference in Düsseldorf with the topic "Molecular Basis of Life". In the run-up to the event, we had to consider the scientific focus of the audience at the event and select appropriate information and promotional material. And of course, our popular Biomol goodies were not to be missed.
Once we arrived at the venue, the first step was to set up the booth and arrange everything as attractively as possible. An arrangement or thematic grouping of flyers and brochures is actually one of the steps that take the longest. After all, everyone should be able to see where our strengths lie and what products and services we offer. However, coming up with a sensible arrangement is also fun and you can take a closer look at the subject matter yourself. Although we represent the industrial branch of the life science industry on site, we ourselves come from the academic research sector, as does the audience most of the time.
Since then, I have been able to represent Biomol at two more events: the 17th EUREKA! Symposium in Würzburg and the 74th Mosbacher Kolloquium. These three conferences showed me that participation as a company at such events is an exciting, responsible and diverse task. It is a good change from the regular activities in the office and it is fun to talk to interested participants, to be able to help further or simply to hear that someone is happy to be able to extend the biomol magnet collection at the laboratory refrigerators. In addition, analog events are a great opportunity for a more detailed exchange about all questions and concerns regarding our products for your research. So if there's ever something that's burning under the nails, feel free to come and talk to us at future meetings and conferences, too!
Since I was so engrossed in our product variety in order to be as well prepared as possible for all questions, I was actually surprised that the question about career options also came up quite frequently with us. Of course there are, and we welcome your inquiries! Anyone who is interested in an internship or a trainee position with us is of course also welcome to take advantage of the opportunity at one of the next events or to contact us at any time by phone or e-mail. Among those you meet in person, there are not only the researching public but also the people behind the other booths. Here, pleasant conversations often arise too and you get exciting tips, sometimes from the field of natural sciences and sometimes about how to make good oat milk yourself.
I would no longer describe myself as a complete conference newcomer. The road to becoming an "old hand" is still long, but with every opportunity to exchange ideas, you become more confident and learn more about the specific demands on us and our products. This helps us to continue to support you in the best possible way with our substances in realizing your vision! Next time we might see you on September 20 and 21, 2023 at the 16th Annual Conference of the Giessen Graduate Center for the Life Sciences (GGL)!
