Conferences and Their Importance

Conferences have always played a major role in the sharing of information and in building links between scientists. Their form has changed and developed over the years and has included workshops, lectures, poster sessions, and discussions. These discussions and the networking that they produce are possibly the most significant part of these meetings as they provide an opportunity to develop closer ties and understanding. The pandemic prevented many meetings from taking place and has reduced participation since. It has been said that modern electronic methods make such meetings less necessary and while there is some truth in that, there is still a rationale for meeting. It is not the papers themselves—those can be obtained from the proceedings or from the authors—it is the formal and informal discussions that take place before, after, and during the event. Those remain critical for the growth of understanding and the development of contacts and are a less tangible benefit. Conferences should represent a longer-term investment in the future, through technical awareness and staff development and satisfaction. The cost benefits may be harder to identify, but they do exist and should be considered in planning. This is particularly important for new scientists who, unlike those who have been active for several years, cannot rely on existing networks and need such events to build their own. This is the importance of meetings such as NTREM in Czechia. It is an international meeting primarily for students and early career researchers in the field of energetics technology. This is just one example of a conference that covers a wide range of energetics topics and allows networks to be built, sustained, and broadened. There are two main types of conferences, those that cover the whole range of technical topics and those that are focussed on specific areas. NTREM and the ICT Conference are examples of the first, while the International Ballistics Conference and the Detonation Symposium are examples that tend more to the second. Of course, there are meetings that are even more focussed, as well as some that place energetics technology in a much broader context. The tight focus may seem sufficient but for many the broader meetings can put such focus into a wider context. Context is important since that allows a vision for the exploitation and development of research. PEP contains a conference calendar which is important for planning. Other organizations such as MSIAC do the same. It can be easy to plan when meetings such as NTREM and ICT are annual, but more difficult with those, such as the Detonation Symposium, which have a longer interval or are even erratic. It is also important to be aware of the occasional meetings which may be important for your area. It is equally important for conference planners to be aware of their target audience and ensure that the meeting purpose is clear to all. There are several adverts for general conferences which appear as emails but are very often merely fishing expeditions with probably limited value. Knowing your market and planning accordingly is important. NTREM has similarities to other meetings, such as the Gordon Conference, which is aimed at newer scientists as a way of promoting development. The Gordon Conference encourages discussion and no proceedings are published, which is in the policy of the Gordon Foundation. Proceedings are general for most meetings, though sometimes merely as extended abstracts. They provide a record of the papers, and sometimes of the discussion sessions. That is important, but only a part of the story. As mentioned above, it is the actual contact and the friendly discussion that adds the real value. After all the proceedings can be read afterward and the technical information reviewed and discussed, but that can only ever be part of the story. The proceedings should of course contain the contact details for the lead author so that any questions can be followed up. That after all was the route taken before the age of easy travel—many learned societies had “corresponding members” who published and wrote lengthy letters discussing details. To some extent, those letters can be replaced by telephone and video calls, but these do not replace an actual meeting with its chance discussions. Nineteenth-century scientists often write of the joy of meeting and talking to colleagues, and that experience must not be overlooked. Obviously, other factors, such as cost, benefit and environmental impact, also need to be considered, so that probably the time of conference “tourism” has passed and there is a requirement to justify participation Justification can include the development of both senior and junior scientists through participation, and the opportunity for open discussions, which need to be both formal and informal. That can mean choosing venues to promote such interactions—while this might not be popular with some—is an important part in the success of meetings. A good and interesting venue can attract participation and sustain the social discussions that can be argued to form the major part of the meeting. Naturally, there must be encouragement for attendees to take an active part in those sessions as this cannot be duplicated online. This approach will always be unpopular with some managers but can be justified through personal development and job satisfaction, as noted above. These factors should not be discounted. So, conferences of all kinds still have their role in scientific development. They provide a forum for sharing and discussing results, building networks, and helping in personal development. They also help with education through exposing new researchers to a wider and critical but hopefully encouraging audience. How they operate will continue to evolve of course, but the advantages of personal contact must not be dismissed.