Some updated thoughts around conference travel

After the combination of baby years, global pandemic, and passport problems, I am traveling more again for conferences.

My priorities are still the same: I don’t want to be away from my daughter too much, I want to limit myself to maximum two trips per semester to make sure I don’t leave my students alone, and I also want to make conscious choices about flights and trips because of the associated carbon footprint.

With these considerations, I have been approaching my trip differently this year. I have been focusing on selecting events for which I have a clear plan in terms of what I want to achieve (showing my research, catching up with colleagues, organizing sessions, etc) instead of going with the flow.

At the same time, I have been trying to combine opportunities to limit my number of flights: I have been extending some of my trips to fit in meetings, university visits, sometimes another event in the vicinity – in these cases, I may be away from home for a slightly longer time, but it get more things done with only one flight.

I have also come to realize the value of well-planned trips in which I get to make real progress in collaboration and through discussions with colleagues – as much as I find online meetings efficient to catch up, keep in touch, and move forward, there simply is not a substitute for meeting in person to really form good connections to others.

How do you approach conference travel?