On Wednesday, the last day of the conference, we went to the Port of Antwerp on a field tour. We visited PSA’s Noordzee Terminal and the Katoen Natie logistics facilities.
I’ve already be at PSA’s, thus the most impressive for me was Katoen Natie. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed indoors.
The audience was big, good and kind. One of the parallel sessions was in French, which meant many people joined the remaining two, mine included.
I managed to do it on time and passing the message I had: my early stages of research, with the problem and the sketch of the research methodology to tackle it.
It was my first presentation of a scientific paper and that already leaves me happy enough. Better still, I manage to interest a few people about my subject and networked with a lot more, who already gave me hints and tips for further development.
Now I’m looking forward to working harder and presenting the follow-up – which will be the buildup, if I think in terms of thesis research.
The job is done. Now it’s time for strolling, enjoying the city and having a De Koninck.
Arrived yesterday. All is set: the power-point is finished, mock presentations have been tried (not yet on time, but there are some hours left), the way to the university was found and tested.
Although the conference starts tomorrow, the session I was scheduled to is only on Tuesday, which gives me an extra day for preparation, mingle, and improve my know-how for these occasions.
On the tourism side, it’s great being back to Antwerp, a city I really like. It’s be warm and sunny and I wonder what I will do with all these winter clothes that pack my suitcase.
I’ve been working on the presentation for the WCTRS-SIG2 conference “Key Developments in the Port and Maritime Sector” and I’ve finally finished and submitted it. It will be 10 nervous minutes, plus five for discussion. Now I must prepare myself for delivering it.
I said “nervous” but I realize I’m seldom nervous during presentations. I am when I’m drafting and preparing the presentation, I am even more when the date approaches but once I’m doing it, I’m doing it. At the end I’ll see whether I messed up or not.
This has the added difficulty of being my first presentation of a scientific paper, but I hope my previous experiences at academia can help me.
I’ll depart to Antwerp in Saturday and my presentation slot is scheduled for Tuesday morning. I’ll try to come back here before that.
A strike of luck made me know (on time) about the abstract submission period for the 13th WCTR. I knew the conference would take place next year in Rio de Janeiro, but I was not aware the abstract submission deadline would be so soon as today. Anyway, I found it some days ago on the Facebook group Transport Planning and Analysis and decided to counter-challenge my supervisor (he had challenged me for the conference in Antwerp next month) for a co-authored paper about my PhD topic. This time I managed to draft the abstract in a more confident and right-to-the-point way, which I hope will help me when it comes to acceptance time…
The idea is the same with the Antwerp conference: using these opportunities for testing, with a large and informed audience, my progress, ideas and paths. The paper should be build on the paper written for Antwerp and on the work plan designed for my PhD research. This also has the added advantage of serving as intermediate deliverables with a fixed deadline, something of the utmost importance in a period my job is draining a lot of time and energy from me and I must use all tactics to focus and make the most out of my freetime. Let’s see if it works.
But cameback as expected. And when is that? Exactly! At the last day for submission…
I’ve spent the last days completely immersed in work, just to have the paper ready by the deadline. I submitted it today and I’m happy with the result. In May I’ll be able to tell you how happy the audience was with my presentation.
It means I have three days to start, finish, revise, fine-tune, wrap-up & put the golden ribbon on a (supposed to be) three-month work.
I hope I’ll be able to comeback tomorrow with good news.
It has been something like this, but just without the fun part:
I decided to make an effort in order to post more regularly, namely e-v-er-y–d-a-y, hoping that would press me to present results / work harder / be embarassed to come here with nothing to tell or no progress to show.
I was wrong. I’m here, but there was nothing read, written or done today whatsoever. Now even recycling my German skills are ahead, reclaiming the place of marathon training.
I shall comeback tomorrow, hopefully with a conference paper half finished. Let’s go.
Just a perfect Sunday afternoon.
I’m in! My paper for WCTRS-SIG2’s conference on “Key Developments in the Port and Maritime Sector” was accepted. This means now I just have to… finish it!
It was my first abstract submission and it will be my first paper presentation at a scientific conference. I’m curious to know how I will handle it, both at writing and presenting.
Uploaded. Again, at the very last minute. But it’s done, now let’s see whether it is accepted.
Is is being a busy end of the year. Not content enough with research proposals submission and discussion presentation, today I accepted a challenge from my supervisor, proposing presenting a paper for WCTRS-SIG2’s conference on “Key Developments in the Port and Maritime Sector”. It will be held in Antwerp between May 21st and 23rd, 2012.
At the same time, it will be good to keep track of time and make me work with defined deadlines.
The website of the IAME Conference 2011 in already on the air. The conference will be hosted at UNECLAC Headquarters in Santiago de Chile, from October 25, 2011 to October 28, 2011.
The theme is “Shipping markets, port devolution and a changing geography of world maritime transport” and, despite the call for papers is already closed, registrations are still accepted.
I was at last year’s conference, right here in Portugal (in Carcavelos and Estoril), and it was an excellent event. This time I don’t believe I can make it, unfortunately.
While doing coursework, my life spanned the area between Sines, Cascais, and Lisbon, which I had to cover several times a week. For the morning classes, I’d usually travel the day before from Sines to Cascais, then take a morning train from Cascais to Lisbon, hop on the metro at Cais do Sodré and do a morning walk between the stop at Alameda and IST.
This image bring me back – bring us, I’m expecting to be read – to one of those busy, but enjoyable days. It was October 19, 2010, at 08h41, and I was doing my final leg in direction to IST. Here is the sunny version of IST’s South Tower.